Skin Lumps

I've noticed that one of my female breeders has developed skin lumps. I've tried to examine them but she's quite skittish. It almost looks like they're open sores... Quite disgusting. Does anyone have any info or words or wisdom??

They are prone to tumors & eye probs, time to feed her off.

Is it actually safe for the snake to consume a rat with these types of problems?

i not had any problem feeding the older ones off that have the growths.

Mike C, can probably clarify things better, My original breeders started developing eye probs, and one started with the tumors, It was suggested that I feed them off, their probs could have started because of poor diet etc. prior to me getting them. I haven't noticed any of those problems with my new breeders.

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Originally Posted by Mitch21

I've noticed that one of my female breeders has developed skin lumps. I've tried to examine them but she's quite skittish. It almost looks like they're open sores... Quite disgusting. Does anyone have any info or words or wisdom??

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Do they look like big tumors, or are they open wounds (scratches / cuts)?

The open cuts are pretty normal on the females backs. The males can get pretty rough when mating. I would say this is normal, and the rougher males usually are also my best breeders.

The tumor looking things I don't have a lot of experience with. My first store bought ASF's developed them so I fed them off and held back the babies. I have never seen another instance of this happening again. Common sense tells me that it must have been something the breeder was doing wrong... either feed or substrate probably.

Are these the original breeders you purchased?

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Originally Posted by Mitch21

Is it actually safe for the snake to consume a rat with these types of problems?

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Yes.

I've seen the cuts/bites before from fighting/mating. But this is something different.

They are pea sized lumps some having open sores at the peak... I'm actually somewhat nauseous from examining the female with the lumps. It's very disturbing looking for my weak stomach. It has only appeared in my original breeder colony which is just over 9 months. The younger of the two females has the most severe case (There are 2 or 3 pea sized lumps and quite a few smaller boils/lumps). The older female has none. And I just noticed the male is starting to form some.

This particular breeder group feeds only on Mazuri 6f and has the compressed pine pellets as substrate. And I change the substrate every 7 to 10 days.

So to make this completely clear, it is 100% alright to feed off the female with the tumor/boils?

It sounds to me like what you're describing might be boils or abscesses caused by bacterial infection. If this is the case, I would not feed them off or have them anywhere near any other animals - wouldn't want to risk any cross-contamination. By the way, if this is from staph infection, make sure YOU don't get infected!

Oh jeez! Now you've got me quite worried!

I'm thinking just to be safe, I should just euthanize her. Without CO2 and my disposal, what's the next best way to put her down asap?

Sorry - didn't mean to worry you! I said MIGHT be - staph is common and can cause boils (which look like lumps). The boils are painful - if your animals act like their lumps hurt, I would check with the vet for antibiotics to get the infection resolved. If not painful, then they are probably tumors. But, again, check with the vet.

I've noticed that the one female has had the one large lump for a while. I noticed others on this forum had similar issues and guessed that it was likely the tumor issue. It seems that just recently the tumors have gotten more severe. I watch her with a close eye now, and she doesn't seem to be in any pain. She doesn't clean/bite/etc the sores excessively.

Ideally, I'd like to feed her off, but if there's even a chance that it could mess with my snake's health (if ingested), I need to simply euthanize her.

They are not infections, although they can get infected from scratching, but the scabbing seems to be normal. They are carcinomas very likely caused by a papimillio virus. I feed them off, predators are meant to eat sick and weak prey. One rat isn't going to hurt them.

Some rats can get the tumors young, but generally they develope after 9 months of age, sometimes delayed for more than 14 months of age. Sometimes they develop almost overnight. It really varies and that's all the answers I have. However, I do have a lot of scientific articles on the tumors and warty growths on my page if anyone is interested in reading about them.

I agree. feed them off. Wouldn't worry about the snake getting anything.


Don't ever underestimate the amazing things a snakes digestive system can do!

LOL, if you had a snakes digestive system, you would be able to eat a full grown overweight cat..... whole. :8:

:)

My last adult male asf also formed a large bump with a crust and fur loss on his back. After researching, I agree that the mass is a carcinoma possibly from pappiloma virus. It is not transferable to humans... or your bp.

I did however come across breif mentioning of something called rat pox??? Anyone familiar with this?