lil red spot near spine, need identifying

[Kingdomall]

Hello!
my BEL (1.0 butter mystic) recently developed this very minor red spot that's also a little puffy. not sure what it actually could be. a lesion, a cyst, an abrasion, etc? I'm actually not too worried because of a few reasons.
he used to have a really cool hollow driftwood that he would hang out inside of all the time, though the inside was really rough. I recently got rid of it, as it kept molding like crazy. he had a little dent near his spine (I can't recall the exact spot) for awhile and I believe that's the same spot. Someone suggested that he could have a splinter there that made its way through the scales, though I don't know.
please try to diagnose, I don't think it's anything too serious. Thanks in advance!
PS: he's in shed and the spot is more red irl compared to the photo.

[BeansTheDerp]

ewwww I think a mite or something is under his skin, or he has a welt or a dump from something, and I don't think snakes can have achene so it isn't that lol. if I were you I'd take him to a vet because I don't know what that is but it looks bad! I hope your snake is ok and that you get rid of that dump!

[BlueOrleans1290]

I'm not too familiar with snake wounds looking like this, but I can try and help.
What are the temperatures like?
Does your snake flinch/tries to wiggle away/or show any signs of distress if you touch the spot?
What does the spot feel like?
What is your substrate?
Have you placed anything new in the enclosure lately?

[Bogertophis]

That appears to be a small infection of some kind- maybe a splinter? And since you know the driftwood presented issues, that's very likely the explanation. The trouble is that snakes tend to have solid pus that forms an abscess which doesn't drain away on it's own- they need surgical removal or they don't generally go away. Since there is no obvious break in the skin, I'd watch it for a few days to see if it gets any bigger or looks worse- it would be a good idea for your veterinarian to take a look- don't try to mess with this on your own.

You could try using (safe-for-snakes) topical disinfectants on the off-chance there is an opening too small to see here- those would include Vetericyn ointment for snakes, or a dab of Betadine (aka povidone-iodine). If you resort to using a tiny bit of Neosporin or Polysporin ointment, keep in mind that using more than a tiny amount tends to affect future sheds in a negative way- apart from that, they're safe to use.

And if you don't already have a qualified herp vet lined up, this may help: https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661

[nikkubus]

I second that it's probably an infection of some kind, possibly from a splinter. Being that I'm pretty darn sure your BEL is CBB I wouldn't guess that it's from an internal parasite, though look very carefully to make sure there are no mites. I would also monitor it, as well as checking the belly for dark red spots, if it gets worse or the belly gets a spot I'd get to the vet ASAP.

[Kingdomall]

Thank you guys for responding, it probably is a splinter of some kind.
would it be best to give him a betadine-water bath soak, or to rub the spot with a rag that has a teensy bit of betadine on it?

anyway, my temps are:
89-91 hot side elevated, I use a CHE as overhead heat. it's probably 82-85 on the ground surface level.
75-80 cool side, my house has poor cold temp management so it can get a little low at night. I had to opt for overhead heat because a heat mat wasn't keeping them above 69 at night.
I use sphagnum moss + cocohusk for his substrate. Mist occasionally.
I hadn't really given him anything new besides a hide and his cork round, which both he fits in snuggly.

[BeansTheDerp]

sounds pretty close to my temps and my snake moves around fine in his enclosure so you should be good when it comes to the temperatures in there. just be careful when dealing with that splinter because you don't want to cause further injury, if you need help from someone who is used to doing this or knows what to do don't be afraid to ask someone you trust!

[Bogertophis]

I wouldn't do either one: a whole-body soak is over-kill & stressful, & not likely to help any more than dabbing some antiseptic on the bump.

I would try not to rub the bump either- if it IS a splinter, you'll be pushing it in deeper, & make it harder to remove if it comes to that. "First do no harm..."

His set-up sounds just fine...& even snakes don't go thru life without getting a few "boo-boo's".

[Kingdomall]

he had shed last night and the spot is still quite red. I'm going to take him out now, make sure he got all the shed off and touch the lil spot, see if it's tough or anything or if it's gone down.
I believe the swelling had gone down compared to before, unsure though.

[Kingdomall]

checked now: the spot is still quite red and is BARELY puffy. you can barely tell there's a lil bit of a bump. it doesn't seem to be getting any worse.
I took a little cotton round and dabbed it in water and betadine and very lightly gave the spot a little dab. I didn't want to risk infection, especially if there was an open spot for bacteria to get in. He doesn't react when I touch it, no twitching or the thing where ball pythons are like "ew get away" and pull their scales away from your fingers. he has no other spots on his belly, body, head, neck, tail, or anything like that. other than that one spot he's a perfect lil bel.
he also yawned while I was handling him and I didn't see any excess saliva in his mouth.

I suppose I'll just keep an eye on it for now, he'll probably heal it on his own. if it's still there in a month, I'll take him to the vet. I don't see anything getting worse.