After observing the very old wild caught T. Butlerii 'Cranky" for a few days, I began to suspect that releasing him back into his winter den would be a death sentence. (His muscle tone didn't compare with the other Butlers I'd been handling, and we were expecting a possibly severe cold snap.)

The lump on his side also seemed to be becoming more pronounced.

I called Steve, asked some questions, and found that draining an infection or parasite bump was not as difficult as I expected. This is the procedure I followed.

1. Cleaned and sanitized the cage completely- put down clean paper towel substrate and made sure both bowl and hide were of non-pourous materials and had been thoroughly cleaned.
2. Gave the snake a soapy cleaning in cool water. (To keep him lethargic.)
3. Put clean paper towel on my work surface, and gathered rubbing alcohol swabs, a scalpel and a new razor blade. Cleaned both cutting tools with alcohol.
4. Twined cranky around my hand so that the lump was on the outside of a coil wrapped around my index finger. Swabbed the area of the lump with alcohol prep swab.
5. Took the scalpel and carefully cut a nick on the diagonal between spread scales. Nothing happened. Even a small snake like this has surprisingly tough skin. I was afraid of jabbing to deeply with the tiny scalpel tip, so i switched to the razor blade and carefully sliced with a corner at the same area. Sliced deeper. one more time and I finally got a very small amount of blood. the cut was, at most, two scales long. (1/8 inch or less)

Cranky started protesting and moving, rolling his body- this actually helped press out what turned out to be a clump of infection- it looked like a lump of dirty cottage cheese. There was scarcely any blood, and the cut seemed to seal itself up after the infection popped out- the bleeding stopped completely.

Cranky was pretty fed up by now, and he tried to poop/musk me, but he never bit. I re-cleaned the incision and replaced him in the recovery tank.
He's been active, exploring and sunning himself. there may be a bit of infection returning, but I'm going to watch him for a week or so and look into antibiotic options before I consider draining it again.

He has shown no interest in food, but neither has the other male I found in the den area.
How long do males fast during breeding season?

Anyone know if Terramycin in his water dish would be safe- I use it for foulbrood prevention in my bees and there are instructions on the package for mixing it in water for poultry use- might this in his water dish give him the boost he needs to beat this?

Vet visit isn't an option here. He is a very old wild caught snake and all the reptile vets I have found in my area charge a very high office visit fee on top of any additional medications they prescribe. I'm looking for suggestions for home first aid and general comfort for this old fella.