Weird Spot on my BP

[Ed Chisholm]

My 2 year old BP shed Saturday night. I discovered that she had what appeared to be a piece of stuck shed on her back. I put her in some warm water, and the shed came off very easily. What remained on her back bothers me a great deal. She appears to have lost pigment under the piece of stuck shed. Her black areas are still black, but her golden areas are white. I checked on her again this morning, and the spot remains. Does anyone have any idea what this s. Do I need to get her to a vet? I am very confident in her husbandry. Worked very hard to get it just right. She fed last night without any hesitation. She did not mind being handled, and did not wince or jump at all when you touch the spot. Please help.

[dr del]

Hi,

It's a bit hard to be sure from the pic but it looks like you took the top layer off the new scales off when you removed the stuck shed.

Does that patch look dull and less glossy than the surrounding "normal" areas?

I would just keep an eye on it and I think it should go away with the next shed. If it starts looking funky or anything though you might want to have it checked.

A better picture might help though.


dr del

[llovelace]

I agree with dr del

[grim reaper in NY]

I agree with Lace that she agrees with Dr. Del.

[kc261]

I would agree, except 2 things make me think this is not a "slam dunk" type answer.

1) - Why did the shed stick in that spot in the first place? I know, it happens, but if the rest of the shed came off, why not that spot? The edges are very sharply defined, not ragged like the edges of the little bits of stuck shed my snakes sometimes have. Was the rest of the shed in one piece? If so, that would make me even more concerned about why this spot stuck.

2) - The OP says that the shed on that area came off "very easily" with some warm water. I would not expect that would result in pulling off such a large area of the underlying layer. Of course, different people would have different definitions of what coming off very easily means, so that might be part of it.

I would double check everything in the enclosure to make sure there is not any place where the snake could get burned or otherwise injured. If not, then it is probably ok to just watch that area very closely to see what happens.

[Ed Chisholm]

Thanks for your help with this.

The rest of the shed was off in one piece, rolled up tightly in a ring. She has had problem sheds before, and I made adjustments to her enclosure to hopefully help. I agree with the sharp edges/borders, it looks just like a puddle of water, 3" long, 1" wide. If I run my finger long her back, when I hit the "spot" it doe get a bit tackier, but nothing is clinginging to it (substrate, etc.). I did put a small smear of neosporin on it just to hopefully prevent future issues.

I double checked all temps again (thermo probes and temp gun), and there are no hot spots that could have burned her, and the spot is odd on her back, not her belly.

I have appreciated your advcice in the past to others about not hesitating taking your snake to the Vet. If you feel that this is one of those cases I will take her immediately.

[Ed Chisholm]

Just checked her again, and the spot is still there. It might be a little lighter, but very obvious. Spot "feels" the same as the other areas of her body.

[Ed Chisholm]

Four days later, and the spot is still obvious. I sure hope it goes away with her next shed. Temps, humidity hides are all still great, so I still have no clue what caused this.

[mechnut450]

looking at the pic ( the begining black area looks to have a little blood in it this might of been a blister that you popped, or peeld off.) if this is the case it means she been burned or has other possible health issue causing this. THat would also explain the lost of pigment in the scales and the stickienesss.
What are you using to heatthe cage ( bulb or uth ?)
if a bulb I check the placem ent of it and turn off for a visible chec kfor possible skin stuck to it .. I also say expect the area to darken some when it heals..

I was amazed when my one bp squeezed though a cage opennig that was less than 1/2 inch wide with her 3 inches of self . she got stuck and it took me 30 minute to take the side of the cage apart to remove the glass doors so Icould free her. the area was sacle less and rub raw. It did take her 3 sheds to get it back to a healthy skin and no more scabbing. and she was go happy. ( mad that i took away her escape route. I end up placing a seconardy boar righ against the glass after thatot prevent to from happening again.

[Ed Chisholm]

I appreciate your help. I have two UTH's. The one on the "cool" side set with a thermostat @ 80 (it ranges between 79 - 81). The one on the "warm" side set with a thermostat @ 90 (it ranges between 88 - 94). These temps are taken on the floor of the enclosure, under the substrate in the hides with temperature probes/digital thermometers. I use a temp gun to double-check, and have never had a substantially different reading between the gun and the probes. The original thermostat on the "warm" side is a Repti-500, and from my readings here it is not a popular brand. The thermostat on the "cool" side, which appears to be working a heck of a lot better, is a Zilla brand. I will go tonight and get another Zilla to replace the 2 year old Repti-500. I will not risk injuring her again.