Injury on tail tip

[Futile]

Hello, my ball python has a little scabbing on the very tip of his tail. We of course looked up possible causes to see what it could be and of course came back with some concerns- google is just as bad for snake health as it is for people.. I have a friend who does reptile rescues and has experience in the veterinarian field (especially reptiles) but before bothering her I wanted to check in and see if I should just wait it out or if there was anything of more concern going on.




I believe that it may be a rat bite because he's been feeding live since we got him. We've only just started feeding pre-killed because of the injury to the tail tip. Previously, our snakes were still eating rats that weren't quite big enough to fight back. The temperatures in his terrarium stay at 82 on the cool side and about 86 on the warm side. He just shed about three weeks ago. The injury popped up about a week and a half ago after his last feed. He has since refused his prey (pre-killed) on the 28th of March. We've been feeding him rat weanlings/small rats.

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[bcr229]

Tail tip problems are often caused by stuck shed. As the stuck part dries it constricts, cuts off blood supply, and causes the tissue to die.

I would soak it (just the tip) in a solution of betadine and water mixed so it looks like a weak tea. If there is stuck shed soaking will soften it and you may be able to remove it.

If it's a rat bite then soaking in the betadine solution will help it heal.