Deformed Baby Northern - Graphic *Update*

[LarissaLurid]

Glad to see little Lumpy is doing well!!!! What a cutie

[Joey1983]

any updates on lumpy ?

[Bethany SG]

Good Luck, It is always a tough call to determine if it is more humane to euthanize a reptile. A lot of people ask and posted about pain- how do you know if the skink is in pain? It can't cry or whine, but it can react, and sometimes a behavioral change can be subtle. IMO, if a person has time and intrest in keeping an animal that needs special care, that keeper should have enough time to really pay attention to his/her daily actions, and Im sure you do watch this guy closely. You will be able to determine if it is not doing well based on its movements, action, reaction and response to food. For instance, if an animal becomes more agressive (more hissing, or attempting to bite) that is a clue that it feels an increased need to be defensive- could be lack of security or health issue. If an animal that normally gulps its food down in 3 licks starts to "nibble" and walk away or just doesn't eat the usual amount or does it slower, that change means something (unless it is just a one time occurance). If An animal that is normally active begins to stay hidden or constantly bask, the keeper should be aware that this could be an indication- since those behaviors can be associated with digestion, sleeping, growing, gravidity, brumation time, and other normal cycles, it is not necessarily a warning sign.
An xray would not be at all inhumane- or too stressful; an xray should be able to tell you if the "lumps and bump" are cysts, bony, or heaven forbid tumors. It can be read by several experts (hopefully your vet) and determine if the malformations will eventually effect the organs, and if the organs are all of normal size. I HIGHLY recommend an xray, you want all the information you can get in order to make a better informed decision on care- know if the organs will eventually be strangulated (I honestly hope nothing like that!).
I am interested in your kid- one of my BTS has continual infections (I just posted on Wiley) and it is a struggle to keep up with her at times since I also breed ball pythons and have many various other reptiles.
Bethany

[painted]

Ah, been a while since the last update, but...nonetheless... I think it's a respectable decision. It's a hard one to make because you can't be for sure in they're in pain and what not. But I feel you've got to just pay close attention to them and you'll see the signs that there's...perhaps not discomfort, but just different behavior then norm. Of course, I can't say for sure with skinks, but I used to have a little corn snake that a pet store was just 'useless' to them. He had spinal problems too, almost looking like the skinks, but smaller and one every inch or so. The pet store didn't want him, and I knew the owner, so I got him for free. Took him to a vet, and the vet said he'd be lucky to handle eating, passing his food, shedding, etc. He said if he showed any signs of struggle with the above, it probably wasn't a good life for him. But we decided to give him a chance and see if they happened.
He was probably one of my healthiest snakes at the time. Always ate, was never fussy, shed extremely well, and still passed his food just fine. He was probably the most personable too. He'd come out of his hide or his borrow whenever I was spot cleaning his cage and changing the water to investigate and try to move around my hand and fingers. He lived to year ten without any complications in his health, other then the 'humps' but they never seemed to cause any problems.
Could we still tell he was in pain? We'll never know, but he thrived and kept going. So if he wanted to keep chugging on through life, who am I to try and stop him? It's a hard decision, but he seems and sounds like this skink is doing pretty great. Hope he keeps on showing you potential to live. ^.^