What could this be???

[L.West]

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.






Anyone know what caused this??

[dr del]

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

[L.West]

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.

[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.

[JodanOrNoDan]

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.

[JodanOrNoDan]

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.

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.

[L.West]

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??

[JodanOrNoDan]

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.

[L.West]

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

[Eavlynn]

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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