Baby BP with Lump on his ribs?

I recently got this hatchling ball from a local petco during their sale. They told us he had mites, and was in the back for about a month until he was better. The day we got him home I had noticed he has a lump on the side of his ribs. It's small, but noticeable. My original thought was a hernia, but with my understanding of hernias they can appear and disappear, usually when touched. His lump is rather firm and fixed to it's location. Would this be anything he would need to go to the vet for? I would hate to find out he's sick after we did just get him, any advise would be helpful!

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Lumps can be harmless or they can be severe. If it is something you are concerned about then I would get it checked. I have never seen a lump on a BP so I know I would get it checked.

i have no idea but i don't like the look of it. :(

also when did Petco start selling BEL's?

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Originally Posted by Ax01

also when did Petco start selling BEL's?

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some Petcos carry morphs you wouldn't expect to see the one 25 minutes away from me carries BELs and pieds from time to time, and once had a Visual clown available for $900.

I'm not sure about the lump but it resembles (from the side) the lump i saw on a breeders BEL hatchlings. He had three out of five eggs come out as BEL's and 2 of them had a lump on their ribs. He had taken them to the vet who said not to worry but they don't know what it is. He was selling them for $300 as pet only, no breeding just in case. Mind you, he didn't have any proof he took them to the vet, and the lumps were hard and immobile, and clearly visible no matter what position the snakes were in. They eat though and have shed, as when I looked at them, they were a month and a half old and it was on feeding day that i went so he gave them a mouse each and they took instantly. But their lumps were bigger and spanned their entire girth, whereas it looks like yours is just a point on the side.

Needless to say, I walked away from the sale. $300 was something i didn't want to spend at the time to just take it to the vet to get it for sure known by me checked out, yknow?

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Originally Posted by BCS

Lumps can be harmless or they can be severe. If it is something you are concerned about then I would get it checked. I have never seen a lump on a BP so I know I would get it checked.

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I may end up getting him checked out just in case. Thanks for the help!

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Originally Posted by Ax01

i have no idea but i don't like the look of it. :(

also when did Petco start selling BEL's?

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my Petco always has high quality morphs, this Lucy was around 500 and we snagged him for 250 at their reptile rally sale. Thankfully mine cares for their animals correctly and are educated. But I'll probably get him in to the vet, if it's something bad we may look into returning him and Petco will continue with his vet care.

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Originally Posted by StupidZombie

some Petcos carry morphs you wouldn't expect to see the one 25 minutes away from me carries BELs and pieds from time to time, and once had a Visual clown available for $900.

I'm not sure about the lump but it resembles (from the side) the lump i saw on a breeders BEL hatchlings. He had three out of five eggs come out as BEL's and 2 of them had a lump on their ribs. He had taken them to the vet who said not to worry but they don't know what it is. He was selling them for $300 as pet only, no breeding just in case. Mind you, he didn't have any proof he took them to the vet, and the lumps were hard and immobile, and clearly visible no matter what position the snakes were in. They eat though and have shed, as when I looked at them, they were a month and a half old and it was on feeding day that i went so he gave them a mouse each and they took instantly. But their lumps were bigger and spanned their entire girth, whereas it looks like yours is just a point on the side.

Needless to say, I walked away from the sale. $300 was something i didn't want to spend at the time to just take it to the vet to get it for sure known by me checked out, yknow?

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My Petco is the same, they always have good morphs. We got the Lucy for 250 at the reptile rally sale. That sounds a lot like my boys. It's firm and immobile which is concerning. Thinks like hernias are able to be pushed in, so I'm not too sure what it could be then. He eats just fine too and it hasn't gotten any bigger.
We may end up taking him into the vet, but it sounds hereditary with what you said. I had plans to breed him when he's older but now I'm worried about producing offspring with that lump.

Why don't you check with Petco and advise them of the concerns you have? Are you still under the 30 day warranty/ health guarantee? I would do that b4 taking him to the vet. They admitted to him being held in the back due to a mite condition. Mites transmit diseases to their host and you are already ahead of the situation bc of his history. The onus is on Petco at this point. That swelling could be a mite that has become engorged with blood underneath his scales or maybe a parasite that is encysted under the skin secondary to a mite. Maybe it's nothing but have Petco informed and use their vet services. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Why don't you check with Petco and advise them of the concerns you have? Are you still under the 30 day warranty/ health guarantee? I would do that b4 taking him to the vet. They admitted to him being held in the back due to a mite condition. Mites transmit diseases to their host and you are already ahead of the situation bc of his history. The onus is on Petco at this point. That swelling could be a mite that has become engorged with blood underneath his scales or maybe a parasite that is encysted under the skin secondary to a mite. Maybe it's nothing but have Petco informed and use their vet services. Good luck.

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I never had thought of that, that must be a pretty big mite if that's the case. I know Petco will pay for vet care if we have concerns so that's a better idea than returning him all together. I don't know how severe his case was with mites was, but he was in the back over a month. I'm thankful they were honest with us about his history. Being so young would he be more susceptible to disease?
hes still under the warranty so we shouldn't have an issue with getting vet care.

