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  1. #1
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    Question Cut or popped scale? Something else?

    Background information and photos: Loup (1.5 year old male bp) is a climber and we noticed one morning he had an abrasion or something on the top of his head, and we found a small sharp part of the top screen on his enclosure that we think is the culprit (he pulled back a bit of the foil that was acting as a humidity block so he could sit up there... snakes are weird. We fixed/blocked it off now). A little neosporin and it's had no signs of infection but we've been waiting on a shed to see if the scab comes off or if it changes at all. Well he finally shed and unfortunately had a little stuck shed around it in spite of the rest of the shed being fine.

    He's been totally ok and it seems to be healing fine, if very slowly, but i'm wondering if people have seen something like this before and if they think he's got a cut or if it's a popped scale, or if they've seen anything like it before. (Planning on asking the vet at his next check-up too, but he's been otherwise fine (eating, pooping, seems comfortable) so we haven't scheduled an interim visit yet).

    Any thoughts? Thanks so much for any insight!




  2. #2
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    As long as it continues to not look infected*, I wouldn't worry about it. (*no swelling, not red) It can take a number of sheds to minimize even a small surface injury like this. Just remember, we all skinned our knees as children & we all survived...this stuff happens. Your snake may always have a little scar there, but don't lose sleep over it...quite a few snakes have a head-rub scar. It's what they do when living in captivity. Better choice, fyi, is Vetericyn ointment- made for pets like snakes, water soluble. (the petroleum base of Neosporin or similar ointments can mess up sheds if more than a little is used, & I assume you also know to never use the 'pain relief' version of Neosporin on reptiles?) The biggest concern for a head rub injury like this would be the proximity to vital functions (brain, eyes+) if it were to get infected, but from what I can see, I wouldn't rush to the vet's.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  3. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Bogertophis For This Useful Post:

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  4. #3
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    Re: Cut or popped scale? Something else?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    As long as it continues to not look infected*, I wouldn't worry about it. (*no swelling, not red) It can take a number of sheds to minimize even a small surface injury like this. Just remember, we all skinned our knees as children & we all survived...this stuff happens. Your snake may always have a little scar there, but don't lose sleep over it...quite a few snakes have a head-rub scar. It's what they do when living in captivity. Better choice, fyi, is Vetericyn ointment- made for pets like snakes, water soluble. (the petroleum base of Neosporin or similar ointments can mess up sheds if more than a little is used, & I assume you also know to never use the 'pain relief' version of Neosporin on reptiles?) The biggest concern for a head rub injury like this would be the proximity to vital functions (brain, eyes+) if it were to get infected, but from what I can see, I wouldn't rush to the vet's.
    Thanks for the response That basically aligns with my instincts about the situation but since he's our first BP, it's a relief to get a positive second opinion. Definitely know about the no pain relief neosporin but I haven't heard of Vetericyn, but the logic there with oil/water base makes a lot of sense and I'll look it up to add to our first aid kit since we have other pets too. Thanks again!

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