odd lump in Carpet Pyhon

[Carpetcleaner]

Last week (Thursday) I gave my SW Carpet Python its first ever day old chick. It tried to eat it back to front at first, but eventually got hold of the head and coiled around it several times and succeeded in eating it. In the process of coiling, it managed to wrap up some fake vine, pulling off a fake leaf in the process. I noticed the fake leaf going down with the feet of the chicken and attempted to grab a hold of it with tongs and gently pulled on it whilst blowing on the snakes mouth trying to get the leaf out, but this only resulted in my pulling the chicks feet back out the mouth of the python, so I let it go. I was concerned about the possibility of imapction and rang a friend of mine, who felt that the leaf should just break down and digest along with the chick.
Last night and today I have noticed a lump about two thirds down the body of the snake. It pops back inside the body if you gently rub your fingers over the area and the snake isn't bitey or acting differently or anything, making me think it isn't in any pain.
Could this lump be just the chick digesting? Have I fed it too large a food source too early (The Carpet Python is six months old). Could it be something else?
I rang my local vet who suggested I call the Zoo?!?!?!?!
If I need to go to a vet in Perth I am prepared to do that, but I am two hours away from Perth. I am thinking that if the lump is still there tomorrow I might like to get an x-ray to find out exactly what it is.:?
Any suggestions/ideas would be most greatfully appreciated.

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[wokka]

Does the fake leaf include any wire?

 

[Carpetcleaner]

Thanks heaps for the reply. No it is just a soft plastic very short stem. The leaf itself is a silk type material.

 

[jasontini]

hi CC, did he poo yet..??

 

[Carpetcleaner]

No not yet, but he is ready to. Very large in that area like he is going to any time soon. Could he/she be constipated?

 

[jasontini]

hmm, u might wana wait a 1-2 days n see if he actually poo out the leaf..n at the same time observe for any abnormal behaviour..if not, to the vet!!

 

[Carpetcleaner]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I was wondering, seeing as I have my hands full with three of the kids here sick with the flu, if the lump is still there tomorrow, surely the vet (in town, the one that doesn't do reptiles) could at the very least x-ray it for me???? At least that way I would know if it was just a digesting day old chick, a blockage, or something else. Then I would be able to ascertain if I still need to go to the vet?
Sound about right?

 

[snake_boy]

mite just be a leg sticking out. i fed mine a chick once and it had a lump on the side just from a wing or a leg or something. Keep and eye on it tho ay.

 

[jasontini]

hopefully all goes well n if he did poo it all out, that will be a relieve..
But he doesnt seem to be in pain when u handle him yea? esp the belly part..?

 

[Carpetcleaner]

Not at all. It looks horrific, a big bulge like that, but it handles as beautifully as it ever did, more a testiment to the breeders fine stock, than my expertise, but it is a lovely placid girl/boy that never (rarely) bites and is quite happy to be held. I can rub the area and it will push back inside the body without any sign of discomfort and it isn't acting peculiarly. I will definately keep an eye on it. What I would like to see is the bump moving along the body more as though it is digesting it, but we'll see. I have tried to pay close attention to where it is positioned in relation to the markings so I can monitor it properly.

 

[pythons73]

Could it just be the chicken leg,protuding enough 2 make a difference that you have noticed,wait a day or so,if it gets bad take to the vet.

 

[salebrosus]

I'd be asking for an ultrasound at the vet.

 

[Carpetcleaner]

Surely the local vet could manage an ultrasound or x-ray? It could be a chicken leg though. It would be nice to know for sure. Do chicken legs have a tendency to poke out like that?

 

[Carpetcleaner]

GREAT NEWS!!!!
Biggest poop I have ever seen....lump gone!!!!!!
YAY!!!!!!!
Thanks for your help guys.

 

[redbellybite]

did you make sure that the fake leaf was in the scat?

 

[jasontini]

wow thats good news!!! did u inspect the poo? is the leaf there..??
Pheew! thats a relieve....! make sure no more leaf at the next feed!

 

[Carpetcleaner]

I tried to sticky beak but couldn't decipher anything in particular. Mind you I wasn't thoroughly examining it. It smelt so bad and was massive. Mmmm, just the thing at breaky time.
I have removed the vines so I don't get the stress again. I have put them to good use elsewhere in the house.
Thanks heaps for your help.

 

[Carpetcleaner]

What would a digested fake leaf look like as opposed to a digested day old chick? It all looks like poop to me hahaha. Brown and white and moist and smelly.

 

[Ozzie Python]

Probably still look like a fake leaf to some degree. As disgusting as it may sound, i would be spreading that turd apart and have a good look for any remains of that leaf. Nothing to say it still isn't inside the snake.

 

[Carpetcleaner]

OK. It is in the kitchen bin, so I will go take a look.
Picture me with a clothes peg on my nose.
Here goes......