What could this be???

I was holding my snake last night and noticed that stuff was rubbing off his body. I am wondering if he is close to shedding out. Has anyone else ever seen this. I know for a fact it is not mites. Just curious what you all think.

Here are some pics.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...psxht6dchh.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...psetkloh7o.jpg


Anyone know what caused this??

Those are individual scales - have you been treating him with anything recently that was oil based?

No. nothing at all. He is kept in an AP T8 cage with kraft paper for bedding. Absolutely nothing has touched him. Is this serious?? What should I do to help him.

As a side note - about 8 days ago I noticed his eyes were blue so I assumed he was going into shed. Then his eyes cleared up but he never shed out. That is when I noticed the scales coming off.

My snakes always shed out in one complete piece with eyecaps present. I can't imagine what has went wrong this time.

I'm not a boa guy but are you sure it is just not some old stuck shed? I've seen similar on balls that have had a bad shed.

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Originally Posted by L.West

As a side note - about 8 days ago I noticed his eyes were blue so I assumed he was going into shed. Then his eyes cleared up but he never shed out. That is when I noticed the scales coming off.

My snakes always shed out in one complete piece with eyecaps present. I can't imagine what has went wrong this time.

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Ahh! there u go. I have seen this on balls right before shed. The specific reference happened when I had an animal that was getting ready to shed that had to be restrained for a procedure. The shed started coming off in my hands in little pieces. Wipe a damp cloth over the animal and see if you get a little more. I really believe u are looking at pre or post shed. Hopefully one of the boa people have seen this before.

He has always shed out in one complete piece. The clouded eyes were all I noticed about 8 days ago. Hopefully he is just getting ready to shed. I plan to feed tonight - will that be okay??

If it was a ball i would say if it wants to eat let it. A boa I know nothing about other than how to sex them.

Okay, thanks. Normally he can be offered food while in shed so I guess I will go ahead and feed him. Maybe that will motivate him to shed out. LOL

I've never had this issue unless my humidity dropped too low. What level of humidity does your boa have in the enclosure?

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Just looks like some leftover stuck shed. My opinion of course.


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I keep it steady at 50/55% on the hot side and 60% on the cool side.

I've never had any issues with my snakes before this.

The last time he shed out it was one complete piece like usual. This latest attempt to shed never went past the cloudy eye stage - he never did shed out. That is why I was confused.

When was the cloudy eye stage? Their eyes will clear up again and look normal a few days before the shed actually happens.

His eyes cleared up over a week ago. This has been a very strange shed indeed. Nothing has changed in his enclosure either. His last full shed was back in December. Is it possible to go blue and then never shed out??

He ate last night just fine - so he is acting fine.

Just an update, sawyer now has a pink belly so he is finally going to shed. I hope this clears up this issue

Fingers crossed.

In my opinion, I believe you or the snake accidentally rubbed/scrapped while being removed from the enclosure. Hope this helps, but that's what I believe it to be in my experience.

Could it be from the hides. They are reptile basic black hides. I could get larger ones. That is the only possible thing that he coul have rubbed his back on