Bump and not eating. Looking for advice.

[Davsug]

My daughter has a juvenile female ball python and something’s been wrong with her. She got her in the fall, and she was great from the start. Eating every week with no problems, always frozen small mice. Very friendly and active and curious.
In early December, a bump developed about half way down her spine. It just appeared one day. She also stopped eating around the same time. We took her to the vet and she was X-rayed which confirmed no mass or anything. But a few of her vertebrae appear to be bunched up around the bump. Shes also not able to move as well as she could before, and she can’t coil in a good ball like she used to.
The vet gave us anti inflammatory shots to give her every day for 2 weeks.
So the lump is still there and she’s still not eating, but I know that could also be due to the season and brumation. Just wondering if anyone else has had issues like this bump on their BPs.

[Armiyana]

If the vertebrae seem to be involved, I'd take a good look at her enclosure. It sounds more like a possible injury from something, especially since you said she's only eating frozen. Ball pythons tend to be heavy bodied so a fall could potentially cause injury. They're more ground oriented even though some do enjoy climbing and in the rainy season in the wild they do sometimes climb trees to avoid flooded burrows. If there's any tight spaces they could have possibly been caught inside, that could also be something that she may be injured herself trying to get back out of.

The only other thing I could think of is since you haven't had her long, it could have been something she was born with and it's just showing up more over time.

She most likely isn't eating because she's painful. Snakes are very stoic so sometimes they won't show any signs until it really hurts. But I also should ask, has she still been defecating and drinking?
Ball pythons aren't typically the type to brumate, especially when young. The males will sometimes go off food in the winter for breeding season but most females won't until they're of egg laying age. If she was seeming lethargic before the bump appeared, double check the temps in her enclosure as well.

Hopefully someone else can come in with some other possibilities. I'm happy that she was taken to a vet so quickly though!

[Bogertophis]

Like Armiyana said, this might be the result of an accidental injury, or something she was hatched with. I've hatched out plenty of snakes & I had one that had what seemed to be a minor bump in her neck. Had I not been so experienced, I might not have noticed it, & possibly this was a similar situation with your snake that just wasn't noticed until recently. After all, mine was a skinny little rat snake, & yours is a ball python- they hatch out much bigger so it's harder to notice these things.

In the case of my snake, she did well until she was about 2 years old, then that bump impacted her ability to move & eat- she had to be euthanized. She was a real sweet snake but there wasn't any way to fix it, & she couldn't go on that way. I know some who breed snakes might have euthanized her right off, thinking it would eventually be problematic, instead of waiting as I did, but the way I see it, at least she had 2 good years, during which time she didn't seem to be in pain or have difficulty moving. Her growth eventually changed that- you have to remember that the spinal cord is full of nerves that enable the body to move & function- when vertebrae are out of position or misshaped, they can press on those nerves.

Since your vet said it's not a mass, what did he or she propose doing about this if the injections didn't work? Snakes are very stoic- but you can't ignore the fact that besides not wanting to eat, she's not able to move or position herself as she used to do. I think your vet wanted to give her a chance in case an anti-inflammatory medication might do the trick- I'm sure it does in some cases, or at least buys time in others. But assuming she's being kept warm enough (young BPs don't typically fast in the winter) it does sound like she's in pain now, & you really need to be talking with your vet again now about this. How long has it been since the last injection was given? And sorry, I wish I could be more optimistic for you & your daughter.

[Davsug]

Thanks both of you. Heat and humidity are both very good in the tank. My daughter is very careful about that. The snake doesn’t typically go in the tree. She’s mainly been in the hides she has and she’s also taken to burrowing under the water bowl. She has been drinking and defacating, at least she was defacting but she hasn’t eaten for a month so that’s stopped. She’s still been social and curious and still appears to like being held. The vet gave 2 weeks worth of shots and she said after the shots are done we’ll reevaluate. She also sent the X-rays in to a specialist.

[Bogertophis]

I wish you the best with the snake & I hope you'll update us when you find out what the specialist thinks about this? We're experienced keepers that have "seen a lot" in our years of keeping many snakes, but we still can't replace your vet(s) for things like this.

Husbandry issues, sure... Burrowing under the water bowl usually means the snake is trying to be cooler. That may mean the "cool side" isn't cool enough, or in some cases, it's just a snake that's going into shed, which would also explain the refusal to eat. Snakes know long before we can see signs that a shed cycle is coming, & they try to lay low- & won't eat.

If you'd care to share the actual temperatures (highest & lowest) & more information about the snake's home- type of heat sources, how it's regulated, etc.- we might actually be able to spot things that might help. Pics would help too, incidentally. Just in case some things need to be tweaked. And FYI, going a month without eating is literally "nothing" for a snake- even a young one...especially if they're going into a shed.

That's not to say there's no problem with the vertebrae, or potential pain & loss of function- but let's leave that for the specialist's consultation.

[Davsug]

Here’s a pic with the bump shown. I’ll reply back with the temp details. And yeah, I know 1 month or even more without eating for a ball isn’t a concern, but the combination of that along with the bump and lack of full mobility is what has her worried. Hoping to have the response from the specialist this week and I’ll also update with that.

[Bogertophis]

Here’s a pic with the bump shown. I’ll reply back with the temp details. And yeah, I know 1 month or even more without eating for a ball isn’t a concern, but the combination of that along with the bump and lack of full mobility is what has her worried. Hoping to have the response from the specialist this week and I’ll also update with that.

Here's how to post pics here- (they didn't show up) https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures

And as to the temps.- we've learned to ask anyway, because some ppl say "they're fine" when sometimes they could be better. This can be due to using different sources of information, but often it's due to taking temperatures the wrong way (setting up probe incorrectly, etc) so we'd rather ask- just trying to help.

I quite agree that the mobility issue is paramount, & in cases like this, the size of the bump doesn't matter so much but rather, the effect it's having internally on the snake.