Rosy Boas with swollen jugular!

[RosyBoaRebecca]

Please help! Right now my first four month old Rosy is in brumation and not eating which is expected but i just noticed this evening that his jugular is swollen. No odd behavior is present and he is drinking normally. Any ideas would be appreciated!

[Tsubaki]

How do you know the jugular is swollen? Do you have any pictures?

[RosyBoaRebecca]

I don’t know for sure if it is the jugular. I just know it is that area. Being this is my third post I cannot post pictures yet but from ventral and dorsal you can tell that, that specific area is swollen. I have looked inside his mouth and there are no abnormalities. The temp and humidity has been perfect for him. All I can think of is the fact that he like to rub his nose on everything and might have hurt himself??? But I see no signs of injuries except the swelling.

[ReptiWorldWide]

How recent was his last meal? I doubt this would affect it, but if a snake has a meal right before going into brumation, it will simply rot in its stomach. I don't think this is anything that would affect an artery or anything along its neck, but its worth a shot. Sorry to hear about this odd swelling, hope it gets better!

[chairman]

Once upon a time I read a forum post on, if I remember correctly, a corn snake that had a swollen throat/neck area. I believe that a vet diagnosed it as an edema/fluid buildup caused by... I don't recall... but a prescription was given for a medication to reduce the swelling. I believe that the medication successfully resolved the issue. Whatever it was, I believe that elevating the snake's head caused a temporary reduction in the swelling, which helped the vet diagnose the issue.

I could have sworn it was on this forum because we had/have some members with a good knowledge of human medicine that were providing feedback on the diagnoses; however, I cannot find the post.

That said, bringing the snake to a knowledgeable vet wouldn't be a bad idea.