Odd Scale Bulge?

[BP_Mama]

I recently recieved an adult female from an auction and on her arrival I noticed some oddly bulging scales. Anyone seen something like this?

For information, she is a super mojave hatched in 2020 and a bit overweight but her body shape definitely does not indicate obese, just muscley. Her box was far too small for her and she shifted herself to pin in one end and got stuck for a good deal of her transit (one minor wound). She has been eating frozen thawed for a long time so no chance of rat bites, she has bred in the past, she was kept on chips in the past. She is extremely alert and tame, she shows no signs of pain or discomfort in the area or in general. She does not have any of the discoloration I'd expect in scale rot and this bulging is isolated to just these few scales. She is roughly 5 feet long and roughly 3000g

We picked her up yesterday and she has had one shallow soak. Her breeder has been great in messaging with us but has also never seen anything like this.

[Armiyana]

It doesn't look like scale rot to me, but definitely some other kind of injury that should be seen by a vet.
The way that the scales are bulged up that way and the discoloration is not normal at all. Even if she wedged herself a weird way in her box. Although... I am curious you say that there was a minor wound due to this? How was she shipped to you?

It almost looks like there's a fluid or buildup in there...so I would consider seeing if the vet can lance the area and send the contents to a lab for testing. That way you can target the particular strain of whatever nasty is causing it.
The vet may also have to drain each area separately since reptiles don't quite heal the same way that we do and they can solidify an infection into a solid mass instead of breaking it down or naturally draining from the area.

[Homebody]

I agree it looks infected. I would try treating it with diluted betadine or vetericyn. If it doesn't improve quickly, I'd take her to the vet.

[BP_Mama]

It doesn't look like scale rot to me, but definitely some other kind of injury that should be seen by a vet.
The way that the scales are bulged up that way and the discoloration is not normal at all. Even if she wedged herself a weird way in her box. Although... I am curious you say that there was a minor wound due to this? How was she shipped to you?

It almost looks like there's a fluid or buildup in there...so I would consider seeing if the vet can lance the area and send the contents to a lab for testing. That way you can target the particular strain of whatever nasty is causing it.
The vet may also have to drain each area separately since reptiles don't quite heal the same way that we do and they can solidify an infection into a solid mass instead of breaking it down or naturally draining from the area.

She was send in a normal bag in a padded box setup, the box was just too small. It was also rectangular and she wedged herself down in the short end. The minor injury is just a small rub/scrape. I have one vet that accept exotics near me but I have not had great experiences with them, in fact I have had overwhelmingly poor experiences with them. I will see if there is one further out I may be able to take her to.

If anyone else has seen this odd presentation, please chime in! It looks like new scales might be trying to form on two of the three spots so I am curious if the tight squeeze and her weight may be more to blame here than any injury or infection though I am certainly not discounting that possibility.

There are no hard nodules, no heat to the skin, and the skin is not tight as if swollen. It honestly looks and feels more like a little snakey fat roll if I had to try and describe the tension level and texture.

[BP_Mama]

I agree it looks infected. I would try treating it with diluted betadine or vetericyn. If it doesn't improve quickly, I'd take her to the vet.

I have the supplies for that and will get her started with it while looking into vet options. It was not a presentation I was familiar with so I was hesitant to proceed without more opinions.

[Bogertophis]

Yes, it's been many years, but I've seen that before- it's an infection & should be treated (by a vet for best results). It's unlikely that topical application of medication will actually work, but it won't hurt to try in the meantime.

[Homebody]

I have one vet that accept exotics near me but I have not had great experiences with them, in fact I have had overwhelmingly poor experiences with them. I will see if there is one further out I may be able to take her to.

The Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians provides a free Find-A-Vet service at https://members.arav.org/search/custom.asp?id=3661.

[BP_Mama]

Thank you to all who advised. It was definitely an infection and a large number of pepper seed sized cysts were removed. We are keeping her incisions clean and hoping this will be one and done but can take her a few cities over again for another round and a more aggressive medicine if it lingers. She has been a trooper and is still so gentle and calm as we disinfect her incisions. Hoping for a full and fast recovery.

[Bogertophis]

I hope she makes a fast & easy recovery & that nothing recurs.