Strange bump on my BP (tick?)

Icc has a strange bump on him - he took a rat pup last week so I didn't take him to the vet but tonight I noticed this -
https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop..._wierdbump.jpg

plus his vent didn't looked clogged or anything but it looked like he was about to deuce so if he doesn't there may be a problem on that front (or rear?) as well. I've been checking his vent every two days or so because I'm a paranoid snake loving owner :) and it has looked fine even tonight when I first took him out - so I really think his vent was like that because he was going to deficate but what the world do you think that thing is - there is only one on his whole body.

looks like a tick to me.....or at least some kind of scab or....something......but as far as getting it off,im clueless, sorry

That looks like a tick to me. (Ponders how to give the proper advice to getting a tick off). I don't think I can give you the "proper" way to take a tick off as I have never done it. I've taken ticks off many times...(yeech..ticks creep me out), but I've never done the match, vaseoline or alcohol method". I'm not even sure I can describe it properly to you. I've never removed a tick from anything that had scales so I don't know how much harder than is going to be to take off.

Just be careful to make sure you get the head all the way out. I think most people state that you should use tweezers to get a tick off as well as alochol or vaseline. I don't recall exactly how it works, other than the vaseoline or the alochol is supposed to suffocate the tick and make it easier to get off.

As for getting rid of the tick once you get it off, I'd flush it down the toliet myself...just be sure it's in the water and acutally goes down though :P

It does look like a tick to me as well, and not fully engorged yet. If you can cover it in petroleum jelly for a while, it may start to suffocate and release its hold to escape, but as you know, it's essential to get the head and not just the body. Alcohol can work, too, but may dry out the skin in the area and make it harder to get a full shed if he's close to shedding.

From the pic it looks like a tic to me as well. Marla and Schlyne hit it on the head ( so to speak ) on how to get rid of the little bugger. If you are using a natural substrate ( mulch, Reptibark, or the like ) it might not be a bad idea to replace your substrate and give the cage a good scrub down. Good luck man! Let us know how it goes.

yeah last night I completely stripped the cage disinfected everything, got rid of all the substrate and soaked stuff in a bathtub full of virosan and water for about a half hour. Then disinfected it all again and dried it before putting it back in the cage (with new substrate). I'm going out to buy some vasaline or something this evening to see if I can't suffocate that bugger.

The tick was successfully extracted this evening with the use of neosporin to suffocate that little jerk. :)

Sweet! Glad you got it off. Now you just have to keep an eye out for any more nasties for a bit.

Glad to hear you got the tick off without a problem. Like Marla said, you need to keep an eye out for a while to see if anymore show up.

Good to hear Jonah! Like Ironhead and Marla said, they have a nasty reputation for coming back out of no where.

Wow this is an old thread I know but just wanted to update - no more ticks but I have noticed with this Bed a beast (or it might have been the other brand) shredded coconut bedding stuff there are little bugs that sometimes come with the packages so I'm actually changed over to Zoo Med Repti Bark (they clean it and everything.. promise no bugs.. none yet) until I can find something I like even better. Don't fear - there will be no substrate ingestion induced impaction here :).

wow... that was remarkably alliterative (ingestion induced impaction)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JamminJonah

Don't fear - there will be no substrate ingestion induced impaction here

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I'm not afraid :D ... I've been feeding my entire colony on aspen for years and have never had a single animal impacted with anything.

Contrary to popular belief, ball pythons' stomach acids do a very good job at breaking down "stuff" that gets swallowed accidently .... it's an evolutionary design trait that allows a ball python to consume prey without worrying about the "texture" of it's surroundings.

ROCK ON with the Repti-Bark!!! :D

-adam

Yeah I always got confused about that. People often recommend to feed in another tank, or on newspaper, to avoid ingesting any substrate for fear of impaction. And what I couldn't understand is if the snakes digestive system can break down rodent bones, then why couldn't it handle some wimpy wood substrate? lol

I've also been feeding on aspen for a while, and have no problems yet.

I just started using double-milled cypress mulch and love it. No bugs, but I don't think they could survive the 300 degrees I bake the wood at. I also love it because it is only $2 for a huge bag at Home Depot :-D

Wow, I am going to hafta start buying it at home de pot. I get the bags of it at the pet store, and I feel like a rump for paying the exhorbant prices they charge for it! But heck, it is garden season so I will just grab an extra bag when I buy it for my front yard garden.
Honestly, I feed all my snakes on the cypress mulch and have never had anyone swallow any, much less get impacted.