Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Today I found a small lump on my kingsnake's back. I know very little about snake illnesses, so I have no idea what it could be. If anyone could help me out, it would be greatly apreciated.

First, you need to ask yourself if this is the first day the lump appeared, or if it is just the first day that you noticed it. Don't feel embarrased if it is the latter.

Old lumps, monitor,and if growing, breaking open, changing colour, releasing a discharge, or otherwise causing pain, discomfort, or interfering with your snake's behavior, then seek a vet for a diagnoses and treatment.

New lumps, are obviously growing, or they wouldn't have popped up overnight. See the vet. THis could be a response to trauma, migrating parasites, a tumor,... the list is long.

Ian

I can't be sure when the lump first appeared. I just moved, so I haven't had him out much. Another lump appeared this morning though, so I took him to the vet.

The vet said it was a bacterial infection, and gave me some antibotics for him. Now, the trick is to inject crickets with antibiotics to feed to him. According to the vet, the lumps should disappear in a few days.

Thanks for your imput. It always makes me feel better to have someone agree that I should go to the vet, since it costs so much.

I'm happy you were quick to make it to the vet; another lump eh...

I'm sure everything will turn out okay, but I"m curious. What kind of snake is this? (the cricket diet peaked my interest )

Ian

I don't want to sound like I'm second-guessing your vet, but what kind of tests did the vet do to determine that it's a bacterial infection? What is the name of the antibiotic?

As far as I know, kingsnakes don't eat crickets. In captivity they mostly eat rodents like mice and rats... Has your snake been eating any of the medicated crickets yet?

I don't want to sound like I'm jumping to conclusions about your vet, but there are plenty of vets that will try to treat reptiles but know very little about them. Is your vet a member of ARAV (Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians)? If you're keeping reptiles, it's a good idea to check out local vets that are part of this association. You can check out their worldwide vet listing at http://www.arav.org

Good luck, and keep us posted,
Christina Miller
www.herptiles.net

I missed that it was a kingsnake...brilliant of me isn't it

n/t