Huge lump of dead skin above vent on garter

[Ian]

Hello everyone,

I recently noticed that my garter snake has a very large mass of what seems to be dead skin (about the size of a quarter) a few inches above her vent. I am not sure how long it has been there as she likes to hide away during the winter months and doesn't come out often other than or feeding. She is active still and very responsive but the tail looks gruesome and I fear that this may be a life threatening issue. Everything below the bump appears to look discolored. My working theory is that it could be due to a possible stuck shed above the vent that then become a problem whens he tried to defecate. Due to the weather I will not be able to get her to a vet until tomorrow at the earliest. Has anyone heard of something like this? and is there anything I can do in the mean time?

[guidofatherof5]

Sometimes retained sheds in the vent are can trap fecal matter. Is there retained skin in that area? Warm water soaks will help that skin come off if that is what the problem is. Best to get a Vet. involved for your own peace of mind.

[Albert Clark]

Certainly everything Steve said is paramount and a absolute consideration. Also, the substrate that you are using needs to be sifted and cleaned up right away. Try to spot clean on a daily basis with garter snakes bc they defecate and urinate quite often and pass urates as well. A little extra spot cleaning goes a long way in helping to avoid scale irritations, scale rot, and the like. A professional vet really needs to examine this to make the proper diagnosis. In the meantime, deep clean the enclosure and put the garter on solid white paper towels until you get a handle on it from the vet.

[Eddie]

Any pics of the area?

[Ian]

Sorry for the delayed reply, it turns out that "she" is a "he" and that the problem was due to a swollen hemipene. After surgery "lucy" is doing much better and should be fully recovered in no time. Thank you for all of the responses.

[Albert Clark]

Sorry for the delayed reply, it turns out that "she" is a "he" and that the problem was due to a swollen hemipene. After surgery "lucy" is doing much better and should be fully recovered in no time. Thank you for all of the responses.

Wow! Nothing like the exotic vets for the win. Grats.