Really dry skin

[Karoni]

Hi all. Is it normal for a corn to get really dry, crinkly skin before a shed? On Sunday, I was cleaning Mango's viv, so I had her out. (I haven't handled her much because of her past regurging issues.) Anyway, I was dismayed to feel that her skin was really dry. Almost crinkly. I saw a few tiny pieces of skin sticking out from her ventral scutes.

I figured she must have gone blue and I missed it somehow...although I don't know how that would have happened. She is a very active snake and I see her every day.

Anyway, I put in a humid hide and she instantly went in. She hasn't come out in three days.

I'm just wondering if all this is normal. My other two snakes don't use the humid hide and I've never known their skin to get like that.

How long can she stay in there before I have to worry about scale rot?

Thanks for any replies!

[xlevix]

My corn's skin usually always gets dry looking and very pale/white, the length of time it lasts would pr

[xlevix]

My corn's skin usually always gets dry looking and very pale/white, the length of time it lasts would pr
Probably vary from snake to snake though

[OkeeteeMom]

The only snake I've actually seen and felt (and even 'heard') this with is Evie. She got really crinkly. I have some super Macro shots of her scales and they look like there are fingernails growing off of them. Mind you...her crinkliness happened even though I misted her Viv lightly every day, always keep her moist hide in there, AND laid a layer of plastic wrap lightly over the top screen of her Viv. The humidity gauge was bouncing between 70-80%. If I didn't make sense, you can call me, lol.

[Karoni]

Thanks guys. Does anyone know about the scale rot issue? I believe Bitsy once had a snake that got scale rot, but I think it was in its humid hide for weeks.

[Naagas]

I have a snake right now who is really dry and crinkly.
I guess it happens at times.

I think that scale rot has discoloration on the belly scales along with the crinkly texture. If your snake is crinkly all over, with no discoloration, I wouldnt think it is scale rot.

[Karoni]

Thanks, Naagas. I was wondering how long it was safe to leave her in the humid hide before she would develop scale rot. She doesn't have it right now.

[Naagas]

I found a site with some pics of scale rot and a description if you are still worried:
http://pet-snakes.com/scale-rot-pet-snakes

[oneirogenesis]

I have a small humidifier that I turn on next to a snake's cage if they are getting ready to shed. It wasn't expensive at all, and I got it with the snakes in mind. I don't mist or use humid hides because I worry about scale rot, too. The humidifier seems to work well and doesn't create any damp conditions inside of the viv. Another technique I use with vivs that have screen lids is to put a moist towel over about a third or a half of the screen when someone's getting ready to shed.

[Naagas]

I have a small humidifier that I turn on next to a snake's cage if they are getting ready to shed. It wasn't expensive at all, and I got it with the snakes in mind. I don't mist or use humid hides because I worry about scale rot, too. The humidifier seems to work well and doesn't create any damp conditions inside of the viv. Another technique I use with vivs that have screen lids is to put a moist towel over about a third or a half of the screen when someone's getting ready to shed.
That is a great idea!

[ratsncorns]

I really wouldnt worry about scale rot in a humid hide unless you didnt clean it out for weeks and weeks and it got all gross. I have a rat snake that spends every day all day in his water bowl and has done that most his life (hes a 2006) and is just fine. Scale rot is not very common. I would put the humid hide in there if shes trying to shed. Otherwise you will have to help her out with her bad shed.

[bitsy]

I've had a Corn that ended up with scale rot from staying in a humid hide too long (weeks). I didn't realise the risks at the time and I think it was down to not changing the substrate and allowing bacteria to take hold.

I don't risk it now. Mine get a humid hide if they seem to be struggling with a shed, but I no longer use them as preventative measures. I wait for the problem before trying to fix something that ain't broke.

But in this case it sounds like a humid hide is needed. If the snake chooses to sit in it in preference to other hides, I'd advise changing the substrate every few days.

[ratsncorns]

I have never used a humid hide and I never mist anymore. But Ive spent the past several years in Florida, Illinois and now in Texas where its humid. In Colorado I had to mist their cages because its so dry there. But I figured if they wanted more humidity, they could always soak in their water dishes.

To raise the humidity you can also put the water dishes over their warm side. You will just have to fill up their dishes more frequently though.

[Karoni]

Thanks, everybody. I really appreciate the responses. I checked on her yesterday and her skin seemed normal. I changed the moss in the humid hide. Today is the first day she has come out of it willingly. She is incredibly pale. I'd say she should shed very soon. This is my first shed with her, so I'm not sure what she normally looks like. The dry skin just freaked me out. I've got a damp towel on the top of her cage, too.

[Karoni]

Hi guys. I am worried about Mango and would appreciate your advice. Here's the chronology:

10 days ago I discovered her dry, crinkly skin and put in a humid hide
5 days ago I took her out of the humid hide to change the moss; she'd been in it 5 days straight. Her skin felt fine.
3 & 4 days ago she left the humid hide and hid under the paper; when I checked on her, she was incredibly pale. I figured she'd shed any moment. Then her color returned to normal.
That was over three days ago and still no shed.

