Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I adopted an adult corn snake at a herp society meeting this weekend. When I get home I made up a home for it. When I got it out, I noticed it was quite skinny and had a big blister (nickel sized) on it's back.(I would assume that is what it is) We are not allowed to take a closer look or hold them before we adopt (there were many animals the herp society had been given) so I never noticed before adoption nor was told it had one. I have had a number of corn, king, and milk snakes for many years and have never seen a blister before. Can anyone tell me what causes this and will it go away on its own
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Kevin Collison
Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience-C.S. Lewis

"We are not allowed to take a closer look or hold them before we adopt "
Wow! I disagree with this wholeheartedly. Shame on that herp group.

Blisters can be caused by many things. Usually, if on the belly, they are the result of an overly damp substrate. On the back however, one might think that a rodent bite is the most likely cause.

Whichever the cause, the end result is an open window through the skin for bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens. My first recommendation is to take this snake to your herp vet. This will see your snake the best chance of survival-- systemic antibiotics and/or other medications and treatments may prove benificial after a proper examination.

Barring a vet visit, or perhaps just until you can get an appointment, you need to provide this snake with optimal husbandry. Use a paper towel substrate until the wound is healed to help keep things clean (as opposed to a particulate substrate). If you have access to hibitane cleanser, use this to clean the wound. Run the wound under luke warm water for 5-10 minutes twice daily. Some people use diluted betadine (tea coloured) for part of the flushing... that's okay too, with the goal of reducing the presence of bacteria. After drying, you can add polysporin if you'd like.

Snakes that appear thin are usually dehydrated more than anything. They probably won't want to eat, and if forced, this could cause more problems then good. If dehydration is to the extent of being visible, veterinary help is pretty much essential. If only slightly dehydrated, proper husbandry will fix it. If the snake really is only thin because it hasn't had food, it should eat if it is not too stressed out. If it doesn't eat, reconsider that it might be ill.

I hope this helps, good luck with your snake,

Ian

Thanks for the insight. I agree i couldn't understand why they wouldn't let anyone take a look and even said that picking them up would hurt your chances of being allowed to adopt. The only thing I could figure was that there was a lot of kids around and they didn't want them to get into them or it was a rule of the facility where they met.
I took some pics. It is on the top of the snake toward the back end. There is no bite mark or any other mark present. When I first got it home and noticed it, I thought it was a cyst or something. It's just a small bump. But when I touched it, it could be moved much like when we get a blister we can move the fluid around under the skin.

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Kevin Collison
Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience-C.S. Lewis

if this lump is movable like a blister id be worried about an abcess, like ian said, id get husbandry as good as it can be and get to a vet asap...
keep us posted!!
PS if you still have other snakes around id keep this one away from them for a good while just to be safe
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

lol, yes I forgot to mention quarantine. A good idea for any new animal to your collection but imperative to an animal of unknown origins and something questionable going on.

I cannot really appreciate the lump in the pictures because the snake is coiled but I think I have an idea. It doesn't look like the skin itself is compromised, but that there is a mass underneath. If that is indeed the case, then scrap the flushing with water, betadine and polysporin... it's not going to do anything but stress out the snake.

If you want to find out what's going on, then yes, a vet is still the direction to go. From the pictures, getting this guy comfortable and eating are the number one priority now. However consider my mention of dehydration earlier and a vet might be necessary for this too. Use your judgement, taking into consideration the snake's behavior to decide your priorities.

Take care and keep us updated

Ian