Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just purchased an adult male mexican black king at a discount price due to a strange swollen area of tissue around the middle of his body. It seems like he may have been smashed or crushed in that area and the vertebrae underneath are stiff and unmoving covering about a 1.5 inch length. I think it is an old wound and the swelling may just be scar tissue. He doesnt seem to be bothered by it and can move normally except for that area. He is in shed right now and has a healthy body weight, should I be concerned? Theres probably nothing I can do about it but I would hate to lose the snake, has anyone ever experieced anything like this? Thanks

He wasnt being cooperative but you can see the swollen area at the top left portion of his body

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Dustin Smith

Uhmmm... not sure how to respond to this!! You KNOWINGLY bought a snake at a discounted price because of this abnormality and now you are asking questions on the forum about the health of this snake? To be blunt, you should have asked the SELLER when paying the DISCOUNTED price about this abnormality. The snake was probably sold as appearing healty, but physically imperfect. Still, I would bet the discount price also covers any health issues that the seller cannot guaranteed will not occur due to this abnormality. If the snake dies premature, oh well. Thats why you paid the cheapo price!! Your concern of the overall health of the animal should have been addressed before purchase while looking at the deformed animal, not after.

If you are asking if you got ripped off even at the cheap price, then the answer is "only time will tell". If the animal thrives and provides the years of enjoyment you hope to expect, then you got a deal for sure. If you go to breed it and it fails due to the abnormality, then you still got a deal cause you paid reduced costs.

The SELLER said the animal was healthy and that he has had him for a year. He said the snake has had the imperfection as long as he has had it but it eats good and doesn't appear to have any problems with movement. I'm not asking if I got ripped off and I did buy the snake knowing it was imperfect, just thought I would get a second opinion from someone who might have experienced a snake with a similar problem. I knew what I was getting myself into. Don't be so condescending!
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Dustin Smith

Sorry, but I have seen too many folks buying "bargain" snakes that are sold cheaply for various reasons. This if very much the case with non feeding babies. Then the buyers freak because they cannot get the baby to eat either. When buying such bargain priced animals, its a gamble.

To anwser your question though, if it is an old injury, chances are its healed and probably will not affect the snake, particulary if it did not involve internal organs, just bones and muscular tissue. Similar to missing tail tips from deli cup accidents with babies. I captured a large greyrat that had a huge healed gash across its head. Although permanently scarred, it did not affect his ability to survive in the wild.

HOWEVER, it may be congenital and worsen with age, rupture without warning, etc. Like kinking or other physical abnormalities. I would suggest a vet visit and xray for sure. This will probably cost considerably more than the animal itself cost you, but is really the only way to tell what the abnormality is and if it will eventually affect the health of the animal.

Good luck!!

It would be difficult to tell exactly what happened to that snake. He appears to have other scars on him as well. Maybe fungal or maybe traumatic???

First of all, quarantine this animal from the rest of the collection to the best of your ability. If you want more advice on this I can email you some info. It is probably not contagious but you should do this with ALL new animals and especially questionable ones.

Take good care of him and see if he heals up. He may not change at all if it is scar tissue or congenital defect.

If he remains healthy and unchanged you can keep the snake in the regular collection but I would discourage breeding him. It would be very hard to tell if those deformities were defects or injuries. A good vet and an x ray might be able to tell you more.

You could also try to contact the seller to see if he has any more information about the animal.

Thank you, that was helpful
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Dustin Smith