Hole on head?

[Keisha]

Hello All,
I recently got a three males from craigslist. One had ticks and mites which I treated with reptile spray and I sprayed the enclosure with Provent-a-mite. One had a hole on top of his head which I originally thought was from some parasite but I am not sure now. I gave him a betadine bath and it seemed to heal a bit. He shed and it looked good. slowly over time it got worse but no parasites and now he is ready to shed again and it is looking bad but I believe it will look better again after a shed. However, this is my concern: the same head hole thing is now going on with two others. I am not sure if this is a bad shed or some type of parasite that is not being killed by my pesticides. Please take a look at some of my pictures and let me know what you think. I did buy some Tetracycline from a feed store and can mix a mild dose if it might be bacterial; but, once again, I am not sure. Any advice is welcomed especially if you have seen or heard of this. Thanks in advance! Keisha

[Keisha]

Here is a close-up

[albinos_rule]

Might be a rodent bite. I think it should heal as he sheds though.

[bcr229]

I had a rescue male come in like that. He'd lost several scales on his head from rubbing. His former owner kept him in a 40-breeder with minimal heat and nothing to increase the humidity, so he kept trying to push his way out of it.

It took several months and sheds, but he did eventually heal up.

[Keisha]

Albinos-rule,

Thanks alot for the comment. I did not think about that and in fact these males refused F/T and I had to feed live. I hope your right because I can easily watch next feeding with a hook to see if the rodent is biting him where I can step in and block the rodents bite with the hook. I will also treat again with betadine and hope each shed gets better. Does anyone concur or have any other ideas?

And by the way, Albinos do rule! But so do Clowns, and Pieds and Axanthics and Cinny's and Supers and Leopards and Orange Dreams and ...

Thanks,
Keisha

[Keisha]

Thanks bcr229, that is reassuring.

[Mike41793]

Yep, that should heal up just fine with time. Should progressively get better with each shed. It looks OK and clean now. I would just leave it be. Monitored live feedings wouldn't hurt either, good idea.

[wolfy-hound]

Looks like a rub mark to me. The odds that three rats would bite three snakes on the top of thier head hard enough to leave a mark would be weird to me, since you said the other two now have the same marks.

I'd check to see if there's something in the cages they're rubbing on.

At any rate, it looks very minor and should heal on it's own without anything, in a few sheds you probably won't be able to tell where it was.

[albinos_rule]

All the sores from rubbing I have ever seen were on the end of the nose, but it could be from rubbing, either way it should heal up after a couple sheds

[Keisha]

Thanks,

Mike41793, wolfy-hound & albinos_rule for all the comments, it is reassuring to know people here are always willing to help out.