Weird bumps. Any advice? :(

[raynefyre]

My friend and I went to feed Saphira yesterday and noticed two hard lumps, one on her back and one on her side. They're hard, but move with her skin. She doesn't seemed too bothered by them; she doesn't flinch when you touch them. Any ideas?

 

[bitsy]

Well a fat lump is soft and squishy, so I'd say that can be ruled out.

 

[raynefyre]

Thanks for the info Bitsy. That helps rule out that.

Anyone else have any ideas? I'm really worried about her.

 

[raynefyre]

Pretty sure they're getting bigger.

Please, any ideas?

Can anyone help this pretty little girl?

 

[bitsy]

Only other thing I can suggest is to get her looked over by a vet.

I can think of plenty of things that would feel soft under the skin and move around, but I don't remember seeing anything about hard lumps. The fact that they're getting bigger is worrying.

 

[diamondlil]

I'd say they look like abcesses, personally, with the pus in reptiles being hard under the skin, but you really need a vet to see her.

 

[Sweetseraph]

The fact that they are growing is worrying and does look/sound like abcesses.

The sooner she can see a vet, the better. I believe they can spread too.

 

[raynefyre]

Got an appointment for her with a specialist at 4:40 this afternoon. Hoping all goes well.

 

[kathylove]

My guess is either cysts or abscesses. Probably need to be cut out or drained by a vet. But it sounds like you will have a professional answer very soon.

If it was on a turtle or other reptile being kept outdoors, I would guess it could be a parasite (like the botflies in turtles). But that is not likely for a snake kept in an indoor cage.

Hope the vet can fix it up this afternoon!

 

[carnivorouszoo]

Poor little thing, I also agree, when I saw the photos I thought right off it looked like an abscess. Please tell us what the vet says!

 

[Susan]

Missed your update before sending my PM. I agree with the others that they look like abscesses. Glad to hear you're taking her to a vet. Keep me posted.

 

[Momto3boys]

Any news on this girl?

Hope it's nothing serious.

 

[raynefyre]

The vet, Dr. Gary Riggs, says she has a bacterial and a possible fungal infection. He drained the lumps and did a gram stain exam, then gave her an injection of antibiotics. She also got sent home with a surgical scrub that I do two times a day.

Dr. Riggs was unclear about how she got the infection, but he did tell me that hopefully the fungus isn't into her system. If it is, she will probably have more lumps pop up and have to go back to get them drained. If she doesn't, she should heal fine and be back to normal.

She's looking pretty good today. Still alert and active. And her lumps are pretty much vanished. Going to do her surgical scrub soon once I finish my breakfast. Thank you everyone for your help and caring. I'll keep ya posted on how she's doing.

 

[Nanci]

Good news! It sounds simple enough to deal with!

 

[raynefyre]

Another update. I went to do her scrub just now and she was in mid shed. She had it about 1/4 of the way down and looked like confused lost puppy. So I helped her get the rest of it off and it did end up opening the scabs. But the vet told me I really needed to get the scrub in there to kill all the bacteria so it's probably a good thing. I put it on after finishing her shed. She was a perfect little angel, sitting perfectly still while momma took care of her. Now she's back to sleeping again.

 

[carnivorouszoo]

Glad to hear she is doing well. I hope she recovers quickly.

 

[VickyChaiTea]

Aw, glad to hear it's something simple.