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Just got home from a 2 day stay out of town for my son's specialist doctor appointments. Before we left Mr. Copper was fine, and he ate last week. Get home today and thought he was dead.. His neck/jawline and front 1/3 or so of his body is swollen and "lumpy". He is also showing a preference of keeping his head craned backwards. He feels squishy, like water accumulation under the skin. Seems lethargic. Taking him to his vet first thing tomorrow A.M. but hoping someone has some words of experience/answers beforehand, and if not it's good documentation.

And from above..

What did he eat? I'm sorry I'm no help, please let us know the outcome.

He ate a small rat last Thursday.

So, I'm not really too sure about this whole thing. The veterinarian says it is actually air under his skin; subcutaneous emphysema due to some kind of trauma. He is housed with another SD gopher, a female, and the doc believes that she attacked him. Not too sure how much I believe this but they are separated for the time being. She has been showing more cage aggression, but towards our hands, not him. I've also never heard of subcutaneous emphysema in snakes.

He said that no treatment would be necessary, it should go away on its own. We'll see.

was the rat alive? Glad the vet didnt think it was too bad... sure looks bad though... best of luck to the poor guy.

Never saw that before. I'll bet it doesn't go away on it's own. Did he take any culture from her throat? Mike

Link

Actually, he is getting a little better. The biggest improvement I notice is in his neck.. It's almost normal sized now. The rest of his body is either the same or a little bit better, definitely not worse. He said it was something that would take weeks to resolve, so things are looking good I suppose. I will try to get a picture up later today.