Stupid Question?

As some of you know, I 'rescued', of sorts, a redtail from a kid at my school who was greatly miscaring for her. A few of you are aware of her rather hostile attitude. As such, it has only been recently that I've really been able to handle her and look her over.

My boyfriend and I were cleaning her tank yesterday, with him spending some quality time with her while I did the hard work. And he pointed something out to me.

Absinthe has very weak scales. In the areas where her skin 'rolls' together when she's curled up, a few rows of scales bend outwards... like they are bent back. She also has some deformed scales. The scales that are bent back bend and break really easy.

Now, it's a stupid question, but. Is this because of a calcium deficiency in her diet? Or is it something else?

I've been reading about redtails, as has my boyfriend, and I've browsed these forums, but I haven't read about anything that sounds like what she has.

My boyfriend is out of town at the moment, so I'm going to attempt to get her to cooperate with me long enough for me to snap a few photos of the areas I'm talking about... so I'll hopefully have those soon. In the meantime, any advice? If it's a simple calcium deficiency, I can deal with that no problem. I'm just worried it might be something bigger.

I am just taking a guess here but a genetic disorder could cause something like this. But I am just taking a shot in the dark.. sorry I couldn't be more help

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

I am just taking a guess here but a genetic disorder could cause something like this. But I am just taking a shot in the dark.. sorry I couldn't be more help

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That might be a reason for her deformed scales... thanks for at least offering =]

Here are some rather crappy photos. I tried to take her out, but that was a no no. I'll try and get some more when my boyfriend gets back in town and can handle her. She's about 6 feet long, making her much bigger than me, and very, very, very hard to control 1 handed [she refuses to be still if she's outside her cage. And believes me to be a chew toy]

This is the deformed scale area:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...e/IMG_6614.jpg

And these are areas where the scales are bent:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...e/IMG_6602.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...e/IMG_6611.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...e/IMG_6612.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../IMG_66002.jpg

there are more of course, but those are the only ones I could get to with her still in her tank.

And now, just for fun, here's Absinthe =] Holding tank, so no, the towel is not part of the bedding XD

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...e/IMG_6598.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...e/IMG_6599.jpg

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Originally Posted by xxCyxx

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...e/IMG_6614.jpg

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Is that a hole or scales ???

It scales, quite literally. Huge, mishapen scales that shed just as any other scale would. I'm going to go through my box of shed skin and see if I can find it from her last shed.

Wow...she looks -really- angry in that last photo of her face--like she's scowling at the camera. Sorry I can't be of help with what might be wrong with her...hope someone who's experienced can give you some advice. If no one here does, maybe a trip to a herp vet is in order?

--Kim

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AzureN1ght

Wow...she looks -really- angry in that last photo of her face--like she's scowling at the camera. Sorry I can't be of help with what might be wrong with her...hope someone who's experienced can give you some advice. If no one here does, maybe a trip to a herp vet is in order?

--Kim

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That's my next plan of action if no one here has any help to offer. And she pretty much always looks like that. I'm telling you, after the way she was living, she is FULL of hate. I have never met a meaner snake. And working in a pet store, I've met some pretty mean snakes. I still love her to death though, she's gorgeous. If the problem with her scales isn't genetic, I'm hoping to breed her one day.

coult it be just a spot where it was caught on a corner or something? as long as its only a few scales it would seem to be a small injury more than some big problem.

I was just thinking the large deformed scale in the first picture almost looks like a scar maybe. One of my ball pythons has a scar where the scales healed together and basically made one big one. Causing it to look deformed although its much smaller than the one pictured.

Also, Has she shed at all since you rescued her? the scales that look soft and bent may be corrected by a good shed. Thats just a guess though, but that big scale looks a lot like a scar to me.
Kristy

The first picture scales grown together spot definitely looks like a healed scar to me.

The pic with the big scale is probably a scar. I had a rescued Red Tail that had gotten in a fight with a rat because the owner wouldnt handle or spend the time feeding pre-kill. She had a couple of those spots on her and the vast majority dissapeared after her 3rd. or 4th. shed. she still has a larger one that I dont think will ever go away much like the one you have there. The folds appear to be where they rub the wrong way or stay folded for a long time (hours) any one of my red tails, and my burm, will have thoes from time to time and they go away after a while. I hope this helps.

i have the same problem with bent scales. get her bigger hides and when she sheds it will go away. the other looks like a scar, i wouldn't worry about if it doesn't bother her. if its not broken don't fix it. very pretty by the way.

Definitly a scar in the first picture, i found a skinny little gopher out in the backyard(who i ended up keeping and fattening up) who had obviously been attacked by maybe a bird, anyway the scales were gone....just pale gray skin, but shed after shed after shed, a couple mishapen scales grew back and healed.

As a few others have already pointed out, I also think the huge scale is actually an old scar. I also saw scale folds on my Burmese python... it doesn't seem like anything was wrong with her, I think they just became that way from her staying in the same position for a long amount of time.

And I absolutely love your Boa's face.

All of you have made me feel a lot better. She has indeed shed since I got her. I've had her for oooh... two and a half months? She shed in one piece, and her shed cycle was pretty quick [2 days blue eyed, 1 day silver eyed, 1 day clear eyed, 1 day shed] so 5 days?

The boy who had her before me was feeding her live mice, and when I got her, her tank was smeared with blood and mouse feces, so it is quite logical that a mouse got ahold of her, especially since she was about two feet smaller when I got her. Yes yes, that's right. In the two months or so that I've had her, she's grown two feet, and gained a lot of weight [she was skin and bones]

And I was hoping that that was all the bent back scales were, were from the way she stays curled up. No matter where she is in her tank, she always curls up the same way, and stays that way until someone disturbs her so I suppose that's it.

Eep, thanks all of you =] And thank you, those of you who complimented her looks.

I feel a lot better =]

It looks like what Ruby's scales look like. Its just from being coiled up from my experience

Is she able to get out for some exercise regularily? I know from your post that she's a harder to handle big snake so of course you'd need both of you home and watching her carefully. The BCI we fostered (female who was 6 feet at the time) enjoyed a good bit of exercise in our enclosed front porch in good weather but then she was a very nicely tempered snake. Well other than grabbing furniture and hauling it around the house (should have known that she was a she by that and not the he we assumed....all us ladies like to rearrange the livingroom on occasion LOL).

Sounds like she's coming along beautifully and certainly growing well for you. I can't comment on those raised scales as personally I've never seen that even on the big BCI we had.

Yes, she gets a good bit of excersize. Tim's schedule is odd, due to band practice two hours away and court and such two hours in the OPPOSITE direction. We're both home together maybe four days out of the week, but he dotes on her then. He takes her to the den and lets her run around while he watches TV, and he'll sit in the bathroom with her, reading, while she swims around. She loves water more than anything.

I really wish I could handle her on my own, but she just despises anyone that isn't him. The days I have to feed her myself, I have to do it as quickly as possible, and use gloves and towels and such to handle her, because she'll hiss and bite and thrash around like no one's business. But she'll be as gentle as all for him, when she chooses to be. Some days when she's in a bad mood she'll hiss at him but those are rare. She's just all grr-ish.

But yes, I'm definitely glad her scale issues are nothing to worry about.

Carmen has those "scale ruffles" as well and I've seen them on several other larger boids - just seems to be par for the course of big boids - they get "rufflely".

Personally, for Carmen, I think it's because she seems to think slithering backwards is the way to go...silly thing. =)

My 7' BCI is the same way with the bent scales. Makes me feel lots better