Weird Knot on Neck

just came home to this situation and idk what to do - she was fine just this Saturday when i last had her out and i come home from work this morning and now there is this weird lump on her neck? idk what could’ve caused this or what this could be - she’s never fallen, there’s nothing in her enclosure to which she could fall on or get tangled up in, she’s had ideal terrarium parameters her entire life, she’s been raised on an exclusive diet of pre-killed f/t rats, she exclusively drinks and soaks in premium artesian water like Evian, Fiji, VOSS, etc - i just don’t understand so if anyone could help me figure this out it would be amazing

the lump feels hard to the touch and doesn’t really move - she seems discomforted when it is touched

pix forthcoming

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...bcbd6a246.jpeg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ab5c82c26.jpeg

First thought was an abscess, but that's awfully sudden (?) and also an odd shape. See vet A.S.A.P.- get an x-ray etc. (and let us know what the vet says?)

clarification: the lump can move side to side and so on - when i said it wouldn’t move i mean, it doesn’t feel like it is something caught in her throat that could be dislodged or something - if she was one of my human patients i would say that it feels like a cyst or something?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by YungRasputin

clarification: the lump can move side to side and so on - when i said it wouldn’t move i mean, it doesn’t feel like it is something caught in her throat that could be dislodged or something - if she was one of my human patients i would say that it feels like a cyst or something?

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A fluid cyst can appear overnight. I know because I have one. Scared the hell out of me, but it turned out perfectly benign. Hopefully, your snake's will too.

update: as of now the “knot” is completely gone i am happy to report but i am still v much in the dark - i scheduled an appointment with the vet however the night prior to the journey i presented her with a medium-to-small mouse because she had skipped the last meal time and i thought if this was something big she would need her strength - she didn’t seek out the prey however it did disappear the next morning after setting it in front of her den - she then went into shed and i have not been able to see or feel any knot now - it’s just completely gone

idk what this was but i am glad my baby is on the mend - has anyone else experienced this sort of thing and maybe has explanation?

I'm happy to say this particular quirky issue has escaped all the snakes I've kept so far. The best idea is still to ask your vet about it, especially since you have pics to show too, but if it's a fluid cyst as Homebody suggested, it could empty out pretty fast & that's apparently what happened. Yay! :)

just wanted to give a visual update ☺️

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...6f48e0cf4.jpeg