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Strange wound/burn.

evilcowboy420

evilcowboy420

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I picked up a ball python today it was a large adult normal girl. I really didn't need her but after looking at her head for a minute I decided to take her anyways. I felt bad for her. It appears that her eye and the top of her head had something happen to it. I just got her home so she hasn't been through a shed. the guy at the store said she was like that when he got her and he took her and was told it was some kind of a burn. I would just like to confirm this. Or if anyone has seen anything that looks like this.

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If you notice what ever touched the center of the head was also the cause of the eye. This snake was housed with several other snakes and the guy thought another snakes feces was the cause of this or a regurgitated food item caused it from stomach acid burn. I personally never heard of this happening so I am doubtful that is the cause.

Other than this the snake is a picture of perfect health. eats well, very active. I did notice that the tank she was in had a heat light on it and when I went back the heat light was gone. I personally think that she may have been burned by a heat lamp. What is kind of curious is that it is a perfect circle almost. I was thinking resting against a really hot screw used to hold the light might have caused it.

Also how long would it take for something like this to correct itself.

I just couldn't look at this animal and not take possession of it. I really didn't care she isn't special as far as color or pattern go she just didn't need something like this to happen to her. Nice size female though and after she is taken care of will probably make her way to being a breeder. I will probably use her to try to prove out a genetic reduced pattern male I have or at least I hope its genetic :p
 
Wow that really is a bad deal for her. The wound looks really deep. I would have expected a burn to be more superficial, unless it was ignored for far to long. I wonder if you know what it was fed? A rodent bite may tend to be deeper, though I would still think it would have to be ignored for a while to get to that point.

I have not personaly seen anything like it in my collection but certainly have nothing set up that would cause any burns and no rodent bite has ever been on the head. So I'm not sure I am able to help in this with any personal experience.

If that wound is really as deep as it seems to me I am not even sure that a topical antibiotic is a good idea. You might want to post something on this issue in the "Vet/General Health" area on the forum so someone with vet experiance may have a better chance of seeing this.

Good luck. Keep us posted
 
It does look like a burn, and I think you're probably right about the heat lamp.

LOL, feces or stomach acid burn? Geez, if that's really the case then i'd hate to have that snake's poop or regurg at my vets office! Stomach acids generally burn the lining of the intestines and the stomach, hence the name. There is no possible way that was caused by feces, unless it was stuck on the poor things head and the idiot injured the snake in trying to take it off. I wouldn't think so though, since the eye is affected as well. My boyfriend just glanced at the picture and pointed out that it looks like a cigarette burn. Far fetched, but I can't say I disagree compleatly. It could also be that a large prey item nailed him in the head at some point and that's how it looks now...

I think that should most likely heal itself after several sheds. It will take a while, and I can't even give you a time frame, but at least a few months, IMO. It doesn't look infected, but it might cause some problems when it comes time for the snake to shed skin on it's head, so keep an eye on that... but seeing as you state the snake's quality of life isn't affected, I think it should do fine.
 
ugh, that looks icky! If it were my snake, I would keep triple antibiotic on it. I think the ointment helps this mangled areas shed more easily.
 
Thanks for all the posts and ideas. the cigarette burn idea does seem likely. If that is the case then this animal was terribly abused. I am curious if it would be ok to give the snake a bath. I think this snake looked a little dehydrated to me and I didn't want to affect the area negatively about the bath.

I am keeping a look out on it though and I will keep ya'll posted about her.
 
I don't think a bath would hurt, it does not look infected and the bath may loosen up any stuck shed. I got in a glass lizard with burns down it's back. It had so many layers of shed stuck to the burns. I gave it a nice long bath, the stuck shed came off in thick chunks, but it looks so much better now. I really like the antibiotic stuff to help keep bacteria out of wounds once you get the wound clean. I have used it on snake eyes with no issues.
 
Ok yeah I gave her a bath. It was about a half hour and she pooped in the water so I removed her immediately. The scab came up a little but I am still unsure if it is stuck shed or an actual scab. I ran a moist q-tip over it and it seemed as if it didn't bother her at all. The q-tip helped remove some dirt and it looks a lot better. I will probably give her another bath just to see if it comes up a bit more so I can determine better if it is shed or not.

I think the eye will be better on her next shed. Here's hoping.
 
that ALMOST looks like layers of stuck shed... that can make it look like a wound and in fact cause a wound and when it's peeled off can tear any good scales underneath... The eyes look terrible... looks like very stuck eyecaps... If you soak her in some warm water and get a rubber finger from walmart, that is used for sewing, u can make it nice and soft and warm with some hot water and gently wipe toward the back of the head... that should help with that... When u get that stuck shed or scab off her head I would deff. use some neosporen NON pain relief...
 
thanks I am still working with it. I am taking some time with it and when I remove it I m going to take pictures of it after it is removed along with the eyes to get everyones take on it. I hope this has no long term damage as a result of someone elses carelessness. She is such a nice girl and is being very patient with me while I work on removing it. Upon closer inspection I noticed a scar on her neck where she has been bitten by something. It is healed but I know it will be a permanent scar. She really hasn't had the best life so far but I hope she will be happy here and live a much longer life.
 
I have seen old rat bites like that that cause a bad scab which causes a bad shed around the infected area.I also had a female once in a partitioned cage that wanted her male counter part more than he wanted her and had a scab kinda like that except the eye shed,fom wedging her head between the partition any way you look at it with a few moist sheds she grew out of the scab>
 
it doesn't look too bad... put some non pain relief neosporen on it and it should clear up fine :) you still need to GENTLY get those eye caps off ;)
 
Yeah still working with the eye caps. I am trying to do small sessions so she doesn't get stressed. I currently upped her humidity and her eyes are starting to look a lot better. I think if I keep at it I should be able to get it off. The wound is starting to take the brown color of her normal scale which I took as a sign of healing well. It is still noticeable but I am confident that it may not actually leave a scar.

I will keep everyone updated on her status.
 
I wouldn't worry too much over the eye caps. If you keep the eyes moist, they will probably come off with her next shed. She may have scarring in the eye due to whatever caused the head injury. This scarring may look like eye caps and if you yank it off, it may do more damage than good.
 
::

Melinda said:
I wouldn't worry too much over the eye caps. If you keep the eyes moist, they will probably come off with her next shed. She may have scarring in the eye due to whatever caused the head injury. This scarring may look like eye caps and if you yank it off, it may do more damage than good.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have come to the conclusion that the eye is a bit scarred but will probably work out when she sheds. If it were an eye cap I am sure it would have came off by now. So I am waiting for her next shed. the poor thing also has a mild case of mites so I am working on clearing those up for her. She has been quarantined so my other snakes dont have any.

She just has everything wrong that any snake can have. Her belly scales looked a little red around them as well so I am keeping her off of moisture the best I can. In case it was the start of scale rot.

Since I have had her though she is vastly improving on looks. When she sheds I am going to take some pictures of her I think she will look very nice once she sheds. I was hoping she would be a breeder for me but I am probably gonna have to make her wait until next season when she is healthy. That stinks cause she is a large female and I think she would get out a nice clutch. But her health comes first to me so I don't mind the wait especially since she is such a nice patient girl.
 
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