Swollen neck - what could it be?

[weirdbuglady]

My ball python is the light of my life (I have other snakes but she's my favorite, shhhh don't tell them!). She's almost 8 years old and a total sweetheart. Her name is Bijou.

I took her out to clean her cage (RBI 2x3 enclosure) a few days ago to clean, and she was fine.

Today, I took her out and her neck looks like this:


Other details: she does not shy away if the area is touched. It does not feel like a solid mass. The area is a little squishy, but not too squishy, not much different from her muscles. She is not wheezing or displaying any other symptoms of stress or illness. Her belly is getting a little pink so a shed is impending.

I am currently looking for a good reptile vet in my area (moved here recently, worst comes to worst I know there is a good vet in my hometown a few hours away) to get her checked out. But I was wondering if anyone here has ideas as to what is going on? I'm worried about my baby girl

[jsmorphs2]

That's interesting, could she have gotten bit by a prey item, maybe under her neck? I would take her in to a vet if it get's worse. It might just clear up in a day or two though.

[weirdbuglady]

That's interesting, could she have gotten bit by a prey item, maybe under her neck?

Nope, she only eats f/t.

[jsmorphs2]

Hmmm...hopefully someone can chime in if they've dealt with something like this before. Personally if she were my snake I'd see how she looks tomorrow and bring her in if it gets worse.

[weirdbuglady]

Hmmm...hopefully someone can chime in if they've dealt with something like this before. Personally if she were my snake I'd see how she looks tomorrow and bring her in if it gets worse.

Yeah, that's my thought so far. I have a few term papers due friday so I can't really do too much running around, but I will if I have to. So far the nearest vet I've gotten a recommendation for is an hour away. If it's still there after a day or two, vet visit for sure.

[carlisleishere]

Has she eaten recently?

I ask because I have heard of this before, and it was when the prey item was stuck in that area. The snake was given antibiotics because it was thought to be an infection and the swelling went down with antibiotics, but after antibiotics were stopped the swelling resumed. The snake eventually regurged after months and that was how it was found. The snake fully recovered from what I remember. I am not 100% sure about your case because the lump does appear to be small for a prey item for that size of ball.

[Maixx]

Possible substrate stuck in his throat?

[weirdbuglady]

Update - the swelling has gone down almost completely.

She hasn't been fed for almost two weeks (due to be fed this weekend), and she gets medium sized rats, so I don't think it's from feeding.

The substrate in her cage is newspaper, there are a few fake plants... wonder if she would be silly enough to try eating a plastic leaf?

So I guess for now I'll keep a close eye on her to see if any swelling returns or if she shows any signs of discomfort or injury. I'll be especially interested in how she deals with eating her rat tomorrow.

[Annarose15]

Update - the swelling has gone down almost completely.

She hasn't been fed for almost two weeks (due to be fed this weekend), and she gets medium sized rats, so I don't think it's from feeding.

The substrate in her cage is newspaper, there are a few fake plants... wonder if she would be silly enough to try eating a plastic leaf?

So I guess for now I'll keep a close eye on her to see if any swelling returns or if she shows any signs of discomfort or injury. I'll be especially interested in how she deals with eating her rat tomorrow.

If you are going to feed her, stick to a smaller rat. You don't want to aggravate what could be an abcess or injury. Do you normally only feed every two weeks? They should be fed appropriately sized meals weekly, when they'll take them. And there's no way a BP would just eat a plastic leaf unless it was stuck to their real prey.

[twistedtails]

Is she over weight? It could be a swollen thyroid.