Dry Skin on Adult Boa

My female adult Red Tail has dry skin on top, looks and feels somewhat ashy. She is not due for a shed that so far as I can tell. I'm in California and it's rather dry here. I'm waiting on my animal plastics cage to come in and in the mean time have her in a glass enclosure which doesn't hold humidity very well, but I've been misting her cage daily and keeping her water bowl full. Is there anything that can be done to moisturize her skin? Perhaps some pure aloe vera gel from the plant or a natural oil such as almond oil or olive oil?

I definitely wouldn’t put on thing on a snakes skin personally,
you could put some damp moss in her hide, then mist it regular that would increase the humidity


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Originally Posted by aliamo

Is there anything that can be done to moisturize her skin? Perhaps some pure aloe vera gel from the plant or a natural oil such as almond oil or olive oil?

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There is absolutely something that can be done.

A good old fashioned soak in your bathtub.

Fill it up a few inches with lukewarm (not hot) water and set her in it while you continue to monitor her and leave her there for 15-20 minutes. It will do wonders, but be aware boas like to "go" when you do this as well so you might have a little bit of cleanup. I wouldn't mess around with oils or ointments.

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Originally Posted by KevinK

There is absolutely something that can be done.

A good old fashioned soak in your bathtub.

Fill it up a few inches with lukewarm (not hot) water and set her in it while you continue to monitor her and leave her there for 15-20 minutes. It will do wonders, but be aware boas like to "go" when you do this as well so you might have a little bit of cleanup. I wouldn't mess around with oils or ointments.

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Thank you! She soaks in her water bowl often but the water doesn't cover the top of her skin when she does. I'll try putting her in the bathtub.

Like mentioned, i would stuff some moss or line the inside of her hide with damp paper towels to create a humid hide until the AP cage gets there. If she is on aspen, you can also cover the 3/4 or more of the top of her cage with tin foil and then mist the aspen until it is nice and damp but not swampy wet. I mist all my boas in their AP cages once or twice a week during the winter.

If she eats f/t rodents offer them wet so she hydrates from the inside.