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I have a large 02 male arizona mountain king that has what looks like a tumor on the top of its back about a third down from its head. I first noticed last winter when he was in brumation. Now I noticed what looks like another tumor on his side toward the tail. I keep him on pine bedding in a rack, he eats every time offered and otherwise looks and acts perfectly normal.
They are under the skin and are not blisters. I keep a number of other mountain kings in the same environment and have never seen one on another snake. Any ideas? Thanks

>>I have a large 02 male arizona mountain king that has what looks like a tumor on the top of its back about a third down from its head. I first noticed last winter when he was in brumation. Now I noticed what looks like another tumor on his side toward the tail. I keep him on pine bedding in a rack, he eats every time offered and otherwise looks and acts perfectly normal.
>> They are under the skin and are not blisters. I keep a number of other mountain kings in the same environment and have never seen one on another snake. Any ideas? Thanks

It sounds like they are just that, tumors. If it were really obese, and the shallow lumps were more on the sides of the animal, they would be "fatty" deposits more than likely. I've seen these in many snakes before.

Just keep a close eye on them, and if they seem like they keep growing, I would suggest you go see a vet and have them diagnosed as malignant or otherwise.

good luck!, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Thanks for the reply Doug. If they were fatty deposits, if I fed him less often would they go away? I feed him one hopper every seven days, he never turns down a meal even right through winter. Last year was the first year I brumated him since I wanted to breed him, otherwise he ate year round. He does seem a little soft though.

WEll, the fact that you said that it was on "TOP" of it's back leads me to believe it/they are NOT fatty deposits at all. Deposits are more like usually several or more(sometimes many) soft lumps that are easy to push down with your finger, just as one might expect because it is fat just below the skin.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying that it can't be one or more fatty tumors either, those are different than the deposits I previously described.

Can you post a good clear photo?.........but that still won't prove whether or not it's harmless or malignant.

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

No the fatty deposites would not just go away. They are tumors made of fat cells gone haywire, It doesn't have anything to do with how much fat the snake is eating.

The bottom line is that no one here can tell you what those are except for a vet with a biopsy needle. It wouldn't even be that expensive to get it checked out. I would recommend it.

most likely fat tumors. Cheers