Scales coming *up*

It seems that my Borneo STP's scales are "fraying" (for lack of a better word), as if they have been rubbed the wrong way. This has happened previously prior to sheds (which I believe he may be nearing now), but I've never seen it in any of my other snakes, so I wanted to check with you guys.

He's a Keith McPeek 09 breit, been with me for 9 months, eating and defecating regularly, growing like a weed. Feces seem normal. There was a mite problem and I am continuing to treat his tub with PAM (following the directions closely) monthly.

Setup- 20gal Rubbermaid tub w/ paper towel substrate. Temps are 88* warm side 80* cool side, though they drop a bit at night. Humidity is always within 60-70%, although I have been giving him frequent baths to try to remove his eyecaps from his previous shed (a result of the mites, I believe). He always has fresh water available and a cardboard hide box.

Here's the best picture I can get of his scales.
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...l/DSC07376.jpg
Look near the bottom, they are literally coming up, though he hasn't lost any and they don't seem to bother him.



I am currently heading out the door for vacation. I don't know how available internet will be, so I apologize in advance for delayed replies.


Thanks much!

I've seen that happen at a certain point in the shed cycles of some of my animals as well.

Seems normal.

I also had an animal that went through an AB treatment and shed right after it was completed. She had a bunch of scales all over her back raise up much like yours, scared the crap outta me.

She ended up shedding and was just fine. She has since shed again since then and it did it again, but VERY VERY minimally. I believe the next shed to not have any scales do it.

Your husbandry sounds spot on, so I wouldn't fret too much:D

Have fun on vacation!

A few of my snakes have that. Its just because they tend to coil in the same location and sometimes the scales are pulled back a bit from the hide or something in the cage and after setting like that for soo long they just kinda stay. I wish I could give more on the topic but I ws already half way out the door when I saw the thread.

Also consider the fact that there could be mites under there. Have you lifted up/squeezed the scale? Sometimes if you get your thumb nail squeezing just right, the mites come right out. If you do not see any signs of mite infestation, then as trogdor said, its perfectly normal. Hope it's not mites.

Thats totally normal with larger snakes. The scales will almost stay thay way due to their size and coiling for long periods of time. My large 8ft+ boa had this about 4 spots on each side of her all the way down. Some get it and some dont, nothing to be worried about.

I would however drop your temps a bit. Your hot side is lil too high. Try to aim for a 77 cool side 83-85 warm side.

Thanks everyone! Hope you all had wonderful Christmases!

I did consider that there are mites underneath... I can't see any but that doesn't mean much, and he's got a decent amount of anterior speckling, so it's hard to tell. :confused: I guess I'll just keep my eyes open for them.