Need help on my red tailed boa

I got a red tailed boa a couple month back and im still new to their care. Ive worked with ball pythons and kingsnakes since I got into the hobby but I could use some help. She just recently had one scale turn green on her bottom mouth fold area(cant remember what its called) and now it has turned into a pimple? She has a vet appointment on the 31st for a bandage change on a wound but I was wondering if anyone has seen this kind of thing before.

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Well the color green brings mouth rot to mind but tbh i have never seen it first hand but the fact that it morphed into a pimple could be infection? It’s great that you have an appointment with a vet because it’s always best to get a professional diagnosis! Hope you get some answers but I am sure you will!

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I won’t presume to guess what caused this. It does sounds like some sort of infection. If she’ll allow it, you might clean the area gently with some betadine. I’m glad that you’re taking her for a vet appointment soon anyway. Hopefully they can head off any issues that night be developing here before they become huge.

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So I’m going off a limb here and assuming she’s a rescue situation? Correct me if I’m wrong with that!

Anyway the scale doesn’t appear to be mouth rot to me, but it does look like some sort of irritation or infection. Mouth rot as I’ve seen and researched looks more black-ish, brown or somewhat grey-ish (depending on the location) and is either inside the mouth or on the lips, the mouth may also be inflamed and red.

This could be early development of scale rot though so I would definitely bring this up to the vet as it could effect and worsen the wound you mentioned.

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Mouth rot is an infection that affecting the gums and the jaw as well if it is left untreated, so it couldn’t be that but I do agree it could be another type of infection.

My guess is that it got a small cut or injury and some sort of bacteria got into it. I would do daily soaks for 20 minutes in 85 degree water- first 5 minutes just plain water then 15 minutes of deluded betadine so that it looks like weak tea.

There is a chance that it is just a weird abnormality that isn’t an issue but I personally wouldn’t risk it.

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She was a rescue from a preschool, i got her with mites and her nose was so swollen she had no nostrils. She has since gotten better but started harming herself on her quarantine container, That was the main reason for her vet visit but im going to bring this up when i go to make sure its not something terrible. I followed another comment with cleaning it with betadine to be safe.

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For now I have to clean it with betadine since im not aloud to soak her. She started to hurt herself in quarantine since she had mites and now has a bandage that I cant let get wet.

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Her vet appointment was for an injury she induced while in quarantine but i was gonna bring it up to be safe. I’ll give the betadine a try until then!

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Please note I am by no means a snake expert at ALL, I don’t even own one, but do you think she ripped off a scale while rubbing, and maybe a small injury at the base of the empty spot is infected? That’s what I would guess based on the picture, but again I’m a newb

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I agreed with what everyone had already told you. But make sure your veterinarian looks at his mouth really good inside and outside. His top lip on the side of his mouth in the picture looks like old dirty shed stuck or maybe the start of mouth rot. Even his upper front lip looks a little bad to me. If it is old, shed use a warm wet towel to get it moist, then rub it off with the towel or your fingernail. Just be careful not to get his teeth stuck in your finger.

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Oh poor sweet thing :frowning:
Just make sure her environment stays as clean as possible and keep an eye on her temps/humidity. If she sheds sometime soon it may clear up with the shed but its not guaranteed, if the vet does check it out make sure they have a look inside her mouth too just in case there may be mouth rot because that would need hasty treatment.
Hope all goes well and whatever wound she sustained heals quickly. :pray:

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Logan is just about absolutely correct in his assessment. The only thing I would correct him on is that mouthrot starts as an infection from inside the mouth. If it has reached a point where it is visible on the outside, then you have serious issues

That said, this is not mouthrot and all the talk that it is is quite mistaken

Your animal is fine, it is just a discoloured scale. Could be from an incorrect shed in that area, could be from resting its chin on a damp dirty spot. Just keep an eye on it over the next few days/weeks and if it looks like it is getting worse, then take it to a vet. But my bet is it will be gone with the next shed cycle

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Looks like it could be just a smaller scale vs a pimple to me. I’d just put some Neosporin on the area.
The upper lip does look irritated/swollen.

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Just be sure you DO NOT USE any ointment with anesthetic in it. If it says anything about controlling pain, it’s bad news for herps. Basic antibiotic ointments are fine.

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