Scales Flaking?

[Black_Shark]

Hey everyone I have a quick question:

I left for a few days to go home for Thanksgiving and when I came back my BP had managed to not only rip the thermometer off the wall of the tub but to also spill her water and pee all over her paper towels (Sheesh, it was a mess) Anyways, as I was changing her towels out for Aspen, I noticed that she had some raised scales and that they felt rough and were making a noise as she crawled around my neck. I first though that I caught her in the middle of a shed, so I soaked her for 30 min in lukewarm water but when I checked her this morning, she has NO shed loose and no pink belly, cloudy eyes, etc. Basically no signs of shedding or going into blue as far as I can tell.

It is not scale rot as there is no swelling, infection, nothing. I have been putting neosporin on a cut she had on the underside of her neck near her head but these scales aren't really near that wound.

The scales just individually flake off in one piece or you can peel them off. Really weird. I read somewhere that this is a sign that a BP is about to shed in some cases. What do you guys think? Caused by the super low humidity after the spilled water and pee dried up? Or just pre-shedding? OR something more serious?

[Black_Shark]

Edit: Just really looked at her and its not just that one part its her whole body. Her neck is starting to flake, she feels rough and dry, pieces of clear scales are coming off. Since I was gone for 3 days maybe I missed her blue stage? or she is just beginning the process? Or is she dried out because of the low humidity when I was gone? (I'm assuming the humidity was low not 100% sure)

[steveboos]

I know when i was a beginner i had some Hack breeder tell me to give my ball python a mineral oil bath to help it shed. Not only is oil bad for snakes, but she shed EACH INDIVIDUAL SCALE off all over her tank. It was the biggest mess i've ever seen and it was all over a 55 gallon tank. I was pissed and came on here to find out what i actually did and that the oil separate the scale from the top layer of skin and it sheds off individually.

Did you do anything similiar to this recently?

[Black_Shark]

Nope. She has never been near oil. The only thing I have done is put neosporin (without painkiller) on a rat bite she had recently. twice a day for at least a week and put her on paper towels for over around 1.5 months. I would think it was the neosporin seeing as thats a side effect but its all over her body. Maybe when she coiled up she rubbed it on herself? Or she's just in shed, and since my humidity was low because of the above situation i'm just gonna have to deal with a horrendous shed.

[Black_Shark]

Edit #2: My gf just noticed that her head scales are wrinkly. Looks like she's beginning the shed process but with no blue? or is that on its way?

Also her bottom scales are very rough to the touch, papery feeling, and when you look at them sideways you can see it starting to come off. Also her scales look transparent.

[JLC]

Sounds to me like she's about to shed...and it's gonna be a rough one. It will likely come off in a million little pieces and she may have a lot of stuck shed afterward.

I would make sure the humidity is increased, although it is probably too late for that effort to make much difference. Let her get as much of it off on her own as she can without bugging her. And THEN, if she does, indeed have a lot of stuck stuff...then I'd soak her and help her off with the rest of it.

[Black_Shark]

Yeah JLC , thats what I was thinking. And after going to cornsnakes.com and searching for some more info, I found pics of snakes that were going through a process that looked very similar. They said that it sometimes happens a week before going into blue but granted these were also cornsnakes. The only question I have now is whether or not she is going into blue or has already been through that stage and is about to shed in the next couple days. What do you guys/gals think?

[JLC]

I've not heard of ball pythons flaking before they go blue...but I suppose if conditions were dry enough, anything is possible. It IS possible to miss the blue phase entirely...especially if you were gone for a few days. Going simply on what we've read here...I would expect to see an enclosure full of shed-bits in the next 2-3 days.

[Black_Shark]

Yeah, im hoping. I'm worried about the flaking. I don't know how low the humidity was but I'm assuming pretty darn low because when I opened her tub after being gone the paper towels were bone dry along with the rest of the tub. On an interesting note, she was also in a striking position and super stiff when I removed her hide and picked her up. Weird behavior from her.

I don't know whats going on. I'm just hoping its a bad shed and not dehydration. And like I said before, the best way to describe it would be that single scales are flaking off and that she feels dry, rough and papery. And that some of her head scales look wrinkly. Otherwise she is acting normal. I could try a few pics but I don't know how detailed they would be because its not super obvious unless held at exactly the right angle or if you were holding her.

[JLC]

Was her water bowl dry when you got home, too?

What you need is a reliable hygrometer to let you know what the humidity is at all times. If you don't know what it was when you got home..then I'm assuming you don't know what it is on a day-to-day basis.

Can you describe your set-up for her? What sort of enclosure and what size? How are you heating it? How are you measuring the temperature gradient?