Help: Black Rat Snake Rehab Saga Continues...

Continued from http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=64709.

After a bout with a mouse and bite (no puncture), Lefty now officially refuses live food. However, I got him to eat three f/t fuzzy mice last night.

He has some new swelling on his ventral scales near his heart. No discoloration, just puffiness. I can't tell if it is fluid or what, but it's soft. Ideas? Here it is; it's about a foot from his head and about 5" down from his wound.
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...042208bump.jpg

Also, within the past week or so, when I touch him (whether near his wound or not), he frequently has muscle spasms on his first 1/4 of his body - nervousness or another symptom??

Boy, am I getting in deep. Please help with any ideas. :please: Thanks!

After all the Ma-tsu dramas, my first thought was parasite... If the muscle spasms are a pain thing, then it's probably not what Ma-tsu had. She didn't even notice the thing. Although all my colubrids do a head jerky thing we call flirting over here when we pet them which involves leaning into the touch too. But sounds like that's not what he's doing?

Wish I could be more help! :(

Someone said it could be an enlarged heart. I feel his pulse near it, but not IN it. It went from zero to swollen over night.

Oh goodness...

My boyfriend is fond of the saying, "when it rains, it pours" and I guess that applies here. That snake is having so many problems, the poor thing. :(

I have no idea what that could be but I would say that swelling of any kind usually results to a trip to the vet around here...

I have been doing some research, but found nothing conclusive on the swelling. There have been cases in colubrids of heart swelling after feeding (but usually only if "powerfed") and of a hole in the heart causing swelling due to blood leakage (but I think the latter is in young snake and they grow out of it).

He is also in blue. I am hoping for the best for his healing to hold up and not expose his wound as much as before.

I am considering taking him to a vet and have already contacted the one that called in the medicine for him two weeks ago.

Anybody else have any ideas?