Lumpy hognose

valkea · 09-08-16, 04:43 PM

One of my albino hognose hasn't taken a meal since I purchased him. Seller claims he's had over 10 meals in his care but I'm not overly confident in that. When they arrived end of July they were 8 and 7 grams. The 8 gram one has taken meals perfectly and when I last weigh him two meals ago he was 12 grams. I spoke with a few knowledgeable folks and they didn't think a hognose that had taken over 10 meals would be so tiny.

On top of the lack of eating (which isn't abnormal for hognose really) is an odd lump near the back half of the snake. I've been monitoring it and it doesn't seem to be changing in size. He's lost a gram of weight in the month I've had him but nothing alarming. It's been suggested it may be yolk remnants but they didn't think it was likely considering how long I've had him. Person I bought the hog from was unaware of it's hatch date.

Tried scenting with squid / offering a piece of squid but no luck so Stephan and I went frog hunting. Caught a few and will try scenting with them. Also grabbed a can of Tuna because apparently that's what they were started on.

Hopefully the little dude eats soon. Since he's got some issues going on we're holding off on probing. No need for extra stress and there's no point figuring out if he's a dude or dudette if he's not doing well.

**Andy_G** · 09-08-16, 04:54 PM

Either hardened yolk from the yolk sac that will never break down...or severe constipation. Unfortunately a vet visit is in order. I've had hognose hatch out as small as 3 grams and as large as 12 so he could've been a runt, but this concerns me. Mind PMing me the sellers info?

REM955 · 09-08-16, 04:58 PM

This looks that bad for a breeder to do?

valkea · 09-08-16, 05:22 PM

Thanks Andy, appreciate the feedback. I sent you a PM with some more details.

REM, yeah I'm not super happy about it. I'm not sure if it's just crappy luck or actually something the seller did / didn't do so I'm not going to put him on blast. But it sucks. When I reached out to him he suggested he might have ingested some aspen but whenever I've offered food it's been on a clean surface in his tub. I mean, it could have been but I doubt it.

REM955 · 09-08-16, 07:13 PM

Well, if you look at my post on Cuddles you'll see a similar theme; selling a snake that shouldn't be sold.
Of course, we do not know all the details as of yet. Nor should I personally.
Best of luck and I hope she gets taken care of.

valkea · 09-08-16, 07:47 PM

Thank you REM! Sorry to hear you also ended up with a snake before she should have been sold. It's frustrating for sure. I checked out Cuddles post and she's super cute! I hope she continues to eat for you!

I'm going to try to find a vet nearby (or within a few hours drive) and go from there. I'm also going to try some warm water soaks but I'm not sure it'll make a difference. Poor little dude.

Oh one more thing I remembered, seller told me he shed at least 3 times. Now I've never raised a hognose from fresh out of the egg but that seems like a lot of shedding for such a tiny snake. The other one I bought with this one has shed once since I've had them.

Albert Clark · 09-08-16, 08:40 PM

Wow, sorry for the dilemma. That swelling does look suspicious. How old is the little guy? That breeder should really be ashamed of himself. That mid to lower abdominal swelling coupled with the inappetance could be a serious condition. I would put him on paper towels and quarantine him immediately. At least until you get it sorted out and make sure there is no risk to the other parts of your colony.

**Andy_G** · 09-08-16, 08:49 PM

Unfortunately guys the person Valkea got this from is a bit shady and on my personal list of people to avoid. This was probably an issue with the snake before purchase.

Is the area hard or does it feel more like swelling?

Albert Clark · 09-08-16, 09:04 PM

Oh! The seller and he's not the breeder. I see. If by chance he does eat something and has a regurge I would think along with the weight loss of a possible crypto possibility.

valkea · 09-08-16, 09:05 PM

Thanks Albert! I unfortunately have no idea how old he is. He's tiny (6grams, down from 7grams) and I've owned him a month. He's on paper towels now and has been since I noticed the bump.

It's not super firm, has a bit of squish to it. I'm at work right now but when I get home I'll grab more pics and a better idea of how firm it is. The pics above are from Aug 30th when I noticed it.

valkea · 09-08-16, 09:06 PM

I'm not sure if he's the just a seller or the actual breeder. He does own hognose that could have produced this one but I've been warned not to trust what he says. So it's a toss up whether he hatched them out or not.

**Minkness** · 09-08-16, 09:13 PM

Throwing this out there as it worked with my geckos when one was rescued, impacted fron too many meal worms and not enough hydration along with too much calcium. Buuuut, what about forcing a drop or two of mineral oil? It is a natural intestinal lubricant so if it an impaction, it could help get it out.

Crypto may be a possibility, but it's not as likely as hardened yolk or impactoon imo.

So yeah, unless someone has a reason why mineral oil wouldn't work, I'd try that and up the heat maybe to get his belly really working and hopefully pass whatever it is.

Albert Clark · 09-08-16, 09:17 PM

Well, I sure hope it's not too serious and he can get over this soon. Sorry you had to go through this.

valkea · 09-08-16, 09:20 PM

That's a good suggestion, Mink. I'll see if I can find any info on it being bad but I'll give it a try. I know it's used with horses (had a horse for a while, great for colic!) I'll make sure he's nice and warm too.

Thanks Albert! I really hope the little guy survives.

REM955 · 09-08-16, 10:14 PM

Thank you Valkea, but she is doing quite fine. He tried feeding live pinkies as opposed to F/T. She just picks them up and eats them. No striking. Well, that's changed, but for a different post. No worries here that I am aware of. You keep focusing all hopes on your little 'un.