strange discoloration on head

[squigg]

I came back from a week-long vacation and noticed that my albino Oketee, Vesuvius, had developed an opaque-ish white discoloration under the the scales on the top of his head. I thought it might be a burn or a blister, but it does not appear raised and my snake is acting/eating fine. He's very energetic and appears to be in no pain when I touch it. He entered a shed cycle shortly after, but the discoloration didn't go away. I have three books on care for snakes, but none of them have pictures or descriptions of what burns, blisters or other skin ailments look like. I find this frustrating. I bought some stuff that is supposed to help heal reptile wounds/burns, but the ingredients are mainly tea-oil and I'm not sure if it will do anything more than make Vesuvius smell good. Anyway, most of the posts here have described black marks on the body of their snake, and it is my understanding that blisters are usually raisied. What is going on here? Should I be worried? How do I treat it?

Oh yeah...I change the substrate regularly. Humidity levels are good and Vesuvius has never had a problem shedding or digesting. There are no other marks besides those on his head. I have an overhead light that is usually too far away to cause burns, but the person caring for my snake while I was gone could have moved it to touch the screen mesh.

Any advice would be appreciated!

[Krenna]

Well tea tree oil has allot of properties to it, matter fact it is one of the essential oils you can use on your skin without having to use a carrier oil.

Tea tree Kills fungus, fungal, viral, bacterial infections. Tea Tree Oil has a good antifungal and antiseptic properties.

So if your snake was burned atleast putting that on will lower your chances of it getting infected.

If its some type of fungus, the tea tree is helping.

To me it sounds like you seem to be treating it well, I would be doing what your doing. Just follow the directions on the bottle when applying it to your snake.

I would keep an eye on him and watch for the next shed and see what happens.

[squigg]

Thanks Kreena. That actually alleviates a lot of worry.

Do you think it is a burn?

[Krenna]

I really don't know what it could be, but tea tree covers alot of problems. I would just watch him. Like I said I think your doing what seems to be best for him unless his condition changes. Keep me updated on his progress.

[squigg]

I haven't seen any changes and he hasn't entered another shed cycles (been almost four weeks since last shed) The thing on his head doesn't look like it is healing so I'm taking him to the vet just to be safe.

[Krenna]

Good idea, let me know what the vet says.

[squigg]

vet said that it was an uninfected abrasion. She gave me some cream for his head and Vesuvius is looking better and is entering a shed cycle. She also said the pigment may not come back...kind of a bummer but the size of the discoloration has shrunk considerably since applying the cream so I'm optimistic

susan

[Krenna]

Good to hear your snake is doing better. :) Thanks for the update