Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone ever had a colubrid with a swollen/enlarged heart? I handle her somewhat frequently....she was an adoption, I've had her about 9 months now and initially a very aggressive animal. She's become so tame and docile she's one of my favorite animals but I felt some sort of lump several weeks ago about 8 inches down from her head. I wasn't sure initially if it was my imagination but it has become quite distinct. She's four foot plus....not sure how old.

She seems healthy otherwise...but I can't help fearing the worst...not feeding much in the winter but most of my snakes aren't. Any experience with similar? I can post a pic if helpful...it is a distinct general swelling slightly wider than the widest part of her body...and the reason I suspect it is her heart and not some general swelling is that you can see and feel it beating....

it could be the heart, or it could be a growth/tumor that has a large vein near it, id get an radiograph of her, i know some heart drugs have been used in herps before, would need to now what kind of problem it was to know what drugs would be needed, but i know they work great in cats and dogs. id look into it, some heart conditions can cause an animal to die a pretty slow bad death. keep us updated, always good to learn something new!!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

Heart disease is actually not uncommon in snakes. It presents as much the same as you described, however proper diagnostics need to be done to not only verify it is a heart condition, but of what type. The most common encountered is actually a bacterial endocarditis (infection of the sac containing the heart). This needs to be aggressively treated and attempts deciding upon a cause might prove beneficial. Verify your husbandry, if optimal you might not find a cause. Theory is that it starts as a septcemia and finds the heart a delicious place to grow. The most common reasons for septicemia is poor husbandry, perhaps this was still brewing from the previous owner. (?)

Good luck with this

Ian