Help! I think my snake is ill!

[Cazador]

Crazyhedgehog, I actually hope more people will jump in and offer their opinions. The hard lump is a clue that a snake MAY have cryptosporidium, which is generally considered untreatable. I suspect that the bark in the mouth was part of a last-minute seizure, but you'd want to cut them open (wearing latex gloves) to be certain. Cryptosporidium is a horrible bacteria that people can contract.
Rick

[CrazyHedgehog]

Thanks for the info, I did toy with the idea of cutting open, but was pretty upset and disposed of quickly...
I scrubbed the cage with a weak bleach solution, and all the furnishings, and its now housing an oregan red spotted...(which seems fine!)
All the other snakes are fine, so hopefully its something it had when it came and it has not spread..

How do they get it? how long does it last? (give me an idea if it had it when it came or if it contracted it while in my care...)

[Cazador]

Hi Crazyhedgehog,
Lumps can be from a lot of things, and don't necessarily mean cryptosporidium. Crypto is highly contagious, so if it was crypto, all your snakes would probably have it. You could pretty much rule out crypto by feeling your T.s. concinnus (and others) for a lump near (or in front of) the stomach. Crypto is fast acting and highly lethal to snakes, so I doubt it was crypto, in your case.

Lumps could also mean something undigested in its stomach, pregnancy, tumor, fecoliths, cloacoliths, retained embryos, scar tissue, etc., etc., etc. Their significance depends a lot on where they are and other symptoms that the snake experiences. Boeh (Cyrill) had a bout with crypto and is a very good source for more info.

Apparently mice colonies are sometimes infected by crypto, and it hasn't been proven to be able to (or not to be able to) be spread from mice to snakes. Though I don't know of any reason why it couldn't be spread from mice to reptiles.