Hello. My baby boa of 1 year has a small lump under his skin. It’s weird because it is barely noticeable and and I can only tell when angled just right/stretched out sometimes. When I try to touch it, I can honestly not even feel it (he’s still pretty small) and it doesn’t bother him. Does anyone know what this could be? Broken rib? Abscess? Swelling? He has had it for a few months now and it has not changed in size. Below picture for reference. I could only really get it on camera like this. I have trouble finding it sometimes. Should I go to the vet for an xray? I don’t want to put undue stress on him. Thanks!
First picture is where the bump is semi obvious, second is how it usually is, and not at all visible. Idk if im going crazy and I’m very worried lol.
He has no troubles eating at all (always hungry) and he defecates normally from what I see.
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Oh gosh that is tiny.
Is the skin over the bump different in any way? My first thought it maybe a small scar or cyst from a rodent bite. This could have happened as a neonate before you got them if you feed f/t. The first couple of meals at the breeder may have been live to stimulate a response.
Aside from that…it’s difficult to say what it is. It wouldn’t hurt to bring them to a vet that specializes in reptiles just to be sure. At the very least you can get documentation on the size of it continues to grow. But that’s up to you.
I understand if you end up wanting to go by the ‘wait and see’ since it is such a small thing. Obviously if anything does change on the size/shape it should be checked. Or if anything changes as far as lethargy or other concerns on health.
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I second everything @armiyana said.
I will add that sometimes with Boas and their incredible muscle density that they can have odd bumps or lumps that is actually their muscle showing through their scales.
However it is always a good idea to keep an eye on it and the snake, if you notice the lump growing over time or very suddenly its time to see a vet along side any other new or worsening symptoms.
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It’s not different in any way and doesn’t seem to be a scar. I also def feed f/t, and he was very little when I got him, like 2 months, so I don’t think anything live could have bitten him at the breeder’s. Would it be safe to take him to the vet if he’s still so little? I feel a little stupid bringing him to the vet because they prob won’t even be able to see it lol
TL;DR: vet has pros and cons/I would monitor
You could go and request a fine needle aspirate and cytology of the cells there, but at your snake’s size it may be difficult to get a good sample result. And obviously more stress at the moment
I would only go to the vet if you wanted it documented. I went to the vet with a small lump on my dog to just document it in her chart. We did aspirate it and the results were begnin. Thankfully it has remained the same size each time we went afterwards so we’re just letting it be since it doesn’t bother her
If he was my little guy, I would honestly just wait if everything else was fine. I’d keep these photos and maybe a photo of the bump next to a ruler as a general size guideline for later.
As I said in my post, if it gets larger or anything else funny happens I would definitely go to a vet.
Okay thank you so much, I’ll just wait and see if anything happens, but it’s been months and so far nothing. If it is an abscess or something, could that also just be removed later? I’m assuming those don’t change in reptiles.
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Reptiles have this crazy ability to kinda capsule off little infections into a cyst and just move on with things. So if that is the case and this was an abscess that did that it would probably be okay. It just kinda hangs out like a mole or wart until the vet can take it off.
Just again, if anything changes that is a definite go to vet situation because you wouldn’t want to risk a systemic infection. Though the odds of that after so long are slim.
Another thought tho…
If this is somehow an encapsulated parasite… Then more may pop up if your snake still has a parasite load. The age of your snake though does make this unlikely as well. Especially if they only ate live a handful of times with the breeder and you feed frozen.
So if you just want a general wellness check for now you can bring in a fresh 
to the vet and they can double check. That way you at least checked that as well. But if you just want to monitor I totally understand.
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In case of a parasite, I’d just monitor to see if any others pop up, then? I’m assuming he’d also have trouble eating/growing, which he doesn’t seem to have so far. I will definitely keep an eye on it and if even the slightest changes I’m going to the vet! Thanks so much
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Yeah you would see symptoms if they were carrying it that badly. Either messy poop or that stunted growth. So yeah, unlikely.
My personal weird luck is just the more unlikely it is the better the odds of it happening lol
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I also figured it could be muscle, since it is completely gone 80% of the time. But I will keep an eye on it.
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