Rat, Rub, or Rot

[SmoothScales]

While inspecting my yellow belly today I noticed a small mark near her bottom lip.

I'm inclined to think she got an abrasion from her rat a few days ago and as her grab looked good plus not wanting to stress her after eating by handling her I just hadn't noticed it till today.

Alternatively, i think it could be a rub mark as she recently got bumped up a tub size and may still be feeling a bit out if sorts with the extra space, pushing and what not on the lid.

I really don't even want to think about this last option but I refuse to stick my head in the sand while hoping it goes away just in case it really is rot despite how clean I think I keep our enclosures. I would rather ask and look stupid for doing so than assume I know what's going on and how to handle it.

While I've rinsed the area with clear water, I didn't want to take further steps until the cause was identified so the appropriate action could be taken. I was thinking a dab with betadine would take care of it in the event of 1 or 2.

It is not oozing pus or blood and while annoyed at being held still, did not seem as though the spot bothered her when touched. There are no spots in her mouth that look inflamed or dark, only that spot slightly below her lip. I would greatly appreciate if someone with first hand experience could take a look and verify either yes it is or no it is not mouth rot. The worry is in the not knowing. Once the unknown becomes known, action can be taken.



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[Ax01]

i'm not familiar with mouth rot and could not tell u if that's what it looks like. but i would assume the inside of her mouth looking normal to be a good sign and the other two options are the more viable causes.

what i've seen of nose/chin rub is there would be multiple abrasions from the snake rubbing this way and that way on the tub/rack. but your BP on has 1 wound. still if she's been rely active and you've seen this, it's a good chance it's nose/chin rub.

and a rat bite is a rat bite - it can break skin and create a wound.

all guesses are good. a betadine swab is good until the cause of the wound can be figured out.

so here's a thread bamp for ya!

[Reinz]

If you are talking about the yellow brown areas dead center, upper and lower lip; it looks to me like probing rubs from looking for a way to escape.

The darker, blackish area left of center on the lower part looks like it could be from an old wound, possibly from a rat.

[SmoothScales]

The little brown on her upper lip is actually just her color. As for her wound, I'm not sure how old it could look just because it wasn't there 3 days ago.

I had a more experienced friend take a look at it - he's the one that actually got me into ball pythons - as well as asked a couple people via message and they came to the same conclusion that it looks like her rat scraped her a bit on the way down and that it's nothing to worry about.

Thanks a lot for the responses! My s.o. says I like to panic when it comes to the snakes. I say I don't like to assume.

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