Scale fading/discoloration?

Hello, my name is Joshua and /i'm a new ball python owner. I've had my ball (named Clint Eastwood) for about three weeks now. He seems to be adjusting nicely, and after the first week or so has been moving around his enclosure and seems to be enjoying his surroundings. I have a few concerns though, one of which is an odd discoloration I've noticed in patches on his scales. In a few areas all over his length, there's some dull areas that almost look like scales that were left behind from his last shedding. I know he shed completely, I looked at the skin myself, but that's what it looks like. I'm worried this might be due to dehydration or something else in the enclosure that I might be doing imporoperly, or maybe it's just a natural discoloration.

He had the same patches before he shed his skin, and they remain with the new scales, though I'm not sure if its the same spots.

There's a picture of what it looks like at the following link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegrea...re/3251593703/

Any suggestions/advice at all?

Thanks to anyone who can help.

~Josh

I'm not exactly sure what it is, but can you give a detailed description of your setup?

- Size/type enclosure
- How you measure temps and humidity
- How you control temps
- Hides
- Substrate
- Temps in cage (hot side, cool side, ambient)

I think I'm missing something but not sure... just be as detailed as possible.

That just happens if the snake has a bad shed, or even sometimes with good sheds, and the scale coloration doesn't form properly. That's the best way I can explain it.

It's not a big deal :)

Don't worry too much, probably just means you should raise the humidity a bit more.

Used to happen to my snake when I was a newb and had the humidity too low while she was shedding. After I fixed the problem it happens much rarely to never now.

To clarify:

20 gallon glass tank with screen lid.
One 60 watt day-bulb and one 40 watt night-bulb.
Aspen substrate
2 strip thermometers at each end of the tank about 2-3 inches from floor
One strip hygrometer about 4-5 inches from bottom of tank, centered horizontally
Roughly 1 qt. water dish, about 10 inches in diameter.
Plastic hide (appropriate for his size)
Temperature ranges from 75-84 on the cool side and 80-86 on the warm side beneath the bulbs.
Humidity is low (around 20%) which I know should be higher, but the winter weather makes it difficult to maintain. I mist twice daily.

I think that's about everything...
Picture of it all here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegrea...re/3254033567/
(The wood in the middle is a large piece of grape-vine, with some other smaller sticks placed intermittently. All baked to kill mold/bacteria. Also, a couple .50 caliber dummy bullets just for looks, sterilized them as well.)

Well, there are quite a few ways to combat humidity.
First, I would recommend covering 3/4 of the screen top with a layer of tin foil and a layer of duct tape.
Do you have a UTH? Are you using anything to control it?
The main reason why you have low humidity is because of that light. Lights eat humidity and its going to take a lot of effort to keep it up with the light.
If you do decide to get a UTH, make sure you have something to control it with. A simple piggy-back light dimmer is sufficient, although a thermostat is preferred.
Also, you are going to need to get a thermometer with a probe to get an accurate reading right on the glass where your UTH would be. You can get an Accu-rite indoor outdoor thermometer with humidity gage at wal-mart, lowes, or home depot.

Also, you might want to ditch that HUGE water bowl and get an identical hide and place a new, smaller water bowl between them. Ball pythons need to thermo-regulate and they will often sacrifice proper thermo-regulation for being secure in a hide.

:D Hope that helps. As for the discolored scales, they are just leftover shed.

Hi,

First thing that jumps out is those strip thermometers and hygrometer.

I would probably recommend replacing them with a digital device such as the acurite weatherstation with outside probe from walmart ( it seems to be around $9-$14 ).

I'm just not convinced abouyt the acuracy of those strips. :weirdface


dr del

those are just dry scales just more humidity, and id soak him for about 15 min everyday for a week see how that helps but in luke warm water..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JColasante

To clarify:

Temperature ranges from 75-84 on the cool side and 80-86 on the warm side beneath the bulbs.

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Your temps are also much too low. They should be 90-94 on the warm side, and 80-84 on the cool side. Based on your temps, your snake has almost no way to thermoregulate.

I second the dimmer or thermostat and the UTH.

I forgot to mention I DO have a UTH, it's placed right beneath his hide and stays a good 85-90 degrees in there.
As for the temperature, I can raise that easily... I usually drape a thick cloth over the lamps and tank to keep the heat from escaping. Done it a couple times when my room's gotten particularly cold and that seems to be effective. I'll keep what you said in mind about the humidity, though...

The trouble is my room stays on the colder side during the wintertime (I live in the northeast, its about 3-10 degrees out lately -_-)

With the UTH in the hide, would that be enough for him to regulate his temperature?

Figure I'd give an update:

He just shed and his new scales look fine, no faded scales or anything of the sort. It was a full shed as well, so the humidity must not be too bad after all.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

Your temps are also much too low. They should be 90-94 on the warm side, and 80-84 on the cool side. Based on your temps, your snake has almost no way to thermoregulate.

I second the dimmer or thermostat and the UTH.

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Those temps are not in a bad range. The hot end should be at 85-88. Those are the temps i keep my animals at, zero issues.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JColasante

... I usually drape a thick cloth over the lamps and tank to keep the heat from escaping.

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Sounds like a fire hazard waiting to happen. I would not block the venting for those lamps ever. The bulbs may get too hot, and cause a fire.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mooingtricycle

Sounds like a fire hazard waiting to happen. I would not block the venting for those lamps ever. The bulbs may get too hot, and cause a fire.

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Agreed, just cover 3/4s the tank with the cloth and allow enough room for the light