Dry nose, dark pink(almost red) belly... for 2 weeks... is it pre-shed?

[Jeo123]

So my girls nose has been pretty dry looking for a while now(over a month, less than two) I keep the humidity around 60%, closer to 70% since noticing the issue, but it doesnt seem to go away. I've alse noticed that now her belly is a very dark pink, which would be fine, except it doesnt usually last two weeks like this.

I've also noticed she has two spots on the front of her nose under her nostrils that look pale that were usually dark.

I suspect that she's been rubbing her nose against her hide/the walls/digging, but I'm worried she might be hurting herself. I switched to aspen bedding instead of the repti-bark because of this concern(it's softer) but it hasn't improved much. Am I over worrying?

[Drumsinthenight.]

Try a couple soakings.

[Dante's_Girl]

I would say a "red" belly is not a good thing, but a pink belly could be totally diffrent. My husband and I just joined a local herp club and last week we were learning about scale rot. I'm not saying that what your's has, but one of the symtoms was having a red (almost like a burn) belly. I would try soaking a couple of times and if it doesn't get better, or if it gets worse, you may want to see your vet.

[dr del]

Hi,

Pictures would help people get a better idea of what is going on I think.


dr del

[Jeo123]

I can't get a good picture of the darker pink spots(she doesn't like having her picture taken and the flash just makes her whole belly white, but no flash is too dark).

I did get a picture of her nose though...



She's back in her hide now trying to get away from my camera, so I might try again some other time if it gets worse. I will say that after doing a search on google for scale rot, it doesn't seem nearly as bad as I thought it was.

[JLC]

Looks to me like she's aggressively rubbing her nose against something. The red belly could be a burn. How are you heating the floor? How are you measuring the temps? If it's hot enough to burn, it could also be making her environment uncomfortable enough for her to constantly rub in an attempt to find a cooler place to hang out.

[Jeo123]

I have two digital thermometers along with a temp gun, warm side is 88-90, cool side is around 84. The tank is on a UTH hooked up to a thermostat(no built in thermometer for the thermostat). There's a low watt lamp for light, but it doesn't give off much heat, plus it's on the warm side so if it did get warm, it would just shut off the UTH.

The strange thing is she usually hangs out on the warm side, even with identical hides. I feel like if it really was too warm, she'd make her way over to the cool side. Even directly on the glass, it only reaches 93.

I did notice though when I went in to check, that she's pushing up against the lid(a metal mesh top). Not sure what to make of that one or how to get her to stop.

[JLC]

Ok, what are the chances of scale rot? If you've been putting in extra effort to up the humidity because of her nose, is it possible that the substrate has been kept too wet for too long?

A red belly for that long is a concern for me. Obviously all we can do is guess, though.

The nose definitely seems like a rub to me. Maybe she's not feeling secure? Even with good temps and snug hides? (assuming the hides are nice and snug little caves?) Sometimes they freak out with glass tanks because even though they are enclosed, they still feel exposed. Or maybe some new element to her environment precipitated her insecurity...such as her tank being moved to a new location or new noises (vibrations) being introduced to her surroundings or too much direct light or constant ambient light.....etc etc.