Under Belly Scales, Falling Off?

Hello,
I've noticed for the past couple days that my ball python's under belly scales seem to be shedding or falling off. When one of the under belly scales falls off, it is transparent. I do not see any signs of scale rot on my ball python, so that does not concern me. Do ball pythons shed their under belly scales separate from the rest of their skin? My terrarium is kept clean, and I feed her on a regular basis. I try to keep her water dish full and clean.

Has anyone experienced this issue before?

I hope she is okay. I have grown fond of her. She is my little buddy.

Hi,

Did she recently shed?

Have you been applying anything to her skin?

Can we see pictures?


dr del

Okay, here are some pictures. The first picture is a picture of one of her under belly scales that fell off. The second picture, towards the bottom of the picture, shows some more scales that are peeling and are about to fall off.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60213480@N06/5977060780/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60213480@N06/5977059280/

This is a picture of her back. When I purchased her, I did not notice this on her back. At first, I thought it was part of a struck shed. However, everything I have tried (the soak method and a mineral-oil method (suggested by my vet)) does not seem to work. Is this simply a flaw in my snake's skin or a sign of something more serious?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60213480@N06/5977060048/

did it shed before the scales started falling off?

Yes, my snake shed probably two weeks ago. Since then, I used a little bit of mineral oil on her skin. Could this be the result of using the mineral oil?

As stated before, have been applying any ointments to her?
Does she have a heat pad? If so, is it in a thermostat?

The only thing I applied to her was mineral oil approximately a week and a half ago. Yes, she has a heat pad; it is an under the tank heater. I use a thermostat/dimmer switch to control the temperature of my terrarium.

It doesn't actually look to me like she's MISSING any of her scutes. That suggest that it's just remnants of a bad shed coming off.

However, I have heard that vaseline and mineral oil can cause reptiles to lose scales, so if I'm wrong, then the mineral oil would certainly be the cause. I would be leery of any vet recommending the use of mineral oil on a reptile (might be time to shop for a more competent vet).

Never put lubricants on reptiles, always use plain water. :) (Don't use the silly shedding products they sell in pet stores, either).

A bad shed is caused by dehydration, not lack of moisture ON the skin. So, the 'cure' is to rehydrate the snake and apply water to soften the stuck skin, which will then just come off.

To fix a bad shed, put the snake in a wet pillowcase for a half hour. (In its cage, where it's warm). Alternatively, you can put the snake in a rubbermaid bin with 1/2 inch of warm water for a half hour or so.

The mark on the snake's back looks like minor scale damage, possibly from a previous partially stuck shed. Nothing to worry about. It will probably go away in a few sheds.

Keeping humidity levels at 60% or higher will prevent dehydration, and thus prevent bad sheds. Remember, a bad shed is a symptom of a potentially serious problem. Chronic dehydration can damage internal organs, so it goes more than skin deep.

The mineral oil is what has caused he scales to slough off.
Stop using it and the problem will clear up.
If she has stuck shed again, either soak her in a container, or use the damp pillow case method.

My snake has shed a couple times already and each time, the marks on the snake's back reappear. Should I be concerned about the marks on her back? How do I remove that from her back?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wahoo92583

My snake has shed a couple times already and each time, the marks on the snake's back reappear. Should I be concerned about the marks on her back? How do I remove that from her back?

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Should clear up after a few sheds

Quit using stuff on the snake and don't worry about the spots...

Don't put anything on the snake. Period. Stop listening to that advice from you vet. Trust us on that.

Every snake will have a bad shed at some point in it's life. It is not life threatening. All you have to do is raise the humidity for the next time. A simple soak in an inch or so of luke warm water for 10-15 minutes and a gentle rub down with your hands or a wet cloth going from head toward tail can loosen the skin.

They can get weird spots where the scales come off if it's a bad shed or they discolor. Don't worry about it. It will fix itself next time. Dont pick at it. Oil based products cause the scales to come off. Also do not soak a snake when you notice the eyes go cloudy and it is getting ready to shed. This can actually cause a bad shed by washing away the layer of natural lubricant between the old and new skin which is needed to help the old skin come off. Instead, during this week, keep humidity high by misting the enclosure, substrate, putting the water bowl on top of the hot side, or adding a humid hide.

Make a humid by taking a plastic container to be a tight fitting hide box and put a layer of moistened moss or red cypress mulch (everything else will promote mold) and put it in the enclosure on the warm side during the week of shed.

This will ensure a complete shed and you won't have these problems. You should never have to put anything on your snake unless it has a physical injury.

You should try and contact your local herp society, if there is one in your area. They can give you good recommendations for a vet as well as other resources you can tap into (feeders, supplies ect...)

I've had this happen to me before, simply because of humidity issues. I'd try keeping up the humidity no lower than 50%. When I kept my big girl in a tank, her humidity was always dropping around 30%. Now that I've got her in a tub with the right humidity range I haven't had this happen since.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wahoo92583

Yes, my snake shed probably two weeks ago. Since then, I used a little bit of mineral oil on her skin. Could this be the result of using the mineral oil?

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Remember this thread?

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...40#post1521640

Almost five months ago you had the same thing happened when you applied mineral oil to her.

On Post 8 Vypyrz tells you what the problem is (mineral oil). On Post 9 you acknowledge that reply and ask for clarification.

Did you really forget both that incident and that advice?