Lumpy concinnus

[guidofatherof5]

This little T.s.concinnus(Red Spotted Garter Snake) has developed a lump on it left side.
The lump is soft to the touch and pliable. It hasn't affect the snake in any way that I can see. The little one is active and eats like a pig.
It's as if air has gotten trapped under the skin.
I'm in a holding pattern on this as I don't want to make things worse.

[kibakiba]

Poor little one. Hopefully s/he's okay! I wonder what it could be.

[infernalis]

I have a radix here Steve that had a very similar condition, it had gotten pinched trying to escape and it was a "blood blister"

it took 2 months for the snake to reabsorb the blood, and the blister vanished.

Not saying that is the case here, but a possibility.

[ConcinnusMan]

Hmm... weird. Haven't seen anything like that with the rest of them but one holdback stopped eating a few weeks ago. I found him dead this morning, and also one of the baby ordinoides was found dead, curled up in a perfect circle. I have no explanation but they are only 2 months old. Seems like a few always do this. Even babies that are eating well and thriving can turn up dead for no apparent reason or rapidly decline.

I wonder if it might be an injury from a food fight? You've seen how mean and nasty those concinnus get with each other at feeding time.

I hope it isn't serious and the little guy makes it.

[Odie]

I am thinking fluks

Thats what caused Fleshia's bump

[guidofatherof5]

Definitely something to keep in mind.
Good idea to bring up.

[ConcinnusMan]

Flukes? Now how the heck would they get something like that? They are only about 2 months old, captive born, and kept in their own enclosure since birth.(until sent to Steve)

I've only fed them store-bought coho salmon, tilapia, steelhead, night crawlers, and f/t pinky parts. The worms are the only thing not kept frozen solid until feeding time.

I can understand if a slug/snail eating T. ordinoides got infected but I don't see a way the concinnus babies would have any parasites.

Do night crawlers pose a risk of carrying flukes? Because the company that sells my supply plainly says that they are collected from the willamette valley.(essentially, they are wild canadian night crawlers)

[Selkielass]

As I understand it (ANd I could me misinformed.)
Sushi grade fish is flash frozen to *extremely* low temperatures to kill off any parasites that might have hitched a ride.

Regular grade fish is not subject to such rigorous handling, and the chances are higher that parasites might still be present. Its a pretty small chance, but still there.

[ConcinnusMan]

Oh crud. I did feed them WC coho, never frozen, once when they were about 3 weeks old. It was from the supermarket and caught the day before.

I feel terrible now. Thanks.

[Selkielass]

Don't feel bad.
The US food supply is really very very safe.
The chances of something bad sneaking in are slim, but they do happen occasionally.
Parasites can be found in farmed fish too, and I think we have all read stories about 'bad' batches of feeder fish.
You're giving your snakes an immeasurably better diet than they would ever get in the wild. Fish intended for human consumption is very good but there is no such thing as 100% safe.
90% easily. 99% maybe, but there will always be some element of risk to life, food, travel, sports or what have you.
I think the joy of living without that shadow of fear and regret makes a certain level of risk acceptable, and even necessary. Heck, if it ain't the parasites in the raw fish its vitamins lost in cooking or other nutritional issues.
We all do the best we can in each of our situations.

Besides, we don't yet know if it *is* a fluke or a worm or what.


Can a mother snake pass worms to her offspring before birth the way a dog does?