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"Lump" on underside of young Corn

Tangoman

Tangoman

New member
Hi

I am new here and quite new to snake owning.

I have a young Oketee Miami Phase (I believe) cornsnake. He is about 4-5 months old and about 14" in length. He has always fed well and looks and behaves healthily.

I was handling him tonight and noticed that he had a small lump on his underbelly - above the vent and about 1-2 inches above the "tail section". In size, I guess the lump is 5mm in diameter. I have attached a picture which although blurred, does show the lump.

He last ate a small pinky on New Years Eve

Someone suggested it might be a constipation impaction although soeone else said it was too pronounced for that.

Does anybody have any ideas?

Cheers
Mike

PS could you also email me with any answers? I will check back but not sure when
 

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1st - Okeetee Miami Phase is not an accurate color phase for a cornsnake. You can have a normal cornsnake that is Okeetee phase, or a normal cornsnake this is Miami phase. Okeetee is a local or line bred trait (depending on whom you speak to), and Miami is a line bred trait. Both are normal cornsnakes.

On the lump. The photo's difficult to tell. I wouldn't think it's a kink due to the fact that it's on the belly. As for impaction, do you feed in a separate container (where risk of ingestion of the bedding is minimized)? It might possibly be that he's getting ready to deficate (though it does seem rather large for that).
 
Thanks for the info on type. I had also been told it was a "normal".

As for the feeding. I normally feed in another container but once or twice when he was not being too helpful I thought it better to feed in the viv.(I have had conflicting advice on this too!) I use small bark substrate and when some gets on the pinky, he takes great care to work it off before consuming that portion of the mouse - amazing to watch actually. The last feed he had was in the viv. Could it be a bit of bark? The lump is about two inches above the start of the tail section. It is hard to palpate becuase he is small and wriggly and I do not want to cause distress. It does not feel "hard" though. As I said, he is otherwise healthy and active.

Perhaps you are right and he is just getting ready to poo. I will check him in the morning and see if the lump is still there. If so I will get him to a vet.

Thanks
 
Their is a possibility it might be a bit of bark. If it's not gone within 24 hours, definitly schedule a vet appointment. You never know, and it's better to be safe then sorry. Good luck with the little guy!
 
Hi
I just checked him again. It is avery pronounced lump and is distorting the belly scales to some degree.
 
Hi Michael it's John here, sound's like i was possible right about the impaction then.
Hope tango is ok and keep me updated via email
 
Ok thanks everyone. I will contact a vet tomorrow - try to find one locally who has some good knowledge of snakes.

out of interest, if it is an impaction, what does a vet do?
 
While we are at it, here is a pic of him

Just thought a few pics of the little fella are in order since everyone is so concerned about him!
 

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you have such a cutie there, tangoman.
i sure hope the vet can make him all better again.
sorry i cant actually help you with what the vet does, it could be a number of things, i have fortunately never had to experience any weird lumps on my little ones.

i wish you luck with your little one though and please keep me updated.
 
Seems fine now

Hi everyone

I checked on him this morning and saw a large, hard dry lump of white poo in the corner. I then lifted him and the lump that was there last night appears to have gone. I wonder if snakes have a herp version of haemorrhoids ?! It must have been painful!
 
I'm glad to hear the lump appears to be gone. I'd still keep an eye on it just incase there is some bark causing the troubles. It could still be a possiblilty the bark is stuck and the track is narrowed and the poop backed up to form the lump.
 
ouch! the poor little thing
well i hope that was the problem then and hopefully now he will be alright, it might be wise to keep on eye on him for the next few days to see how hes doing and behaving.

when i handle all of mine i proper inspect them, from the tip of their noses right down to the tip of their tails, underbelly and top, and that way if i know each and every scale on their cute little bodies i know if anything isnt quite looking right.
good luck with him in the future
:D
 
Dand,

Actually that makes sense re the bark still being stuck in there. I will keep an eye on him to see if it happens again. If it does then I think your diagnosis will be correct - I can only imagine that a vet would have to surgically remove it?

Regards
Mike
 
Surgery would only be necessary if other means doesn't work. They may be able to flush it out (snake enema). :eek1: I'd keep a close watch to see if there is any darkening where you observed the lump. If you see any get to the vet as soon as you can. Keep us updated.
 
Hi
Well an amazing thing happened. I was searching a local vet (there is ONE in my area who deals in exotics) and a local surgery told me to ring London zoo who might have a list of vets in the London area who could help. Anyway, I call them and whaddya know I end up talking to the curator of Herpetology - the top man at the Zoo! about Tango! Pure chance. So he asks me what the problem is and I explain it. He asks me if the poo was white and chalky - and I tell him yes it was. He says it is a build up of uric acid - caused by dehydration! So gives me a load of advice on what to do, how to monitor future faeces etc! Doesn't reckon it is a bit of bark stuck in there. Amazing. This is the head of herpetology at London Zoo/ The British zoological society, which by my reckoning means he must be one of the top people in the world! And he is giving me a consultation about my little baby cornsnake! This is a guy with a hundred and one serious snakes in his back office! Anyway, he gave me lots of free advice and told me to call him if problems persist! Top man! So dehydration. Need to do a few things to sort my little snakey out and hey presto.
Thanks to everyone.
Mike
 
Wow! What a great resource. It would be awesome if you could see some of the snakes he has!!!
 
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