Okay... I'm sure this is just one of those "it's fine, it'll fix itself next time he sheds" things but I'm worried so I'm posting anyway lol. My BP has been showing me signs that he's about to shed for about a week now (very dull, pink belly) but is still yet to actually shed. He hasn't eaten in 2 weeks because I didn't want to feed him while he was in shed, especially since I'm going to be attempting to up his meal size this feeding. I took him out quickly today just to check on him since he hasn't shed yet.
Anyway I noticed some strange looking scales on his belly when I was checking if it was pink. They almost look like they're folded over or cropped or something..? They're few and far between but he wasn't very happy with me (hissing while I was taking him out) so I didn't spend too much time looking at them. I caught a quick snap of what it looks like, and the one I got a pic of actually has red on it... I'm not sure if it's blood but it's kind of inside of the scale instead of outside of it. Most of the "weird" scales don't have this red.
Is this an injury? I'm afraid he could've somehow gotten burnt even though the temp on top of the glass about the uth is actually a little bit under 90 (I have the thermostat probe sandwiched between the tank and the mat, it's set to around 94 because I seem to lose some heat transferring through the glass.) Or that he could've gotten his scales snagged on something. I just don't know and I'm a worried parent :(
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/Fcrcxo9.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/v1YHvIP.jpg
Any advice about what it could be would be appreciated! I'm also wondering what people think about the feeding situation. Should I wait for him to shed even though I have no clue when it'll be? Or feed him now? It's already been 2 full weeks and I'm pretty confident he would take it, I just don't want to stress him out but I also don't want to keep denying him food.
Thank you!!!
