Can betadine bleach skin? Need help

[CakeLike]

Hey I am really distraught right now.
I looked at my BP today after he came out of shed and I made a mistake. I put undiluted betadine on his head and neck scratches he had 2 weeks ago. I know you should dilute it when giving a bath which I did also in the past but I though just a tiny amount with a q tip would be alright. And I didn't wash it of after cause I read you don't have to.
But now I see he he has white spots where the scratches where. right where I put the betadine. The scales are white there and not colored. It looks like when a human has a scar that turned into a white spot and never regained color.
I hate myself so much right now. I just wanted to help but I made it worse. Did I scar him for life? He just shed and it's still there. I tried rubbing his head with a water cloth but he didn't let me do it properly and I think it won't help anyway. The betadine is gone by now I hope after the shed.

Will it ever go back to normal? I'm really very upset I made this mistake. I can't take it hurting my animals.

[sp0420]

Don't stress you did nothing wrong. It shouldn't bleach skin. Depending on the severity of the scratches what you are probably seeing turn white is the healed area. The scales will usually heal but the scars/scales will usually be white. Sometimes they return with color sometimes not. Pics would help but that would be my first guess.

[Bogertophis]

No, if anything, Betadine would stain, but not skin, maybe fabric. On snakes, scars are white or pale pink- original color (& scales) don't usually return, but if they do, it will take a long time, so stop stressing over it now- keeping snakes requires some patience. Betadine does NOT "bleach" snake-skin- it's NOT bleach! If it stained, it would be the color of Betadine anyway- but billions of surgical patients have been scrubbed with Betadine, with no remaining stains OR bleach spots, so obviously, it's not an issue.

[CakeLike]

hm ok. I am thinking it's a snake and just a few scratches couldn't scar him. I mean are they really this sensitive?
The wound was visable but I would have conpared it to a mild scratch which didn't go to deep so I am surprised something like this would leave visable scars.
I tried making a picture but as always just my crappy phone available. It does look more visable in real life then in the photos.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXJTtdQs...dium=copy_link

Here are pics before he shed when the scratches where more fresh.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CW2hchos...dium=copy_link

[Bogertophis]

Yes- their skin is soft & can be damaged- only time will tell. But what you're seeing now is the colorless skin underneath where the scales were. The color is in the scales- without them you're seeing pinkish-white skin. It's normal, if scales were damaged or removed.

[sp0420]

He looks great. As Bogertophis mentioned sometimes scales do not grow back. That's what looks like is going on on the head to me. I've had a couple loose a scale on and around their head during shed. One grew back in several months one is missing a scale still. One thing I've learned while keeping a larger collection is that no matter how much care and effort you put into the animals not every animal is going to be 100% perfect all of the time. It used to drive me insane when all of the sudden someone has a shed and rubbed their chin. Or when those two girls lost a scale or two. It's life, things happen that are out of our control sometimes.

[Bogertophis]

Like us trying to get thru human childhood without a skinned knee or elbow. That's just "life"- & the same thing goes for snakes. Just because you bought them as "living works of art" doesn't mean they can stay that way forever without changing, without a few dings. They're alive, after all, & life happens to all of us.

[CakeLike]

Yes I know. I am just very sad I couldn't prevent this for him. It's on his head, so really visable. And of course I still love him with flaws, but it'll remind me everyday when I see it that I couldn't help him properly.
At least he ate today without any problems so that makes me a bit happy.

[sp0420]

Dont blame yourself more then likely there was nothing you could do to prevent this. Sometimes this kind of thing just happens when keeping animals of any kind. His enclosure lookes nice and you made the right decision in treating him when you realized there was an issue. So that just goes to show that you care and are doing everything that you can to give your animal the best possible life that you can give him. Keep it up and don't feel discouraged or like you let him down.

Here's a Highway Female I raised for over a year and all husbandry is spot on but one day she shed and pulled a scale off her head (back right side little white spot) Absolutely nothing I could have done to predict or prevent it so again don't blame yourself friend.

[CakeLike]

Update. It seems to have gotten better .
It's still white but the scales look like they have grown back and the area looks less pronounced. I am hoping it will improve even more.