wierd shed

[serpents-prey]

ok my bp shed in pieces . . . then after a couple of pieces came off his eyes clouded up and his skin became really dull. now along his spine a strip of scales has peeled off and another patch has dried out like the other scales did before the scales peeled off. i have been soaking him for about an hour a day in lukewarm water. what can i do he is going to the vet thursday but i don't think the vet will tell ma to do anything other than what i have been doing plz lemme know what this is or if any one else has had this happen

[serpents-prey]

here's some pics
the first is the body shot note the dullness in the scales on the left side of the picture these were shed before his eyes clouded up

this pic is of the belly scales on that dull section

and this pic is of the scales that have just plain come off

lemme know what the fuzz is goin' on here cause i'm racked

[kc261]

Yikes that looks scary!

I can only guess.... but to me that place where you say the scales have come off looks like maybe something scraped the snake? Snakes do rub up against stuff when shedding... is it possible there is something sharp in the enclosure or elsewhere the snake could have come in contact that could cause that if the rubbed against it hard enough? Dunno if that would explain the other places though...

[serpents-prey]

actually he shed the skin there and it dried out overnight and peeled it looked fine at first and then it just shriveled

[dr del]

Hi,

I think you're right to have made an appointment at a qualified herp vet. I would go so far as to email him those photographs as I really, really, don't think that is a shedding issue at all.

The underside has marks on it and, while its hard to see and impossible to be certain over the internet, I think it looks similar to scale rot. It might just be staining but coupled to that mark on the back I would want it checked if he was mine.

The bit on the back looks like an old wound (as can be seen from the scarring) has re-opened or the skin (which tends to be thinner and more delicate in these areas for ages afterwards) has got damaged in some other way.

Hope he's ok and let us know what the vet says if you can.



dr del

[littleindiangirl]

I don't think this is a normal shed at all. It looks like your snake is developing some serious scale rot, or a burn.

The scales that are discolored, are they chipping at all? Peeling and shriveling?

Please get him to a qualified herp vet ASAP.

Call the vet's office and see if they advise giving peroxide baths (half peroxide, half warm water) to clean up any bacteria.

In the meantime, get him on paper or paper towels, just the bare necessities. Also, check and make sure your UTH isn't too hot or broken.

Let us know how it goes.

[SatanicIntention]

Just an advisory.. Peroxide actually damages healing tissue and isn't recommended for anything more than getting blood out of clothes really.. It isn't a disinfectant, IMHO.

Either betadine soaks or chlorhexidine soaks, and possibly some neosporin on that belly. Looks like he has some belly rot going on.

How is he housed?? I can't say that's ever happened to any of mine.

[littleindiangirl]

I've heard to use alcohol, peroxide, betadine, chlorhexidine gluconate, almost any type of antiseptic. It's good to know peroxide isn't all that effective.

Did you figure out how those scales came off of his spine?

[kc261]

JPeroxide actually damages healing tissue and isn't recommended for anything more than getting blood out of clothes really.. It isn't a disinfectant, IMHO.

I'm so glad to hear you say that. I'd heard that probably about 10 years ago that it had been decided that peroxide usually killed just as much healthy tissue as it killed germs and so it was no longer considered appropriate to use it as a first aid disinfectant type thing on open wounds. Also, killing the tissues that are trying to heal will lead to extra scarring.

But it seems like every one from the school nurse to the first aid station at an amusement park to the doctor in the emergency room have still wanted to use it to disinfect various cuts & scrapes my kids have gotten. So what's up with that? Is it still considered good to use or not?

[Monty]

i use peroxide on my own cuts that i get then neosporin over it and ive heard about the scar tissue thing too but to tell you the truth i havent noticed it.