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this growth just came out of no where this female was perfect a week ago, any of u guys know what this is, how/why it occurs and how i can get rid of it?

Here's a pic from last week afetr her 1st shed.

any help is welcomed

Thanx

~ZF
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Royal Blue ReptileZ
Home of Bklyn's Finest Brooksi

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signature file edited 4/22/06; contact an admin.

in more ways then one. Is it fluid filled or is it solid? hard or soft? mobile or stationary. Open the mouth, is the inside effected by the growth? Is it growing or did it just apear and then remain the same??

Without knowing anything I would first do this. Put the little guy in a big cage that he wont rub it on. (its possible its just swelling from a rubbed nose).

Very well could be mouth rot. Open his mouth and take a look and see if you see any redness or sores on the upper teeth. Sometimes a piece of substrate can get lodged in there and allow for some bacterial growth.
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possible fungus blister my snakes never get those so i don't know the treatment, i hope she gets better.

Looks like a local bacterial infection just under the first layer of skin. Probably from getting a slight injury just inside the nostril from a sharp piece of substrate or cage. And that just spread after becoming infected. Could be from mouthrot, but in most cases the infection would stay closer to the side of the head, bot to the top and front? But since it's so little that is still a possibility . . . I don't know if I'd give a snake that small any antibiotics, I've never had to make that decision, but if it got progressively worse, you might have to give it a very tiny, tiny dose. . . (I would need to check my records and my calculator for that one) If it does not get any bigger than what it is now, the snake will recover after it sheds. It will leave a nasty scar there, that will take many sheds to go away, but it will go away for the most part, especially since it's just a hatchling. Hopefully it won't get any worse than it already is. . . I wish you all the best,

Zee
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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

Seen it a time or two over the years. If memory serves it popped up about a week after hatching and was shed away with the first molt.

to answer the questions:

it's solid, but not Hard like an abnormal growth, it appears to be filled with fluid, i saw it last week and it was minimal almost not even there i though it was a bruise, approaching her 2nd shed it started betting bigger and those pix were taken right after her 2nd shed.

i opened up her mouth and it looks normal, so it doesn't seem the growth is affecting it there.

Thanx again

~ZF
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Royal Blue ReptileZ
Home of Bklyn's Finest Brooksi

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signature file edited 4/22/06; contact an admin.

I would take the snake to the vet to try to aspirate and examine the fluid. It could really be any number of things.

If you do not want to take the snake to a vet you could do a little of your own diagnostics (if you can get to the right equipment) but I would wait and see if it progresses for a few more days. Normally I don't recomend trying to be your own vet beyond normal first aid, but sometimes a simple procedure can give you a lot of info that you may not be willing to pay for. You could take a syringe and try to withdraw a little of the fluid (or solid tisue). smear this on a clean glass slide and see whats on it under a light microscope. If you see nothing, then it is most likely sterile and not an infection. If you see tons of bacteria then you know that antibiotics are what you need.

good luck

Looks like a zit. Just pop it and apply some peroxide.
Should be find.

LOL!
Just kidding about the zit. But what I would do is pop it and apply some peroxide twice the first day and then if it still looks bad some neosporin the following day.

yeah don't do that,lol....never had that show itself in my specimens but someone i know had a temporalis that he described to me-sounded just like what's shown in your pic-he said it burst on it's own-yeah like a zit,white fluid came out-and the snake died.so i would act fast on it,ask your vet,don't get into guesswork.
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"with head raised regally,and gazing at me with lidless eyes,he seemed to question with flicks of his long forked tongue my right to trespass on his territory" Carl Kauffeld

Justinian

I have had a lot of snakes with problems like that. It works for me better than leaving it alone. Its not that big a deal to go to a vet.

i don't really understand what you're saying but the overall gist of my response was to get it to a vet,and-unless you're sure what it is/what's causing it-that tampering with it could result in the death of the snake.
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"with head raised regally,and gazing at me with lidless eyes,he seemed to question with flicks of his long forked tongue my right to trespass on his territory" Carl Kauffeld

What I am saying is taking it to a vet is a waste of taime and money in most cases. I work with a large collection for over 30 years and this small stuff is common sence to fix. I get little things all the time and 99% of it is nothing to sweat over.

Most vets are not qualified for this type of stuff and will over diagnose or have to refer to books and other vets. Unless you know a vet who has a collection and breeds colubrids themselves who would be familiar with a snake when it hiccups, its not worth the trouble.

Its just a fever blister . Treat it peroxide or apply antifungal creame you get for foot itch. If it gets worse then you may have something else, but I doubt it.

sorry,i'm not convinced-what exactly is meant by 'fever blister',anyway?...now i hear what you're saying about some vets but i would call that remark a strong exageration,that to use a vet for your snakes is a waste of time and money.unless you mean from the perspective of 'what's one dead specimen out of several dozen',etc....i hope/don't think that's what you meant,though.
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"with head raised regally,and gazing at me with lidless eyes,he seemed to question with flicks of his long forked tongue my right to trespass on his territory" Carl Kauffeld

I guess you just don't get what I am saying and putting malicious words in my mouth by reading to much into my posts.

OF COURSE I WOULD NOT RECCOMEND NEVER GOING TO A VET.

Now I am done with this thread. Please don't waste my time.

whatever man,those words i read were yours,not mine.
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"with head raised regally,and gazing at me with lidless eyes,he seemed to question with flicks of his long forked tongue my right to trespass on his territory" Carl Kauffeld

Thats what I would do. Pop it with a sterile needle and apply some ointment.
good luck,
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Jason L. Dobry
Research Associate
College of Veterinary Medicine
Department of Veterinary Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology
Washington State University

You should get a diagnosis/and or treatment options from a herp vet.

Attached is a link to a discussion of blister disease, its causes, prevention and treatment. Not saying that's what he has, just some information for you to evaluate.

Those head blisters can be killers. I had a watersnake die from one a long time ago. I also had a Ball Python get a similar infection on the top of her snout. The vet treated it by debriebment and antibiotics. It eventually cleared up.

Good Luck,

John D
Blister Disease Link

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I am so not lesdysxic!

0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"
0.1 Desert Kingsnake "FATTY"
0.1 Black Rat (WV Rescue) "Roberta"

Thanx for the link it's ratehr helpful, that may be what it is other than the fact that i wasn't using any dirty subtarte? i'm gonna give her a few days and take it from there.

Thanx again

~ZF
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Royal Blue ReptileZ
Home of Bklyn's Finest Brooksi

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signature file edited 4/22/06; contact an admin.