• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

large bulge

D

dcrocker

New member
He ate two mice about a week ago with no problem and was left alone for the most part. Last night, my son noticed this bulge. It's about 6-7" from his head and is about the size of one of the mice he eats. It seems to high up to be a food item but I don't know exactly where the stomach starts. Also, in case it matters, he's just started a shedding cycle (eyes starting to cloud over today).
Pictures attached.

Any suggestions? If I need to take him to a vet, any suggestions for a good one in San Jose CA or surrounding towns?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0436 (1).jpg
    IMG_0436 (1).jpg
    105 KB · Views: 248
  • IMG_0437 (1).jpg
    IMG_0437 (1).jpg
    218.5 KB · Views: 251
Whoa.... That's a big lump!! I've neer seen anything like that :s

Hopefully the more experienced members can shed some light on things.

T
 
Cattsy said:
Whoa.... That's a big lump!! I've neer seen anything like that :s

Hopefully the more experienced members can shed some light on things.

T
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's pretty big. As I said, it looks like a full-sized mouse to me. One other thing I should mention, he isn't acting sick. He seems strong and is acting somewhat normal (which mostly means he's curled up in his hide).
 
If you do decide to go to a vet(Or just want some contact info on hand in case of emergency), Dr. Kurt Nakamura at Adobe Animal Hospital is FANTASTIC. I know it's 1/2 hour from San Jose, but when I lived in SJ I always took my herps to Dr. Nakamura. He's VERY knowledgeable and loves exotics. Also, I interned at Adobe for several months so I can vouch for him being just as awesome behind the scenes. The phone number for Adobe is (650) 948-9661.

Closer than Los Altos, Wildwood sees a ton of exotics. Two of my friends worked there (One I believe still does) and have nothing but good things to say. They do a lot of work with reptiles and birds in particular. Their number is (408) 265-8811.
 
ceduke said:
If you do decide to go to a vet(Or just want some contact info on hand in case of emergency), Dr. Kurt Nakamura at Adobe Animal Hospital is FANTASTIC. I know it's 1/2 hour from San Jose, but when I lived in SJ I always took my herps to Dr. Nakamura. He's VERY knowledgeable and loves exotics. Also, I interned at Adobe for several months so I can vouch for him being just as awesome behind the scenes. The phone number for Adobe is (650) 948-9661.

Closer than Los Altos, Wildwood sees a ton of exotics. Two of my friends worked there (One I believe still does) and have nothing but good things to say. They do a lot of work with reptiles and birds in particular. Their number is (408) 265-8811.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. As it turns out, the local animal hospital had someone who treats reptiles. We went there this morning. The vet thinks the bulge is one of the mice he ate last week. Why it's not down in his stomach is a mystery. We had an x-ray taken and the Dr. shot some lube down there to try to help things move along. We're supposed to monitor things for the next couple of days.
I'm wondering if, due to the shedding, his skin tightened up and is preventing the mouse from moving. My son fed him and says that both mice ended up in the stomach. So, it looks like one moved back up.
 
Oh my goodness. I think you definitely did the right thing by going in. Please keep us posted and thank you for shaing this thus far. Good luck, I hope everything "moves along smoothly" :) Seriously I do hope everything turns out alright
 
Wow, that is a big bulge. Its a good thing you took the snake to a vet. Hope everything goes well. Keep us updated :) .
 
Holy cannoli! That's one big lump. O_O

I think I remember hearing that a snake's stomach starts at about 1/3 to 1/2 the way down its body. If it is coming up could it possibly be a future regurge? I'm sorry I have no experience on the subject :( I hope he gets better for you, he's a very beautiful boy! Please keep us posted.

Good Luck!
 
dcrocker said:
Thanks for the info. As it turns out, the local animal hospital had someone who treats reptiles. We went there this morning. The vet thinks the bulge is one of the mice he ate last week. Why it's not down in his stomach is a mystery. We had an x-ray taken and the Dr. shot some lube down there to try to help things move along. We're supposed to monitor things for the next couple of days.
I'm wondering if, due to the shedding, his skin tightened up and is preventing the mouse from moving. My son fed him and says that both mice ended up in the stomach. So, it looks like one moved back up.
Click to expand...

