Please Help, BP with a large bump.

[lazershea]

I had a 6 month old Ball Python that just passed away yesterday and I am very upset and need some piece of mind. I fed him last Thursday and he took the f/t mouse just fine. I then left him for two days to digest. On the Sunday after I fed him I was holding him and noticed that there was a large, hard bump on the 1/4 part of his body near his head. I immediately looked up online what this could be and only found that it could be feces building up and was not a big deal, but to just wait for it to pass. For the next two days he hardly left from under his log which was unusual for him because he would normally be quite active by this time. On Tuesday night i noticed the bump was still there in the exact same spot and I began to worry more. Wednesday he died. On his underbelly where the bump was seemed to be slightly darker than the rest.

I didn't know the problem was as serious as it was or I would have taken him to a vet immediately. I am very upset and just want to find out why this happened.

The only thing that I did differently is the f/t mouse I fed him had been thawed and refrozen but only once and it wasn't at room temp for any longer than an hour.

Please help!

[Mike41793]

Maybe it wasnt all the way thawed the 2nd time...

[DooLittle]

What were his temps? Did he have the heat he needed to digest it properly?

[rebelrachel13]

I'm sorry to hear about your snake. It's awful when a pet unexpectedly dies (or expectedly for that matter). I don't think it was your fault, so don't beat yourself up over it.

As for the cause, I'm not quite sure. Will you be able to get a necropsy?

[Slim]

Do you have any pictures? Did you freeze the snake for a necropsy? The cause of death will be very hard to pinpoint with out an examination.

[Annarose15]

Do you have any pictures? Did you freeze the snake for a necropsy? The cause of death will be very hard to pinpoint with out an examination.

You shouldn't freeze for necropsy - it destroys cells. Refrigeration is actually the best storage if you have to for a few days.

[lazershea]

The mouse was fully thawed when i fed it to him. Temperature was around 90 and when I remember when I picked him up he felt quite warm. I would very much like to get a necropsy done. Does anyone know where I can take him to? Do you think a normal vet would do it or would i have to take him to an exotic pet vet? Does he need to be frozen for a necropsy?

I dont have a picture of him live with the bump and I dont feel comfortable posting a picture of him deceased = (

[lazershea]

Just read that last post I will keep him refrigerated. Thanks for all the input I'm going to try to get him a necropsy and post results.

[Slim]

You shouldn't freeze for necropsy - it destroys cells. Refrigeration is actually the best storage if you have to for a few days.

Thank you for correcting my mistake.

[Annarose15]

Thank you for correcting my mistake.

You don't make them , often, so I have to get it in when I can. Unfortunately, I got to get a necropsy a few months ago, so now have the first-hand experience.

To the OP - Depending where you are, a vet school with an exotics department is an alternative if you don't have a reptile vet. I use the UGA Vet School for my BPs' needs, because I gave up on finding anyone within a shorter distance that wasn't just feeding me ignorant generalizations for double the price.