Strange wound on head - opinions? Pics included

[Brianz]

Hi,

I recently noticed a dark wound on the top of the head of my 9-month-old albino female. I noticed it a couple weeks ago after her last shed. It looks slightly less red, but it hasn't healed as much as I would expect. There's no sign of swelling or discharge, just a scabby-looking hole. Her activity and disposition remain completely normal - lots of nighttime slithering. She has eaten a couple times, but she has also refused a couple times, which is a little unusual for her. Normal pooping and behavior otherwise seems fine.

My question is, what do you think it is? I'm hoping it's not an infection or abscess. I am speculating that she hurt herself trying to shed, although I wouldn't expect a shed wound to be right on top of the head. She eats dead prey, so it's not from a mouse injury. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks for any input.

Brian

[NormanSnake]

If you could describe your setup that would rule out anything she may be able to hurt herself on inside the enclosure, other than that, I would say it COULD be from rubbing on things in the cage, but it really just depends on what's inside the enclosure.

[ewaldrep]

do you feed live? what are you keeping her in and what are the furnishings like? Not that I have any answers but these questions seem important.

[Freakie_frog]

Two questions. First do you feed live? Second look around in the enclosure for anything it might have rubbed on that would cause that. On a side note put some Neosporine (with out the pain killer in it) on it about twice a week.

[3skulls]

Do you heat lamps at all?

I received a rescue that had an open sore like that once but about twice the size. Wasn't sure if it was a burn or a bite that got out of hand. She was in bad shape.
We kept her in a sterile tub and cleaned it twice a day with a Betadine solution.

It healed up in about 3 weeks.

I'm not a Vet so listen to the advice of others. You might want to get her checked out. If nothing else maybe talk to a Vet over the phone and see if you can email them a photo.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[Brianz]

She only eats frozen thawed, so it's not a prey injury.

Here's a picture of my set-up. It's 3 feet long by 2 feet deep and 1 foot high in a Boaphiles cage with Boaphiles heating. I use cypress mulch for substrate and the usual assortment of big-box-store of decorations, hides, and driftwood for climbing. The warm side is about 90 and the cool side is 77. She uses both sides. The heating is done with a radiant heat panel and an UTH controlled by a higher-end thermostat. I was wondering if it might be a burn on the heat panel, but even when at full heat, the panel doesn't burn unless you touch it for at least 5-10 seconds... plenty of opportunity to touch it and flinch without any burn.

I'll try the Neosporin, good idea. Any other thoughts?

[Royal Hijinx]

I would strip that enclosure down to a smooth hide and water bowl on paper towels until it heals.

[Freakie_frog]

take a really close look inside that Gray hide. I've had a snake cut it's eye open before using those. They will have a little bur inside them that the snake rubs on while shedding or eating and it'll cut them up sometimes.

[Brianz]

Thanks for the suggestions. The gray hide doesn't seem to have any sharp areas. The burrs and knobs on the inside seem pretty smooth. I suppose there are lots of areas throughout the cage for a snake to get a cut, but I think he'd have to try really hard... that's why I suspect it was an overzealous shedding attempt. I'll try the Neosporin and keep an eye on it.

[elbee]

I think it looks like it will heal well. Just monitor for infection and keep the cage very clean.