An x-ray was done and the vet "thinks" it is the second mouse? If it was the mouse, it would be a definite answer, no guesswork with an x-ray unless all the mouse's bones have been fully digested. I've not encountered such a problem as your snake has. Hopefully it really is the second mouse and it moves along in either direction.

I will mention that if the lump IS the second mouse, and you are feeding your snake 2 mice of that size, that is a bit too much for your snake's stomach to handle properly. An adult corn snake will do just fine being fed one prey item that is 1 1/2 times the snake's width. More than that and you can end up with issues such as regurges and possible blockages.
 
update

Not much change. His eyes have cleared so it looks like he'll shed in a day or two. The lump is the same size as before and hasn't moved. The vet had a radiologist double-check the x-rays and he confirmed that it's a mouse. I saw the x-rays myself and couldn't see any features that would indicate it's a mouse (e.g. bones) but it was in his stomach for around a week so it's at least partially digested.
My dilemma now is that the vet wants to shoot some more lube down there and try to get things moving. I'm concerned that this might be too invasive and do more harm than good. If someone could explain why this has happened, it might help me to decide if things should be left alone or messed with.
 
With my little normal, if I feed her when she's going into shed, she won't digest nearly as fast as she does. I would just leave the mouse alone; the corn will digest it in the way it needs to. Lubing it up and making it go further into the corn's stomach when it's not digested enough will probably cause problems, I think.
 
I wonder at what point the mouse will start to rot and cause further problems? That would be my concern at this point. My thought would be give him a day or two to shed and see if that gets things moving.
 
If that is a mouse, it should be very rotten by now, I would think. Maybe with shedding the snake will regurge it up. Could it possibly be a tumor? If you didnt see any bones on the xray, just how did the radiologist see them?
Just wondering. I would be freaked out if that was my snake. I know what you mean about more "lube" down its throat. Does it feel solid?

Maybe PM Kathy Love and see if she might have any ideas or Rich Z. I am sure they both would check out this thread if you pmed them with the link and the situation.

Good luck and keep us posted.
PJ
 
PJ@PJCReptiles said:
If that is a mouse, it should be very rotten by now, I would think. Maybe with shedding the snake will regurge it up. Could it possibly be a tumor? If you didnt see any bones on the xray, just how did the radiologist see them?
Just wondering. I would be freaked out if that was my snake. I know what you mean about more "lube" down its throat. Does it feel solid?

Maybe PM Kathy Love and see if she might have any ideas or Rich Z. I am sure they both would check out this thread if you pmed them with the link and the situation.

Good luck and keep us posted.
PJ
Click to expand...

I think they're just guessing as to what it is. It's soft and squishy. i doubt it's a tumor as it appeared overnight. I'm almost sure it's a mouse that either didn't make it to the stomach or came back up.
I PMed Kathy to see if she has any suggestions.
 
I've never seen anything quite like that.

Sure seems to be way too high up to be digested. Sounds like the vets weren't very sure about what it was and where it was. Maybe ask if they could have a really experienced HERP vet look at the x ray and tell you if it is really in the stomach, or if not, where is it, and what is happening.

I am no vet or even a biologist. But it just doesn't look right. I would want to know if they saw the actual mouse skeleton. I probably would have been gently palpating it to see if I could feel any outline of a mouse, or if it is soft like a tumor or cyst, or if it might be air or fluid. But the vet should already know the answers to those questions. If you do not think he was experienced enough, ask him to consult a herp vet.

Wish I could help. It looks really strange, and not at all good.

Good luck!
 
It's about the level of the heart, it looks like to me. Hopefully he doesn't have an injury.
 
Nanci said:
It would be nice if they could scope him.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I doubt that would work. The neonatal scopes wouldn't be long enough, and the larger ones would have too big a diameter. Maybe one of the scope manufacturers needs to make snake scopes!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top