So my sister was over this afternoon, and I was showing her the snakes, and when I picked up Stitch, the little Dekay's, I noticed a rather good sized lump right beneath his vent opening.
Now I must confess I've been less than attentive to the poor guy this past week, what with the Butler's drama and all, but I did handle him about a week ago, and there was nothing wrong then.
I turned him over and took a close look, and there seemed to be a 'crusty' spot right at the vent. I squeezed the lump gently and something I'm guessing is pus came out -- it looked like pus and smelled faintly of snake-musk.
He didn't seem to be in distress, so I squeezed gently again, and more came out. I kept doing this until a whole mess of the stuff had drained, and what came out was beginning to be tinged with blood. The lump is noticeably smaller now, but he was bleeding a bit.
I smothered his little tail end in antibiotic ointment, and put him back home to rest a bit.
Now, I need to know what else I should do! Should I try soaking him? Is there any other topical treatment I can use?
I'm going to empty his tank after dinner and replace the aspen with paper towel, so I can see if he is bleeding or anything else is oozing out. It's also his feeding day, so I'm going to check to make sure he's pooping properly as well, although there was fecal matter in the tank from last feeding, so I don't think he's got any sort of blockage.
Any more input would be greatly appreciated................shutting up now!!
