lump

[bronsoneggbeater]

have a coastal here who hasnt fed for a long time. been acting normal nothing un ordinary. handled her about a week ago and seemed fine then i got her out to try feed her again tonight and noticed she has a lump on the inside of her mouth only on one side. tried to open her mouth and noticed it looked like a ball in her mouth. i recall someone a while ago having something similar and was wondering what happened and what it might be.

cheers in advance bronson

 

[markw7575]

havnt heard of anything like that before.
maybe take it to a vet just to be safe?

 

[PimmsPythons]

take it to the vet. without jumping to conclusions ,i had 3yo coastal that had 13 tumors from head to tail,including 3 in its mouth,a larger one engulfing its heart and one the size of a golfball on its spine.unfortunatly cancer tumors are fairly common in snakes.
cheers
simon

 

[norwich]

take it to the vet mate that is the only answer as with us the longer you leeve it the worse it becomes irraspective of diagnosis cheers mick

 

[Kitah]

This is based on lectures I had from Dr Robert Johnson... but with a history of not feeding and the mass in the mouth, the most likely cause in my mind would be stomatitis, either grade 2 or 3. Other possible causes are neoplasia (tumour), gingival hyperplasia (the gingiva cells basically multiply) and parasititic gingival polyps.

Whats your husbandry like? enclosure size, temperatures etc. Based on Roberts information, stomatitis is usually a bacterial infection due to husbandry issues, and predisposing factors include striking at glass for example, bite wounds from live prey, inadequate temperature etc.

Basically, the only way to find out what it really is, is to get the animal to a reptile vet, who can give you an answer and treat the snake, and hopefully it'll start feeding again. Chances are that it hasn't been eating because its mouth is sore. If it is stage 2 or 3 stomatitis, you will definitely need a veterinarian to treat it successfully.

 

[bronsoneggbeater]

yeah trying to find a vet in or close to toowoomba not easy..... husbandry is 99% of the time very clean only if i go away for the weekend and there is poo in there does it stay for longer than it should. regular cleaning and disinfecting of all my enclosures is a weekly maintenance routine. been keeping and eye on it hasnt got any bigger so far waiting for my brother to get back to me with his vets details. i am prepared to have the snake euthanased if need be... be hard as its the first snake i got for the kids... see what happens and thanks for the info kitah. slimebo tumors is what i was thinking...

 

[bronsoneggbeater]

anyone else???

 

[Wally]

Anyone else what? Have you taken her to a vet?

It's been ten days since you started this thread and your still looking for an internet diagnosis!

 

[Kitah]

Honestly, I would strongly suggest you get her to this vet, Deborah Monks, in Brisbane Brisbane Bird and Exotics Veterinary Service, phone (07) 3420 6773 Brisbane Bird Vet, Brisbane Reptile Vet, Brisbane Guinea Pig Vet, Brisbane Exotics Vet

Realistically its not that far a drive, and I would still think stomatitis is far more likely than neoplasia/tumour, in which case it is treatable! Even if it were a tumour, it may not be cancerous, so could easily be removed and she'd probably start feeding again.

Or at least call them, or another reptile specialist, to get their opinion.

 

[PimmsPythons]

get it to the vet

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Anyone else what? Have you taken her to a vet?

It's been ten days since you started this thread and your still looking for an internet diagnosis!

x 10... get the thing to a vet - there are such things as cars, trains and even friends, - each and any of these things are likely to help you cover the distances between you and a good vet... the possibilities have been covered very well here - the snake NEEDS vet attention.

Jamie

 

[phantomreptiles]

Bob donelley in toowoomba is a very experienced herp vet.

 

[Kitah]

Bob donelley in toowoomba is a very experienced herp vet.

Ok, ignore my reference to the Brisbane vet, I didn't realise there was one in Toowoomba

 

[Pythoninfinite]

yeah trying to find a vet in or close to toowoomba not easy.....

If you take the trouble to look in the yellow pages, you'll find 38 references to vets in & around Toowoomba, and 5 animal hospitals in Toowoomba itself, one of which will be Bob Donnelly, a very experienced bird & herp vet...

Sorry to be blunt about this, but your animal's wellbeing is paramount, and you should not be passive when there is clearly a significant problem.

Jamie

 

[sara_sabian]

I'm think Bob Donelly isn't in Toowoomba any more, I've been told he's at the newly opened Gatton Uni vets, much closer to you than Brisbane. The trip from Toowoomba to Gatton isn't much of one, I make it almost everyday. If Bob is still in Toowoomba it'll be at the West Toomoomba vets, call them. If he isn't, try the Gatton uni.

 

[sara_sabian]

I just found out that Bob Donnely is definitely in Gatton now, you can contact him on 0754601788. It sounds liek your snake really needs to see a vet.

 

[bronsoneggbeater]

Pythoninfinite.... no i didnt take the time to look.... i just sat around here waiting for someone to magically cure the snake.... oh thank you oh so much for your help.....if i had of know who bob donnelly was and where he was and what he did i wouldnt be on here asking.......... just cause i have asked on here does not mean i have not had her to the vets i was trying to find out if there were other ideas that i may be able to put forward to the vet as to what may be causing it cause they have no idea.... so if you want to jump to conclusions and implying i am a bad keeper and that i dont care for my animals you can go get lost in a maze.......... sara sabian thanks for the info. have tried to get in contact with him but havent had success as of yet..... i am a fair way out of toowomba was just using it as a reference point as probably closest place..... wally76 i still havent foound an internet diagnosis so i am gonna leave her in her shoebox till i get one and then see if i can fix it myself

 

[Wally]

I think your reply speaks for itself really.

So what did the vet say?

 

[Tegstep]

Pythoninfinite.... no i didnt take the time to look.... i just sat around here waiting for someone to magically cure the snake.... oh thank you oh so much for your help.....if i had of know who bob donnelly was and where he was and what he did i wouldnt be on here asking.......... just cause i have asked on here does not mean i have not had her to the vets i was trying to find out if there were other ideas that i may be able to put forward to the vet as to what may be causing it cause they have no idea.... so if you want to jump to conclusions and implying i am a bad keeper and that i dont care for my animals you can go get lost in a maze.......... sara sabian thanks for the info. have tried to get in contact with him but havent had success as of yet..... i am a fair way out of toowomba was just using it as a reference point as probably closest place..... wally76 i still havent foound an internet diagnosis so i am gonna leave her in her shoebox till i get one and then see if i can fix it myself

Its not your job to put ideas forward to the vet. Its what you pay them for. Especially considering the great vets you have access to in Gatton/Brisbane.

 

[bronsoneggbeater]

so you are teling me if you went to a vet who had never had anything to do with snakes other than keep them in jars for people to look at and they said they were unsure of what it was and that they would try to get a sample from the lump you wouldnt want to throw a few ideas at hem as to what else it might be???????