BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hello I have a little problem Percy has developed a bump on his head behind his left ear my mom think it is a blood thing and will pop. We are taking him to a vet VERY soon but I would like to know if any of you have experienced this before and if so what happened? Thanks bye!

It could just be the light, but he does look a little lumpy on the back, at the base of the tail. I think a visit to your exotic vet would be in order.

Yes some this is not right about the base of the tail, but I can't see anything on the head tho??

UroFreak13 wrote:Yes some this is not right about the base of the tail, but I can't see anything on the head tho??

It's on the left side of the neck.

Susann wrote:It could just be the light, but he does look a little lumpy on the back, at the base of the tail. I think a visit to your exotic vet would be in order.

He was probably arching his back when I took the picture but maybe not oh gosh . When I asked if that was okay on the forum everyone said that it is fine is it really bad? I was really to busy looking at his head to notice darn it I should pay more attention .

Now I see it,huh let me know what the vet says

crm2000 wrote:

Susann wrote:It could just be the light, but he does look a little lumpy on the back, at the base of the tail. I think a visit to your exotic vet would be in order.

He was probably arching his back when I took the picture but maybe not oh gosh . When I asked if that was okay on the forum everyone said that it is fine is it really bad? I was really to busy looking at his head to notice darn it I should pay more attention .

I am looking at one picture, taken from straight above, so no need to freak out I could be seeing wrong, wouldn't be the first time. But if you could take a picture straight from the side, like when he's on a table, it'd be easier to tell about lumps at the base of the tail. And those would happen whether he was arching his back or not. But the lump on the neck still needs to be looked at ASAP in my opinion.

When you asked last time, only one person replied and you did not provide pictures so she was just guessing.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21591
Their appears to be an indentation at the base of the tail.
Could you take a picture from this angle:
http://bluetongueskinks.net/forum/userp ... 2168_1.jpg

xxmonitorlizardxx wrote:When you asked last time, only one person replied and you did not provide pictures so she was just guessing.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21591
Their appears to be an indentation at the base of the tail.
Could you take a picture from this angle:
http://bluetongueskinks.net/forum/userp ... 2168_1.jpg

Oops I got the posts mixed up I clicked the wrong one sorry and I had emailed her before so just didn't think about it sorry! Here are the pictures you wanted.

That's MBD. No doubt.
Get him to the vet.

His left hand is not quite right either. --no pun intended.

If it IS MBD why is his back flat now???

Take a picture with his back flat.

It's not his back, it's the base of the tail. There is not supposed to be a "hill" from the back to the tail; a gentle slope at best, but generally not even that. When the base of the tail looks "deflated" like that, it means the calcium has depleted and is very weakened. The top of his head is also flat, or almost concaved, those are two tell-tale signs of MBD.

If you don't believe me, wait for others with experience to pipe in.
or
Go to bluetongueskinks.net front page and on the left side click on "Northern" and look at the pictures, especially the ones that show the base of the tail from the side. See how there's no "hill"?

Certainly doesn't look too good, but there can be a couple of different reasons for having a hump at the base of the tail. One of those can be constipation, although from the photo is does look quite pronounced.

Do you supplement with Ca/D3? Can you outline any other information about it's diet and husbandry?

Yes I supplement him but I my main worry right now is the weird LUMP on the side of his head we are taking him to the vet and will ask about MBD but I just want to know if anyone knows what the LUMP could be.

The lump is very likely related to MBD as well.

one other explanation for the lower back/tail area ,particularilly in northerns is when young ones climb at sides of enclosure they often kink there backs from the angle they get into,i have a couple with that issue and when they straighten out look just like that pic u have posted

dont panic just yet,see what vet has to say,the lump on the neck could be anything,all we can do is guess ,much better getting it looked at in person

i had two yearling blotches that had similar looking lumps recently,one on back of head,the other on the side,both were puss filled,possably infections from nipping at cage mates,a gentle squeeze emptied it out and they are healing up well,yours could be something like that,just in earlier stages,but again a vets oppinion is your best bet

let us know how it goes

I wouldn't necessarily connect the tail base issue with the neck lump. It does though need clinical examination for correct diagnosis. The tail diagnosis would probably benefit from a radiograph to determine if there is skeletal damage. The neck lump could also be an abscess or something like a sebaceous cyst, either of which need proper veterinary treatment to ensure the capsule is fully removed.

My first thought for a lump is an absess (only because it's the only lump I've personally dealt with) - My IJ's absess was lanced, drained, flushed, then medicated. Cleared up very nicely.

Your skink definitely has some skeletal issues which need immediate care so they do not get worse. I wish you the best of luck with getting him/her on the road to recovery!

The lump could be unrelated. It is best not to jump to assumptions. There are some aspects that point to MBD, I'm interested in whether the front leg is lacking power, or has an unnatural bend in it. May be just the way you set it up for the photo. If the neck lump is an abscese, if active it may contain fluid puss but if not active may be hardened residue - it may be necessary to insert a needle in the first instance to find out as it may not be a good idea to attempt to remove hardened residue as it will likely be adhered to the underlying tissue. I have seen these sorts of lumps fall off by themselves (taking a patch of skin and scales with it) after a few months with new skin underneath - note may end up with some scaring. If it contains fluid it may have an active infection.