bulge near tail (w. hognose)?

[Widowman10]

hey, hoping y'all would have some insight into this. had this female western hognose for more than a few months now. she eats like a champ and has never given me any problems whatsoever. i did recently notice, however, that she has this bulge near her tail. i don't believe it to be a stomach problem since it's so far down, or even an intestinal blockage. she is on aspen bedding, which gets replaced every week, and during feeding, she is removed to a bare feeding box. any ideas?

and again:

 

[Crysta]

either she's makin some babies down there, or compaction. Try giving her a luke warm olive oil bath. Oh, has it pooped lately?

 

[Widowman10]

she's always pooped regularly and i haven't changed anything :?

def not making babies, still a juvie (bout 15" long)

luke warm olive oil? for real?

 

[rustym3talh3ad]

i would not personally recommend a warm oil soak, she would do just fine with warm water....now realize when we as warm blooded animals feel "Warm" its probably around 90 degrees fahrenheit. as a cold blooded animal you would wanna make the "bath water" just under that temp so that you arent over doing it and potentially injuring your snake. i like to do a hand test when i run the water before filling the soaking container. if i run my hand under the water and its cool or slightly warm i increase it just a bit til its feels nice but isnt hot. then make sure when soaking you arent putting to much water in, your snake shouldnt have to swim in the water, but more or less comfortably sit there. if ur snake is swimming its exerting energy and may be stressing out. do that for 15 mins to see if anything loosens up. there could be a bunch of things causing a bulge like that but a warm WATER soak wont hurt. you can do this once a day for a few days, and if nothing changes or the problem gets worse i would contact your local vet to make sure its not something serious.

and on a second note...though im gonna open a can of worms by saying thing...i also wouldnt recommend aspend bedding or any other type of wood shaving/chips. your coco-fiber would work just fine as well as crushed walnut...if you arent feeding in the enclosure you wouldnt have to worry about the small particles being eaten. there could be some irritation from the bedding at the vent which would lead to swelling. just my 200th's of a dollar.

 

[Crysta]

Not a full olive oil bath, sorry i didn't explaine myself correctly, I was really tired ahha.
I meant a capfull of olive oil massaged on the snakes lower sides, while in luck warm water. I used this on compacted bearded dragons and it worked like a charm. Sorry for not being clear.

 

[Widowman10]

thanks for all the help! yeah, i definitely remove the snake for feeding. maybe i will try a warm water soak and see if that helps. thanks again!

 

[rustym3talh3ad]

by poop do you mean full on poop or is it just passing white/yellow uriate? whens the last time it passed anything and when (in relation to that time) did the bulge happen?

also can you explain to me the set up you have including temps in the tank, whether or not you are using a heat pad, rock or lamp...the more details you provide the better off we can establish whats going on...in my field of work we "fish" for the answers, so anything you can give me will help me come up with answers for you. if u do not wish to post all this info on a thread you may contact me via PM and we can discuss this a bit more thoroughly.

 

[Widowman10]

hmmm, well i don't remember specific dates but i'll try. and i would like to post all questions and info here so everyone can read and maybe get some help later on.

it was full on poop. probably been a little longer than normal though, she's usually pretty 'regular' haha. i guess since i noticed the bulge i haven't seen a good poop, but it has been only a few days now. she's in a little tub, only has aspen shavings for burrowing, and a water dish now and then for drinking and or soaking if she chooses (which is rare). no rock, no heat lamp. temps stay in the upper 70's in the day time to lower 70's at night. maybe a little warmer on both ends now that it's summer time.

thanks for all the help.