Lump in Neck

[SnakeWrangler]

Hi,

Last night I noticed that Jake my male coastal was moving around in a weird manner, upon closer inspection I noticed that he was continuously opening his mouth really wide then closing it, he has kept doing this. This morning he is still doing it so I got him out and he is very lethargic, he can still grip very tight but cannot move well, he also has a lump in his throat about 20cm down from his head. I have attached two pictures, one showing how wide he is opening his mouth and the other showing the lump as best I can.

There is nothing in his enclosure that he could have swallowed and I am pretty sure the lump was not there a few days ago. His last feed was 10 days ago which he ate enthusiastically, I always stop to look at the snakes everyday and never noticed anything prior to last night. When watching him open his mouth it looks to me like it is from pain, but I guess he could be gasping for air also, maybe the lump is pessing against his lungs.

I have been in contact with Mark Simpson but he is book out until either tomorrow or monday.

 

[OuZo]

Hi Snakewrangler, can't tell you what this is but it looks a bit like my coastal when he's done the neck gaping thing. Serpenttongue has some Diamonds which have done it also. Neither of us know what this could be but I haven't noticed a lump in my snake's neck and I don't think Serpenttongue has either. Can't tell that well from the pic but is he tensing his neck muscles heaps? In my snake they're so tense that they move out from under him to sorta sit on his side :?. It could possibly be him trying to regurgitate whatever's in his throat cos I know it certainly looks like my snake is trying to regurge when he does it. Is Mark Simpson a vet? Good luck when you get him there and let us know if you find out what's going on with him. Here's my snake doing a similar thing...

 

[SnakeWrangler]

Hey OuZo,

Having seen your picture, there is a notable difference, your snakes breathing hole (whatever it is called) is pulled back, where as mine is extended and gaping, which makes me think that he is indeed gasping for a breath, maybe that lump is blocking his airways.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[SnakeWrangler]

Its Over

Hey,

After ringing a couple of local herpers I found a vet close by that does deal with snakes. He wasn't sure of the problem, tried taking som fluid from the lump but there was none, tried moving the lump up jake's throat to get it out (in case he swallowed something), no go. Finally he gave me a short course of antibiotics to try and if there was any improvement I was to go and get a full course, but the final prognosis was not good.

Jake died in my lap on the way home from the vet...

Before we went to the vet I noticed that he was unable to properly bend the part of his neck just before the lump, I was not sure why but it was obvious this was the case, now that he has died that part of his neck is completely stiff, the rest of his body his is normal but this part is stiff, I am now wondering if he had broken this part of his neck. I have no idea how he could have done so because he hasn't been out of his enclosure since his last feed almost 2 weeks ago, however it would account for the sudden mass, trouble breathing and inability to move that part of his neck.

Anyway, I guess it should be no suprise that if this was going to happen, it would have to happen to my favourite snake...

R.I.P Jake :cry:

Here is one last photo to remember him by...

 

[staffsrule]

That is so sad, I am sorry for your loss. It is heart breaking to lose a loved pet.

 

[olivehydra]

Sorry for your loss :cry: :cry:
Will you being getting a necropsy performed?

 

[craig.a.c]

Its always hard to loose a pet (I class them as a member of the family).
Are you going to see if the vet can find out what happend?

 

[OuZo]

Really sorry to hear that SW :cry:

 

[soulweaver]

sorry for your loss mate

SW

 

[stencorp69]

That's hard luck - my sympathy to you

 

[GetCoiled]

condolescence mate, now the only thing you can do (you HAVE to do, I guess...) is a necropsy just in order to know what killed your pet and possibly let not repeat it with other ones.
Cheers
Stefano

 

[newtosnakes]

So sorry for your loss SW. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with you.... He was a beautiful snake!!!

Mel

 

[inthegrass]

thats sad, let us know the results of any tests that have been done.
cheers.

 

[SnakeWrangler]

Thanks for the kind words everyone, I am still in total shock, this all happened in the space of 16 hours!!

While I would have liked to have had various tests to find out what happened to him, I am not in a position to be able to pay for it.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Rennie]

Sorry to hear about that man. Thats very worrying for me too (and everyone else I'm sure) to think that our pets can die so quickly from no obvious cause.