BP needs medical attention!

[adamfritzsche]

I would like to start by saying that I am going to make an vet appointment asap for this girl, but in the meantime, just wondering if anyone else has seen/heard anything like this.

I got this yearling spider female about 700g. Got her in a trade a little over 2 months ago. She seemed healthy and all at the time. Kept her for about 6 weeks, to ensure all was good, then I started putting her on my table at the shows. About 2 weeks or so ago, we noticed that she looked like she had a kink in her about midway down the body. I took her off the table and back in my racks. Now I just checked on her today and noticed this "kink" has gotten larger. It is a large ring all the way around her body. The only way I can think to describe it is like a rib that is 50% larger than all her other ribs.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? She seems otherwise okay. She is acting like herself, she is eating, it does not seem to hurt her when I touch it or anything.

[shadowsnakes]

Oh my... it is just one rib or does it feel more like a mass? Unfortunately it sounds very much like a tumor. Hopefully the vet can address whatever it may be and save her.

[adamfritzsche]

I would say it is a perfect ring all the way around the body that is about 1/4" in diameter. I am not sure how thick bp ribs are, but I would assume that it would have to be a few ribs length.

Bummer. Hope its not a tumor, but I suppose whatever it is, I am sure I will find out that it is not good.

[shadowsnakes]

It could also be dislocated/broken ribs which tend to heal in a lump over time. While ugly they aren't generally life threatening unless they are transient and they can be easily addressed by a vet. Please keep us updated on your girl!

[adamfritzsche]

Best pic I could get...she went frantic spider on me, but you can get the idea, that bulge you see on the sides goes all the way around

[Wizard]

It does look a bit odd to me but it seems that a simple xray will be diagnosic. However, if I was to take a guess it looks like a foreign body. Any chance that could have happened?

[bcr229]

Wow! And maybe it's a trick of the light combined with her blushing, but it looks like the bump may be on her spine as well? Is it also on her belly?

[adamfritzsche]

It does look a bit odd to me but it seems that a simple xray will be diagnosic. However, if I was to take a guess it looks like a foreign body. Any chance that could have happened?

What do you mean by foreign body? Like, did she eat something she should not have? If so, I would say no, I have her in a rack that only has sanichips and her waterbowl, no other furniture.

Wow! And maybe it's a trick of the light combined with her blushing, but it looks like the bump may be on her spine as well? Is it also on her belly?

No trick of the light. It does wrap around her. Think swallowing a mini hula hoop. Her belly seems to be the worse looking area.

It could also be dislocated/broken ribs which tend to heal in a lump over time. While ugly they aren't generally life threatening unless they are transient and they can be easily addressed by a vet. Please keep us updated on your girl!

I hope you are right. I did not see any way to be optimistic here, but you gave me at least a glimmer of hope. Guess we'll see what the vet says.

[bcr229]

Pg 4 of this thread has x-rays of broken ribs due to shipping if you need a comparison: http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=360527

When you traded for her, did you ship the snakes to each other or was it a hand-off? Just trying to figure out how her ribs could possibly have been broken if indeed that's the issue.

[adamfritzsche]

It was a face to face hand off. I always check them thoroughly in these situations. That is why at first I was completely baffled on how I missed this, but now it is apparent this is something that has happened since I have had her and I have no clue what has caused whatever is going on.