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I have a couple of kingsnakes that have something going on here. First a little history.
Both are females, one is a black king, and the other is a speckled king.

The black king I got as a C/B hatchling in '03. She has not grown very much in two years, and refuses to eat anything larger than a small fuzzy. She eats fine, and is fed every 4 to 5 days. Her sheds are all normal, fecal matter is all normal, and no R/I. In all aspects she is a normal healthy snake.

The speckled king is from a good friend of mine, I just got her last month. Her age is unknown as she was W/C. She refuses to eat anything except small to med hoppers, and then only one per feeding, which is every 8 to 10 days. She is also on the small size and was a finicky eater while in my friends care. She sheds fine, fecal matter is normal, and no R/I. Again a healthy snake in all aspects.

Now here is the problem. They both have a swelling in the lower neck area. I first noticed this in the black king around 4 months ago. It has been getting bigger.

The speckled king had a slight swelling when I got her, and it is also increased in size. These two snakes have never been together, I wash my hands between handling any of my snakes, and I never share food items. The swelling is not in the stomach area, but more in the neck region. I have palpated this on both snakes and it is not hard. Semi-soft swelling, and the snakes are not lethargic or act sick in any way.

I have read of a few cases of this, but no explanation has been givin. One snake developed these lumps throughout its body and had to be euthanized. Another has this lump and is still living, although it is a smaller than normal snake.

My question is, has anyone ever encountered this and if so do you know what it is??

Im thinking could possibly be some sort of tumor. I know snakes get cancer, and benign tumors as well. Any insight would be appreciated.

Here are some pics....

The black king...the swelling is not real bad, but noticeable in the lower neck region....

And the speckled. Hers is worse and in the same spot!!

Thanks
Brian
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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 Great plains rat snake "Reign Fire" (TX locale)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

I'm not a long-time snake keeper, but I do have a suggestion/question.

What has been done at the vet's so far? Have you had a biopsy done? Fecal? Lung/tracheal wash? There are quite a few things that come to mind of what could be causing lumps like this, but the list is so big and the symptom is quite common, that tests need to be done at a clinic.

Christina Miller
www.herptiles.net

I'm not so sure how common this is, especially for someone to have a similar swelling in two snakes. A communal disease is unlikely, but still possible.

It does indeed look like a tumor/swelling or foreign body of some sort. In the best interests of both snakes, I would send both for work up at your clinic. Since they are both still in good shape there is no rush, but you don't want to hesitate too much as treatment will be easier before the snake's health begins to decline.

Diagnostics tests I would recommend would be an X-ray and/or ultrasound to define what's going on. It can then be decided upon if this is a definate object or a diffuse swelling. Biopsies might be the next step, moreso if it's an actual mass. A tracheal wash would be more productive if it looks to include the respiratory system, but at this moment I don't think there's any indication for it. A quick look with an endoscope might be interesting.

In any case, you have two snakes that will decline as the swelling gets worse. Obviously there are some vital organs in that area that will be comprimised under pressure.

Of course I should add that these are recommendations from someone who's only indirectly examined your snake via your pictures and history, and your vet will have a better idea once examining your snake.

Ian

Thanks guys! I have done some more research and have found what it may be. An enlarged heart. I have found numerous pictures and articles on snakes with enlarged hearts. A congenital disease with no cure, and prognosis is not good. Every snake with this ailment did not make it. In the speckled king, I gently palpated this area and I can indeed feel her heartbeat here, very weird, as I held 4 other of my snakes and felt for a heartbeat. I could not feel it in any other of my snakes. I couldnt feel it in the black king, but she is so small it would be pretty hard to detect. So now I am at a crossroads. Do I continue to feed them smaller meals and let them live as long as they can, or do I just go ahead and put them down?? I guess before I put them down, I could take them to the vet just to be sure. But this swelling is identical to every other picture of a snake with an enlarged heart.

Pretty coincidental that I ended up with 2 snakes having an enlarged heart. But that would explain why neither one will eat a normal size meal and they are smaller than they should be. The black king always looked a little abnormal, her head was just not right, kind of bug eyed as a hatchling, so she may have a little genetic problem to start with. Ahh well, cant win them all!
Thanks again guys for your help!
Brian

>>I'm not so sure how common this is, especially for someone to have a similar swelling in two snakes. A communal disease is unlikely, but still possible.
>>
>>It does indeed look like a tumor/swelling or foreign body of some sort. In the best interests of both snakes, I would send both for work up at your clinic. Since they are both still in good shape there is no rush, but you don't want to hesitate too much as treatment will be easier before the snake's health begins to decline.
>>
>>Diagnostics tests I would recommend would be an X-ray and/or ultrasound to define what's going on. It can then be decided upon if this is a definate object or a diffuse swelling. Biopsies might be the next step, moreso if it's an actual mass. A tracheal wash would be more productive if it looks to include the respiratory system, but at this moment I don't think there's any indication for it. A quick look with an endoscope might be interesting.
>>
>>In any case, you have two snakes that will decline as the swelling gets worse. Obviously there are some vital organs in that area that will be comprimised under pressure.
>>
>>Of course I should add that these are recommendations from someone who's only indirectly examined your snake via your pictures and history, and your vet will have a better idea once examining your snake.
>>
>> Ian

-----

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 Great plains rat snake "Reign Fire" (TX locale)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

Even if it turns out to be the congenital condition, a vet visit should still be on your list. Like Ian suggested, an x-ray would be a good idea, and if the case IS that the lump is an enlarged heart, then the x-ray should confirm that.

(What I listed was just what came to mind, I didn't intend for them to be exclusive suggestions- the vet will know what to do upon examening the snakes!)

Christina

I searched heart disease on the Vet. Info. Network and instead of cardiomyopathy (true heart disease), pericarditis or endocarditis is more common. That is to say that heart infection is more common than heart disfiguration for other reasons.

I think that the workup is still benificial for your snakes, as infections have a much better long term prognosis if treatment is succussfull. Cardiomyopathy can often be controlled, but it cannot be reversed, and eventually progression takes its toll.

Discuss all this with your reptile veterinarian, but in my opinion, I'd begin with X-rays and possibly a needle aspirate to verify that this is a heart condition. An ECG would then be benificial to evaluate heart function. Bloodwork and a blood culture can be used to measure systemic effects of this condition, including the pressence of an infection and evaluation of septicemia. The culture would not only find a probable etiology, it would find antibiotics that would work the best against it.

Furosemide, digoxin, and antibiotics are all drugs that may come into play here, depending on the problem.

I've posted a question on VIN asking if there is any communicable disease or toxicity that may cause heart disease in snakes, as it is odd that you may have two on your hands at the same time.

Ian