Reptile & Amphibian Forums

As a few of you know my '03 female bullsnake (Ka) had a large lump we were dealing with a couple weeks ago. Well, after a course of antibiotics did nothing we decided to fork out for surgery. It turned out to be a large tumor (about the size of a small rat) which was resting up against her heart and esophagus. Apparently they got most (but not all) of it and we are now just hoping that the diminished blood supply will kill the rest. We can't really afford the pathology report so we are just having to hope that it wasn't malignant.
My questions are:
1) Does anyone have any "naturopathic" remedies/preventatives for tumors?
2) What (in your opinions) is the liklihood of it having been benign and causing no further problems?
3) If worse comes to worse what would everyone recommend for humane home euthanasia?
Any thoughts welcome.

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Amor et Lux,
Ron

"The gods tolerate the human race for no other reason than our talent for [bleep]. It's the only thing about us that doesn't bore them to tears" Tom Robbins "Villa Incognito"

Unfortunately, I can't offer much advise regarding tumors because I don't know that I've ever run into one in Pituophis. Hopefully your case will turn out alright. When we've had things die here and there, it has been mostly a sudden thing, not a long drawn out affair where we'd considered euthanasia, so I'm not sure what to suggest there either. I know some people just use the freezer; I suspect that they become pretty unconscious once their metabolism drops so low, so it might not be a bad way to go, but I'm not sure.

How else do they survive the cold winters up north? Just thinking out loud, not meaning to be critical. I am a relatively new pit owner and I don't know everything, so maybe I'm missing something here.

Actually the snakes get below the frost line when they hibernate. That keeps them from freezing and dying. Once a snake gets below the frost line, the temps are usually pretty constant. For example, a cave in summer time is nice and cool, and warm in the winter. This is why when snakes are put into brumation, they are usually kept at a constant cooler temp of around 50-55 degrees. They can withstand cooler temps for short periods of time, but not freezing. If a snake gets frozen solid, it will kill it. They can also get frost bite and gangrene can set in if the temps drop too low!
Brian

>>How else do they survive the cold winters up north? Just thinking out loud, not meaning to be critical. I am a relatively new pit owner and I don't know everything, so maybe I'm missing something here.
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RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Yellow rat snake "Wolverine" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

I'll be quiet now....told you I was a "newbie!"

are usually benign, but being so close to the heart it may not matter. For example, most brain tumors are benign, but because of their location the person/animal dies anyway. So while the cells may not spread the tumor its self can continue to grow and may again put presure on the heart or other organs.

Alton