# Should I take on this corn snake with lumps?



## Alaehrax (11 mo ago)

Hi,

I’ve been looking for ages for something similar but I’m not able to find anything.
I was building new vivariums outside for my royal python and corn snake and my neighbour approached me asking what I was doing then when I told her she said that her friend split up with her partner and she was left with a corn snake that she’s terrified of and she has to get other people to feed it.

She said it had some lumps but its been to the vet and they’re benign and is otherwise healthy.

She sends me some pictures today and the lumps are SEVERE, like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

I wouldn’t consider myself and expert by any stretch of the imagination and taking on a potentially medically complex animal is something I’m not sure I can care for without more experience.

I feel bad that the currently owner can barely care for it themselves so I feel like I should but also on the other hand -if anything goes wrong I’ve not got a mass amount of disposable income for any vet bills that may ensue for a 3rd snake.

what on earth could this potentially be if I did take it in, how would I make it’s life easier?

Or should I just say sorry this is beyond my remit.

Please forgive my formatting this is my first post.


thanks and I really appreciate any advice given.


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

I'm not a vet and this snake 100% needs to see one regardless of these answers, however..
How long has the snake had the lumps?
What is it feeding on and how often?
If she's being massively overfed then it's possible this is merely fat. Obesity in corn snakes often leads to liver and heart problems; whilst it's not an emergency right now, it will have a higher chance of medical problems and need to be put on a diet and exercised a lot. Daily handling, swimming sessions, and an enclosure that encourages exercise, activity and climbing. It would take a lot of overfeeding to get a corn snake to have fat bulges of this size though.
However if the snake isn't being massively overfed and the problem has occured fairly recently (as in the last year), this could be pretty much anything, but the most likely cause in my experience is tumors. The lumps may not be cancer themselves but cancerous tumors in the body often cause problems with water building up in tissue. If the problem has been there for a long time (many years), it could be something completely different... but in any case it's just guesswork, it absolutely needs to see a vet.


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## Swindinian (May 4, 2020)

Wow ☹

The swelling looks horrendous.

That looks like a morbid condition?

Firstly, I would ask to see copies of vets documents confirming the lump is benign, and would assume otherwise until confirmed.

I can only presume the vet would needed to have taken tissue samples to demonstrate growths were benign. If there is a time gap from the past diagnosis, then I would also presume the diagnosis has changed, until proven otherwise.

I have not heard of any contagious tumours, so the condition may not present a risk to your other animals, but I would reason it will need regular vet consultations, so will require funding even if just as palliative care. 

I’ve got a picture somewhere of an obese corn snake, and the fat deposits are much lower.


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## Swindinian (May 4, 2020)

I think this was an overweight female pic previously shared on RFUK, 

A more typical distribution of fatty deposits when overfed.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

Just a general observation - there seems to be a lot of posts recently of Corns with lumps and bumps. Most tend to be benign fatty tumour's but that still raises the question as to why this happens. Is it over feeding, poor husbandry or something species related ?

My advice for anyone that has or is considering getting a snake in this condition is to have it seen by a qualified vet and obtain proper veterinary advice


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## Elly66 (Feb 27, 2021)

Our elderly corn developed a lump, though not that big and it turned out to be blood. Apparently it's more common in very old corn snakes (ours was 24yrs old). Our reptile vet drew as much off as possible just so Speedy was more comfortable. 

As others have said, I'd be asking for the written history from the vet and confirm samples of the lumps were tested. 

Do you know the age and sex of the snake? 
I do feel your reluctance answers your own question. Maybe a reptile rescue would be a better place for it?


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## LiasisUK (Sep 30, 2019)

To me this looks like fatty deposits due to obesity. Feed it very small prey items on an infrequent basis and they will most likely go down. Though of course an inspection by a good vet would also be useful.


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## Sylvi (Dec 30, 2008)

My corn snake had fatty lumps that looked like that. She was given to me as a hatchling as she had minor spinal kinks. She was an easy feeder and I let her get too fat. I did slim her down which took ages but the fat deposits remained around where her kinks were. She also had a big one at the base of her tail which never went away.


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## Swindinian (May 4, 2020)

Yes, I gather corns are prone to over feeding, especially after their metabolism slows into adult hood, and they cease shifting it into growth.

Also purported that fatty deposits are notoriously difficult to shift, even with dieting.

Many breeders and keepers have advised not to feed them rats due to the fat content.


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