Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have looked all over the internet to find out what this lump might be (and whether I should take Slinky to the vet). It's brown, about the size of a large deer tick, and it's under a scale. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Is this brown "lump" exactly in the center of your pic? It kind of looks like a tick to me. Use a magnifying glass, and you should be able to tell for sure. You can either pull it off with tweezers, but if it is really imbedded, try this: Paint the whole "lump" with some clear nail polish. This will suffocate the tick, and it will drop off on its own. You ought to look that snake over carefully. If there is one tick that you see, there is probably some more. I hope you quaranteened that animal before bringing it near any other snakes that you may have in your collection.

Thanks for the advice. I couldn't find any pics of snake ticks, so I'm not really sure what to look for. It hasn't gotten any bigger since I got him. This is the only lump I've found, I've checked him over pretty well. I'll try the nail polish thing (if I can get him to hold still- ha ha). But will the nail polish hurt him if it is actually a small tumor or something?

He is the only snake we have.
Thanks again,

Amy

I would take it to the vet before trying anything