Soft scales. Is this normal??

I have a pastel fire banana bp. We got him from morphmarket at 4 to 6 months old. When we unboxed him we wondered if he was scaleless because of how soft his skin is. (He does have scales, we can see them.) Then we concluded it was because he was young. Its a year later and he is still very soft. He does not have blisters, spots, or raised scales. He acts friendly and touching his skin does not hurt or bother him. He doesn't shed his skin all in one piece, but he sheds it all each time. His skin has a healthy gloss to it as well. We keep other bps in great health who's skin is normal. What is up? Is this just a trait in some bps? Please help! :confusd:

There is a micro scale bp. Is it possible that he's got small micro scales? I'm not sure if they have good or bad sheds but it's a thought.

How old are your others that are “normal”? What’s the youngest snake you’ve ever touched? Snakes are kinda soft.


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I've never heard of this but then again, I'm not so much into the BPs. If it's a symptom of any sort of illness, I'd wonder about a lack of enzymes (to fully digest food that supports normal growth) or some genetic anomaly, but these are not things I've actually heard of- hopefully, someone else here has more to add? TrustyNubNubs, have you asked the MM source you got him from? Many of the snakes I keep have slightly keeled scales, so BPs have always felt soft to me.

I'm a little confused when you say "soft." I would consider my 6 month old soft, but you're clearly feeling something different when your handle your other snakes so I'm not sure what the issue could be. Have you taken him just a check up at a herp vet? They could probably put your mind at ease and offer a better explanation.

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

How old are your others that are “normal”? What’s the youngest snake you’ve ever touched? Snakes are kinda soft.


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The other bp we currently have is about 5 years and we've had her since before she was 1 year as well. She certainly is soft n squish but her scales are more firm.

I just looked into this and it seems quite possible. He does have scales on his head and has heat pits too (a video i watched said they are known to have missing heat pits, i dont know if thats true for all micros though) it is a little hard to decide wether he would have micro scales or that he is simply just young and small

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Originally Posted by TrustyNubNubs

I just looked into this and it seems quite possible. He does have scales on his head and has heat pits too (a video i watched said they are known to have missing heat pits, i dont know if thats true for all micros though) it is a little hard to decide wether he would have micro scales or that he is simply just young and small

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If you could post a couple pictures of him that would be great. Maybe a close up one of his scales and a close up side by side of him and another one of your snakes for comparison

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[IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/gr26svkT/20201224-115739.jpg[/IMG]

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