Something is wrong with my ballpythons head area with scales/shedding

My ball pythons about 42 weeks old and for the past month or so he has had this dry patch on the top of his head which i dont know if its some kind of health problem or if it could have been caused by him rubbing his head on the top of his old hide which was getting a bit small which i have already changed to a larger one and it is still on his head but it hasnt gotten any bigger depth or width wise. Just posting here to get an idea of what may be up before i bring him to the vet near me since im not sure if they do reptiles. Also he has been having off weeks like some weeks he will eat and others he seems hungry and when i move him to a container that i feed him in he doesn't show any interest or shows few and just leaves it the last time he ate was 2 weeks ago and last week and this week he has done the same thing and not wanted to eat. And the spot on his head isnt causing him any discomfort to the touch since you can slide your finger over his head and hes ok with it and he is very docile and i have owned him since he was 6 weeks so hes used to his environment and started as a good feeder it has just been since he got the sore that he has chose not to eat certain weeks since i usually feed him one every week. I will post some pictures i took today also so you can see the sore or what ever it may be that is on his head and he has some of the old shed on his nose area or dry scales im not exactly sure but that has only recently became a very light white as they usually turn before a shed but its only his nose area

Would it be possible for you to toss up a pic to give a little better idea? Do you feed live or F/T?

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...0510115834.jpghttp://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...0510115713.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...0510115847.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...0510115812.jpg

I feed him live and am trying to work him in to live fresh killed since i don't want to mess up the warming process in any way that would end up hurting him and he has never been bit by a mouse when ever i feed him i keep a close eye on him and something in my hand like a pencil or something in case the mouse's head is sticking up out of his coil or where it might have a chance to bite him so he has never received an injury from that.

Hi,

It looks like a bit of scale damage - it should get better with every shed.

You could try feeding him in his enclosure and see if he eats more regularly for you that way? Just make sure theyre are nice open "kill zones" in from of the entrances to his hides so he can strike from cover.

If you can defrost your own dinner without killing yourself you should be fine defrosting rodents - just remember to make sure it is fully defrosted but not to leave it too long and never, ever, under any circumstances, try and microwave them. They can explode

Then heat the head of them up with a hairdrier just before offering so it is a nice big heat signature for him. This is actually worth trying at the moment - he might surprise you and take it. ;)

If you decide to defrost in hot water make sure it is not so hot that it actually cooks the outside of the rodent as this can cause it to split - really not a fun thing.


dr del

One reason he may be refusing meals is because of stress caused by the hide change. Keep in mind that anytime you change or modify their enclosure, it is something new, unfamiliar, and foreign to them and they will need time to settle back in and re-adjust to the changes that were made...

Thank you Dr. Del for your response it is much appreciated and I hope that its just scale damage since he has gone threw one shed since he has had it but i dont have pictures of before the shed to see if it got significantly better from then to now. Vypyrz i changed his enclosure and the hide about a month and a half ago almost 2 months so he should be adjusted by now since when i first got him it him i left him alone for a week with out handling and he ate his first feeding.