Concerned about damaged scales

[bumblebee1028]

I first noticed Thursday afternoon that it looked like Jöri had scraped some of his scales against the inside of his bin. I'm not really sure how to describe it except that some of his scales looked dented. We've been trying to not handle him a lot because he's been fasting for 3-4 weeks, so I did not get him out to check the scales again until tonight, and I'm a bit concerned because it looks like one scale has kind of peeled up, and I can see white underneath.

He's been noticeably more active since last Sunday (roaming a lot at night, and even sometimes during the day), and I'm hoping that's a sign he's hungry, as he's been fasting. I saw him Tuesday or Wednesday up between the lid of his bin and the reinforced ridges (see picture), so I'm thinking that's how he damaged the scales. We've had all three of them in these bins since we got them in December with no issues, but they have grown quite a bit. He doesn't seem to have realized that he's too big to fit up there anymore

So, is this something to be concerned about or should we just wait until his next shed, and see if it heals by then? The humidity is currently at 50-55%, and he's on newspaper. Does that sound good?

Sorry the pictures aren't that great. He did not want to cooperate.





This picture shows the scale that is peeled up. You can also see the "dented" scales around the peeled up scale.


The reinforced ridges are shown in the top left corner of the bin. That's the only way I can think of that he could have injured himself.

[DooLittle]

Does he eat live or f/t prey?

[bumblebee1028]

He's been on frozen/thawed since we got him.

[CORBIN911]

If he was on life before those look like gnaw marks on his back


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bumblebee1028]

As I said, he's been on frozen/thawed since early December. I check all of them regularly, and this just happened in the past few days, so I know it's definitely not from a rat.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how we should treat it? Or if it's best to leave it alone? Tonight is feeding night, and I was going to offer him a (f/t) rat. Would that be a problem if the skin might stretch a bit as he swallows (of course, he may not eat at all, as he's being a brat)?

[DooLittle]

I don't think feeding would hurt it. You should be fine. I'd just keep an eye on it. My first thought though was that it looked like a bite mark. Could be an old scar maybe?

[sunnyscales2day]

It looks pinched to me, like possibly he found a way between the lid and the bin and tried to squeeze through?
My snakes have crimps in their scales like that but on their sides were they bend to coil up. Also my snakes climb around alot and frequently bend scales, it looks just like your pics but on their sides and bellies. I just make sure their tank stays clean whith propper humidity so cale rot cant set in. Dont worry about it. However, I would double check the lid to make sure he wont try to get out again and succeed.

[Tarzan152]

Judging from the pics alone, I would proceed as you yourself suggested. Keep an eye on him and wait till the next shed to see what it looks like. You also hinted slightly that the enclosure may be a bit small for them so consider getting him a bigger one.

I've had this happen to my "kid" before and never found out the cause. After his shed, it fixed itself and so far, hasn't happened again. Hope you get the same result.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

[bumblebee1028]

I don't think feeding would hurt it. You should be fine. I'd just keep an eye on it. My first thought though was that it looked like a bite mark. Could be an old scar maybe?

Thank you! I'll go ahead and offer him a rat tonight, and see if he eats it. I check all of them whenever we have them out, and I've never noticed it before, so I'm pretty sure it's new.

It looks pinched to me, like possibly he found a way between the lid and the bin and tried to squeeze through?
My snakes have crimps in their scales like that but on their sides were they bend to coil up. Also my snakes climb around alot and frequently bend scales, it looks just like your pics but on their sides and bellies. I just make sure their tank stays clean whith propper humidity so cale rot cant set in. Dont worry about it. However, I would double check the lid to make sure he wont try to get out again and succeed.

Thanks! I'll definitely be watching the humidity and making sure his newspaper gets changed ASAP when he makes a mess. The bin is a Sterilite latching bin, so I'm pretty sure he can't get out, but I'm pretty sure that's what he was trying to do

Judging from the pics alone, I would proceed as you yourself suggested. Keep an eye on him and wait till the next shed to see what it looks like. You also hinted slightly that the enclosure may be a bit small for them so consider getting him a bigger one.

I've had this happen to my "kid" before and never found out the cause. After his shed, it fixed itself and so far, hasn't happened again. Hope you get the same result.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

Thanks! Hopefully it will be fine after his next shed. He's in a 15 qt Sterilite bin (as are our other two), and I was waiting to switch them all at once. He's about 700 grams, and the other two are around 600 and 400 grams, so we'll be switching to 32 qt bins soon. They also have the latching lid, and the reinforced ridges at the top, though, so hopefully he'll stop being a brat and trying to fit up there. Otherwise, we'll have to find a way to remove the ridges or put something up there to fill in the space.

Thanks again everyone!

[bumblebee1028]

Jöri shed last Friday, so I wanted to post an updated picture! We switched all three of our BPs to 32 qt bins a few weeks ago, and he's eaten twice since then. Before he shed, he would flinch and hiss when we touched the injury, but now he doesn't seem to notice if we touch it. It's still not pretty, but it looks much better! Thanks again for all the advice!