Update: we did call Petco and they told us to bring him in and they'll take him to a local exotic vet.

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Originally Posted by Lazulimoon

I don't know how severe his case was with mites was, but he was in the back over a month.

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A full-blown mite infestation can take eight straight weeks of treatment to eradicate from a collection since an egg can take 30 days to hatch.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

A full-blown mite infestation can take eight straight weeks of treatment to eradicate from a collection since an egg can take 30 days to hatch.

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thanks for the info, from my understanding he was the only one that was infested. I still put him in isolation away from the other snakes until I am 100% sure he is completely free of mites.

I would ask which reptile vet they use also. I picked up my high white pied girl from PetSmart by me for $200 on a black Friday deal and when I asked what vet they had check her out, they told me the same one I knew about as being the only board certified reptile vet in Washington state and I know hes good. They even said I could call him myself to verify that the snake had been checked by him. Bottom line is I would make sure that if they said "we will have a local vet check him", that you make sure it is a reptile vet and not just one of their vets in the back room or something like that.

Anyways though, I would have that checked out if not only for the snakes health, also for the safety of your collection if you have one. And also I hope you are quarantining him if you have a collection. Best of luck.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

I would ask which reptile vet they use also. I picked up my high white pied girl from PetSmart by me for $200 on a black Friday deal and when I asked what vet they had check her out, they told me the same one I knew about as being the only board certified reptile vet in Washington state and I know hes good. They even said I could call him myself to verify that the snake had been checked by him. Bottom line is I would make sure that if they said "we will have a local vet check him", that you make sure it is a reptile vet and not just one of their vets in the back room or something like that.

Anyways though, I would have that checked out if not only for the snakes health, also for the safety of your collection if you have one. And also I hope you are quarantining him if you have a collection. Best of luck.

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You're in the same situation as me then, there's only one exotic vet in my entire area, and it's about 45 minutes from the Petco I got him at. We take our other animals there so I'm sure he'll be okay (: I'm hoping to get him back to Petco by Saturday so they can proceed with the vet care. I'm not sure how Petsmart does this, but how long did it take for them to get him into the vet? I'm surprised you were even able to find a Pied in Petsmart haha, I always heard they had very small reptile sections. But yes he's in quarantine, I was worried he may have mites hidden somewhere.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

I would ask which reptile vet they use also. I picked up my high white pied girl from PetSmart by me for $200 on a black Friday deal and when I asked what vet they had check her out, they told me the same one I knew about as being the only board certified reptile vet in Washington state and I know hes good. They even said I could call him myself to verify that the snake had been checked by him. Bottom line is I would make sure that if they said "we will have a local vet check him", that you make sure it is a reptile vet and not just one of their vets in the back room or something like that.

Anyways though, I would have that checked out if not only for the snakes health, also for the safety of your collection if you have one. And also I hope you are quarantining him if you have a collection. Best of luck.

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i live in Seattle too! which vet are u referring to? i haven't had the need for one, but would like to know a good one if one of my snakes need care. thanks in advance.

In case you didn't get your inbox message, I was referring to Dr Adolf Maas. Also another good vet that I've used for my beardie is Dr Tracy Bennett at the Bird and Exotic Clinic of Seattle. Dr Bennett isn't cheap but she is pretty thorough of course I also told her I wanted full blood work done up for my beardie as well since it was her first check up.

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Originally Posted by Lazulimoon

You're in the same situation as me then, there's only one exotic vet in my entire area, and it's about 45 minutes from the Petco I got him at. We take our other animals there so I'm sure he'll be okay (: I'm hoping to get him back to Petco by Saturday so they can proceed with the vet care. I'm not sure how Petsmart does this, but how long did it take for them to get him into the vet? I'm surprised you were even able to find a Pied in Petsmart haha, I always heard they had very small reptile sections. But yes he's in quarantine, I was worried he may have mites hidden somewhere.

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Oh with my pied girl, Petsmart had her checked by Dr Maas because she was labeled a problem feeder and a biter so they wanted to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with her. He does housecalls for zoos, petshops, homes and apparently from the manager told me, he is the doc they use for all their reptiles. Anyways, once I got her home, she never tried to bite me ever and she ate 2 days after home and then every 3 days until 500g. Then once a week until 1000g. And now every 2 weeks. She went from a 90g worm to now a well over 1000g cage destroying terror lol.

And yes they got a small reptile selection, at the Woodinville one, which is the one I got her from but they seem to take pretty decent care of their animals. They always have pieds in there now and I guess they sell like hotcakes haha. They did raise the price I guess on them now. I haven't been in there in a while as I usually just go in to buy ceramic heaters and I got a few stocked up now for my guys as its winter in case of emergencies. I avoid my areas Petcos as they all seem to have really rough looking animals.