File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Hey /an/

I have a question about my snake. It's a Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake, and she recently developed some tissue bumps on her sides on the lower half of her body. She also isn't eating. last time she would take food was like two weeks ago.

A couple weeks ago i took her to the pet store and they said she was under fed, so i upped her feeding to two fuzzy mice per week and after a month of that she still has the bumps.

Also, i recently moved from Utah to Ohio, so i don't know if the higher humidity could be a factor?

Anyone have a clue as to what it could be?

Pic isn't my snake but related nonetheless.
>> Anonymous
My first guess would be the humidity. You don't keep a water bowl in the cage do you? It could also be a heat pad or heat rock if you use one of those. Get a hygrometer, and try to keep the humidity down in the desert type range. Remove any heat rocks, or heat pads. If you don't already have them, then get a uva bulb that isn't for heat, and a compact uvb. They should help lower the humidity, and stimulate it's appetite.
>> Anonymous
Wild-caught sonoran mountain kingsnakes, may refuse food as early as August/ September in preparation for winter hibernation.
>> Anonymous
If the snake refuses food for several weeks in a row in the fall, it should be hibernated, providing that it is healthy. Sonoran mountain kings often show a strong feeding response after the winter hibernation period.
>> Anonymous
How do I hibernate her?

And I have a heating pad because that's what I was told to use when I first got the snake. Seriously take it out?

What are the best ways to lower the humidity?
>> Anonymous
>>172456
I've never done the hibernation thing myself, so I'm not sure. It may not even be wild caught for all I know. Should be easy enough to get the info off of google. Just type in "how to hibernate kingsnakes", or something to that effect.

Never ever use heat pads. They are unnatural, and they cause burns. Remove the heat pad as soon as you can. If you ever hear somebody telling you to use one again that's a sign you probably shouldn't trust any of their info.

To lower humidity you want to make sure there is same ventilation. You probably already have a screen lid though, so that should be okay. Another way is heat from Lights. Don't use a heat lamp though. A normal 60 watt neodymium uva bulb should do nicely, and also a good 7.0, or higher uvb bulb. That should help lower humidity. You also shouldn't leave a water bowl in with the snake all the time, because that will raise humidity. Also if the snake soaks too often it could cause some sores on it's skin. Only leave the bowl in with the snake a few days out of the week. Make sure what ever substrate you use doesn't retain moisture either. I recommend using something the snake can burrow in like dry eco earth.
>> Anonymous
>>172461

Okay so how is she supposed to get warm and raise her body temperature? Just from the bulb?
>> Anonymous
>>172465
Room temperature plus the two light bulbs should be quite enough. They like it between 65f for the low and 85f for the high. A heat lamp would probably keep the cage in the upper 90's. You need to get a thermometer too, if you don't already.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
1000s of kingsnakes are kept healthy in cages ( eg sterelite tupperware rack cages like the ones by animal plastics ( I have a dozen in mine right now ) the heat source is a heat cacle similar in a way to yr heat pad but also connected to a helix thermostat. I have a pair of arizona mountain kingsnakes and the female still chowing down but m mail is now fasting though not losing much weight I may have to hibernate him this winter, it is a lot easier to hibernate a snake than you might think just do some net research. about bumps tho < I dont know, good lux

PIC distantly Related
>> Anonymous
>>172461
heat pads are fine, heat rocks cause serious burns, but a heat pad with the proper bedding is not going to cause any injury. all the breeder keep their snakes in racks with heat cable that serves the same function as a pad.

that being said, i tell people (i work at a pet store) to use a heat lamp during the day to let the snake shuttle and then to let the tank drop 10-15 degrees to room temp at night (provided they don't keep their house like an ice box)
>> Anonymous
So many breeders, and snake keepers suck so much ass. They all have a weird mental illness. The same kind that people who collect comic books, stamps, and coins have. They talk in the same weird droll way too. " I keep a hundred snakes in tupperware racks. They are all healthy, and when they breed the offsprings value is sure to increase. Then I'll be able to buy even more snakes." Stupid fucking mongoloids, just go collect some trading cards, and stop mass producing snakes in poor living conditions.
>> Anonymous
Got me on the bumps or lumps. I'd see a herp vet about it. As for the food... it's hibernating time out in the Sonoran Mountains. Maybe that's what she's getting ready for?