Dry skin only on the head

[Shaunussy]

Hello!
First post ever so I'll introduce myself. My name is Shaun and I live in Oxford in the Uk. Only last year did I truly take a liking to snakes and my partner and I bought one... and then another. Both are female balls, although the second purchase was specifically for a male... I can only assume that the breeder was a bit tired when popping. Hey ho, we'll pick up a breeder male to have fun with the two ladies when the time is right.

So, on to the problem. Both girls have dry scales on their heads. They shed perfectly, and eat reasonably well. By that I mean that Sakura (female 1) eats via drop feeding, and Rogue (female 2) strike feeds every time. Their temperature setups are 70-80/85c cold to hot, 50-60% humidity. Two hide spots one at either end, and a big ol water dish. Seperate vivs with the same setup.

Here are the pictures of Rogue, she has the worst of the two, but the problem seems identical. P.S, vet said "probably just a superficial bacterial infection... grab some iodine and water solution and apply it until it clears up".
If anyone has seen anything like it please let me know. Any help at all

http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/Shaunussy/4.jpg
http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/Shaunussy/3.jpg
http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/Shaunussy/2.jpg
http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/Shaunussy/1.jpg

[Kaorte]

It is probably just stuck shed or a tiny scrape. I have seen this on some of my snakes from time to time and it goes away after the next shed.

I don't think it would be anything to worry about but check on it periodically just to make sure it isn't getting worse. If it is gone by the next shed then problem solved!

[koulgurl]

George has the same thing! What are you using for substrate? I had sand (on advice from petshop...which used sand as well) and people have said they thought he may have rubbed his head on the sand too much....is there anything rough that the girls might rub their heads on?

George is getting ready to shed, so hopefully after that his head will be normal...

Here is george's head:

[Shaunussy]

Hey :@),
Thanks for the responses - I don't believe it to be stuck shed (although of course it could indeed be) because I am like a hawk with checking those sheds!!, rather I can deffinitely go with the scrape theory, as typically after each shed both girls heads are significantly better, only to get worse over time until the next shed.
Rogue is a real piece of work in her viv, as in, cliff hanger would feel threatened by this snakes climbing skills... so I think it's likely to be a scrape.

Regarding the substrate being used, we use medium beech chip like this: http://www.netpetshop.co.uk/p-27702-...LAID=437270379
We did switch it a month or two ago to orchid bark, but that was too difficult to spot clean with, so back to beech chips we went.

Either way, I've not actually heard of sand being used for balls - but the picture posted looks pretty similar to our problem, just a little more spread out.

Thanks a lot though - till the next shed!
Shaun.

[Shaunussy]

Since reading about the sand I went off to see what google thought about it, and it seems that it could cause George some irratation!, so maybe switch out the substrate for a new one for a while. But honestly, I didn't/don't know any better, I just looked at google quickly for you.

Either way thanks again, I hope George's head clears up after the shed!
Shaun.