strange lump in chest area?

Sharlynn93 · 03-17-14, 09:15 AM

Iris (CRB) has turned down food for a few weeks now, attributed it to her history of finicky feeding (from feeding records from the store and what we have encountered here and there) and the change in enclosure...took her out this morning since I was doing some picture sessions with a few others and she was VERY agitated (this happened once before when hubby tried to hold her in the early morning also, she may just hate mornings?) snapped a few pics of the bulge (best I could, since she tried to tag me 5 or 6 times which is NOT in her character at all)...I will try calling our vet tomorrow, but he isn't a reptile specialist, (but has seen her before), and no specialists that I have found yet within a decent driving distance...I work 3rd shift so its really hard for me to drive 4 hrs 1 way to a vet and still get sleep for work

has anyone ever seen this before? I googled, but so far all I have found is a possible abcess, or a congenital heart defect?

no regurge history at all with her, and has been urinating and defecating normally...temperment has always been extremely docile except for this incident and the 1 other morning incident...I'm stumped and worried...

Will0W783 · 03-17-14, 09:30 AM

It's really impossible to tell without an X-ray unfortunately. It could be a number of things, such as abcess, tumor, broken rib(s), or a congenital defect that didn't manifest until recently.

I have a nice normal boa that had a few messed up ribs from birth; I didn't notice it until the snake started to get bigger and it became more noticeable. He's been to my vet and since he's eating, shedding and not in pain we're just letting him live his life.

If your snake suddenly stopped eating at about the time this cropped up, that's not a good sign though, unfortunately. I would think that the two most likely causes are an abscess or a tumor. Either will require surgery. I hope that it turns out to not be too bad and Iris can recover. Please keep us posted...I'll have my fingers crossed for you!

Sharlynn93 · 03-17-14, 09:40 AM

thanks, Willow! I will call my vet, he can at least do an x-ray, and if I have to take that somewhere else for evaluation, maybe I can get someone else to go with me so I can nap on the drive...my poor baby...

Sharlynn93 · 03-17-14, 09:46 AM

waiting for a call back from the vet office right now (couldn't sleep, worried too much)...as soon as I mentioned having a snake there before they even remembered her name...LOL...they talk about her a lot, I'm told...she is talking to the doc about getting her in...

Sharlynn93 · 03-17-14, 10:09 AM

appt at 10am tomorrow...neither vet (that will see snakes) is in today...keeping fingers crossed!

**EL Ziggy** · 03-17-14, 10:27 AM

Best wishes Sharlynn.

Sharlynn93 · 03-17-14, 10:48 AM

I feel like a dork...I can't stop crying..ugh..she is my favorite of my snakes...i nursed her through her RI, dehydration, got her switched to F/T, then to rats, got her gaining weight nicely..she was up to 1300g before this happened...I was so proud of how good she was doing, getting her new house, etc...I just hope she pulls through this...

sharthun · 03-17-14, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharlynn93

I feel like a dork...I can't stop crying..ugh..she is my favorite of my snakes...i nursed her through her RI, dehydration, got her switched to F/T, then to rats, got her gaining weight nicely..she was up to 1300g before this happened...I was so proud of how good she was doing, getting her new house, etc...I just hope she pulls through this...

Hang in there and good luck!

Sharlynn93 · 03-17-14, 11:44 AM

thanks...just got off phone w hubby, going to have my daughter go w me tomorrow, so if she needs surgery (i'm sure that would be out of town at a specialist) he can wait to take the day off to go with me for that...going to try and get some sleep now...really missing my continuous shift at this point...my days off during the week worked great for this type of stuff...vets appts were never an issue before...

dbank999 · 03-17-14, 01:29 PM

Sorry to hear about this

! I hope everything works out and Iris pulls through!

Kudos for taking the right course of action ASAP... hopefully new owners will see this and emulate this behavior when needed!

formica · 03-17-14, 01:30 PM

hope its something simple to resolve, fingers crossed for her! thoughts are with you are Iris tomorrow

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

I would think that the two most likely causes are an abscess or a tumor.

can tumors grow quickly enough to appear suddenly like that? didn't realize! or would it be secondary edema or infection in that case?

could be a blockage/obstruction somewhere along her digestive tract too perhaps?

Will0W783 · 03-17-14, 01:35 PM

I'm glad you're getting Iris to the vet- that's your best bet. Hang in there; I know it's tough, but you'll get through it, and hopefully it's not too bad.

Formica, Yes a tumour could grow to where you'd just suddenly notice it. In those cases, the underlying tumor has been growing for a long time, and has just suddenly reached a critical mass to disturb the scales. I had a huge ETB that went off feed- the weight loss combined with tumor growth made it just seem to suddenly appear.
This case could definitely also be a blockage, or an infection/abscess, or a swollen gland of some sort (thyroid, pancreas), or bone problems (I had a beautiful sweet albino purple retic that ended up with bone cancer- that was insanely fast growing). It's really impossible to tell until she gets the x-rays done.

Snakesitter · 03-17-14, 01:45 PM

I think you are going about this the right way: x-rays should clear up what you are dealing with. I would additionally suggest that your local vet overnight copies to the nearest herp specialist for an expert opinion. Fingers crossed that it's something easily correctable.

Sharlynn93 · 03-17-14, 06:26 PM

Thanks everyone. I am going to have a difficult time concentrating on work tonight, I know that much..

shaunyboy · 03-17-14, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

It's really impossible to tell without an X-ray unfortunately. It could be a number of things, such as abcess, tumor, broken rib(s), or a congenital defect that didn't manifest until recently.

I have a nice normal boa that had a few messed up ribs from birth; I didn't notice it until the snake started to get bigger and it became more noticeable. He's been to my vet and since he's eating, shedding and not in pain we're just letting him live his life.

If your snake suddenly stopped eating at about the time this cropped up, that's not a good sign though, unfortunately. I would think that the two most likely causes are an abscess or a tumor. Either will require surgery. I hope that it turns out to not be too bad and Iris can recover. Please keep us posted...I'll have my fingers crossed for you!

Kimberley has covered it well

cheers shaun