Are these face scales scarred for good?

[Rebecca Stout]

This is my new, nearly one year old tegu (supposedly extreme giant). She is peach and then bright orange underneath. Cant tell in this picture, the colors are off. SO anyway, I'm concerned about the messed up scales on the top front portion of her head. She just got done a shed. I have no idea if these scales were damaged, if its scared, if its a bad shed right there or what. Can someone tell me if this is going to stay or will it go away?
I"m really bothered not knowing either way.

 

[Roadkill]

It's hard to tell without a more hands-on look, but that could possibly be the start of a fungal infection. Some fungal infections can be minor, others can be seriously deadly. It could be something different. Best thing would be to have it inspected by a qualified veterinarian.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

Damnit. Okay I may take her in today or tomorrow just to be sure. Thank you so much. I hate hate stressing her more but the upside is if its not she'll have a check up and I get to show her off to the reptile specialist here lol.

 

[Roadkill]

Thing of it is, and I don't want to sound like an alarmist and get you overly concerned, there has been a huge increase lately in reptilian fungal infection, predominantly with the bearded dragons. The pathogen in that case is quite debilitating and has often lead to amputations and death. I am in no way saying this is what is going on with your tegu, but it is far better to get a $100 vet bill and be told it's nothing, than to not investigate and possibly suffer through something that could have been avoided in the first case.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

I'm glad you said that. Just so I dont waver and blow it off. I'll def go now.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

I sure had no idea that was going on with bearded dragons specifically.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

Do they kinda go "choo" like the second part of a sneeze after eating? My son says hes noticed her do it when shes not eaten. So .. thought I'd ask if thats a normal noise they can make

 

[Rebecca Stout]

Had a vet visit as suggested. Good news is this isn't an infection. Bad news is this is a thermal burn from before she came to us and so we arent sure how this will look inthe future .. how much scaring there is. I'm really really bummed about that. Its being treated however, to prevent any infection, fungal or not, from setting in. We'll watch it and the meds stop in 10 days. The vet says she's seen this a lot?? What are the different ways this can happen? If the lizard is able to leave the hot area, do they still stay sometimes? How hot or close to the heat source/bulb do they have to be for this to happen? I'm assuming if the heat source is out of reach and only gives off 100 degrees its not possible right? Or can this also occur from UVB being right on them?

 

[Roadkill]

Reptiles (and some other animals) have a very bizarre response to "heat" that science doesn't fully understand. They'll behaviourally thermoregulate, in some cases with some extremely tight tolerances: meaning they'll heat up via basking to a point, and will move away from the basking source when they get too warm, go back when they start cooling down. However, it is often seen where a reptile comes into direct contact with an extremely hot object that they won't move away and will actually sit there and continue to burn. Mammals we know have a reflex arc wherein even if we were brain damaged, we'd jerk the affected area away from the offending source, but reptiles appear to lack both this reflex in response to heat, but other mechanisms that would kick in following with continued exposure to such heat. A colleague of mine does research in thermoregulation and is hoping to some day address this very phenomenon.
So, to answer your questions, they basically have to be in direct contact (or similar) for this kind of burn to present itself. However, also unlike in us, thermal burns in reptiles usually take a much longer period of time to present themselves. We touch something too hot, either we develop a blister within minutes/hours, or the skin typically discolours immediately (if dead). I had a case last year where one of my Ctenosaura similis got out of her enclosure and was impossible to catch for a few days. I eventually did recapture her, put her back, and at first she seemed fine (if highly unimpressed). Within a couple of days I noticed she wasn't using one of her arms, and suspected maybe she had broken it or dislocated it, but upon inspection could not see either of these as being the case, so I thought maybe a sprain. Then over the next week a wound appeared to develop over the elbow. Then over the next week her whole arm discoloured as well as all down her left flank. Then the following week this hardened and the knees started to bubble. Basically, long story short, it took about a month to evidence that this poor thing had clearly snuggled up against the basking light on top (but outside) her enclosure while she was having her free run. For awhile I was concerned I was going to have to amputate the arm and was scared that due to the extensive nature of the burn on the arm and the extensive area affected all over her body that she might have succeeded in achieving a 4th degree burn (thermal damage to internal organs), but I was lucky, damage was much less although I did have to excise muscle mass from the arm. She's fully recovered now and has about ~80% usage of the arm.
As for whether this will have permanent on your tegu's looks, it is hard to say. I've seen cases where scarring was permanent and readily apparent, and then with the case I described above, I have been amazed at how well the affected area has healed and how little scarring there is in relation to how badly burned she was. For your case, I recommend daily cleaning and debriding of the wound, application of suitable antibiotics, and keeping her well hydrated. Considering the location, I doubt there's any reliable means to cover the wound to prevent dirt getting to the area while also allowing the tissue to breathe. Best of luck.