I'm worried because I haven't feed her in two weeks. I didn't want to feed her while she was blue but at this point I don't know what's going on with her. Is it normal for a snake to get really pale and then return to normal?

I appreciate your help. I'm a worry-wart sometimes.

[ratsncorns]

The sequence of events for a shed are they go "blue" then they get clear (look like normal) and anywhere from a couple days to even a week or more go by before they shed. Sounds like she will be shedding any day now!

[Karoni]

Thanks, Angela. She's just taking forever compared to my other snakes. Weird.

[ratsncorns]

I had a snake once shed 10 days after it cleared from the blue stage! I was like whats taking so long??? I think it varies a lot depending on conditions and the individual snake.

[Karoni]

Hi all. I am resurrecting this thread because Mango is having other skin issues. I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow evening just to be safe, but wondered if any of you had any insight. From what I've read, her skin issues don't appear at all like scale rot. She has dry skin that can get a little bit crinkly. If I up the humidity to 50% or so (usually it's lower), her skin can get kind of clammy. Sometimes she has trouble slithering over my skin. It's like her skin sticks to mine or something. She routinely has a few pieces of clear skin sticking out at places where her ventral scutes meet her side scales. Last week, I noticed one discolored scale. When I took her out yesterday, after feeding her and letting her digest for three days, I noticed several more discolored scales on her back. In some places, it's like she has a layer of translucent skin over a scale. When I flick it with my finger nail, it comes off. Also, occasionally, I'll see a scale where the very tip of the scale is turned upwards, almost like she brushed against something and damaged a scale. Her scales almost seem frosted; they have a translucent/frosty edging to them. I thought I'd better take her to the vet just to be safe, but if any of you have experience with this, I'd appreciate your help.

[Christen]

I haven't seen anything like that. I am interested to see what the vet says. Keep us posted.

[Naagas]

Unfortunately, this sounds too much like what happened to my snake, Tausara. I have a thread I did on it, called Scale Rot?

Tausara ended up passing, despite antibiotics, daily topical treatments, and hundreds in vet bills. I never found out what caused the condition. The vet said it looked like an all-over burn, like that caused by a heat lamp (which I have never used.)

I hope that your vet gives you some better advice.

[Karoni]

Oh Naagas, you are scaring me. I hope that's not the case with Mango. There's no sign of a burn anywhere. This is only a few scales...maybe 8-10 dorsal scales total. Her belly scutes are completely clear, no sign of discoloration.

[Naagas]

I don't mean to scare, but definitly go to the vet.

I think that any skin problem is probably a sign of some deeper underlying problem.

It started on Tausara's back, then moved all over.... just looked like crinkly skin for a while, then discoloration, then flaking scales, then redness/rash. Then, he started looking much better. He healed up most of his wounds. Then he died.

[Karoni]

I'm so sorry you lost him, Naagas. Did the vet say what the problem was?

Edited to add: I just re-read your earlier message. How mysterious that it looked like a burn but wasn't. I'll let you guys know what the vet says.

[dan803]

Maybe he got some sort of blood poisoning Naagas. I'm worried about my Mango now. He has flaky gray patches. I've had him for two months and he never shed but he's 3.

[Naagas]

Dan, that it what I assumed happened.
And I wouldn't worry about your new guy- adults can take forever to shed. One guy I got as a 4 year old took about 6 months to shed for the first time. I was worried, but it turns out that he is perfectly fine. Your guy is probably going to shed soon, hence the flaky look.
It is hard to describe what my Tausara looked like, but I knew it was wrong for him to look that way. He had never looked like that before a shed- and he felt extra crinkly.

All snakes get kinda crinkly before a shed, but he looked weird.

I think that he just died of some snake ailment and the weird scales were just a consequence of him being sick.
I don't think that just because a snake has the same symptoms that it is because they have a similair medical condition. I'm guessing that bad scales are a symptom of most any snake illness, like a runny nose is for people.

[Karoni]

I took Mango to the vet last night. It turns out she is a he! Anyway, the vet said that Mango doesn't have an infection. He thinks that because he had such poor husbandry earlier in his life (he is a rescue; he came from a place in Texas that was raided by the government because they were taking such abysmally poor care of their animals. Thousands of animals died.) that the skin issue is related to that. He said the dark scales are necrotic (dead) scales. Evidently, this can happen if the snake sheds and the skin doesn't come off and after a while the scale beneath the stuck skin dies. I told him Mango had had two perfect sheds with me, but he said this could be from old damage. When he was examining Mango, a lot of old skin flakes started coming off. He told me to run Mango through a wet washcloth after he sheds again to make sure all the flakes come off. He said that necrotic scales can become healthy again. He also told me to soak Mango once a week for 15 minutes. He said that a lot of pet reptiles suffer from low grade dehydration and that they absorb some of the water through their cloacas when they are soaked.

He didn't really know why this had happened to Mango, but I'm glad it's not something serious.

[Naagas]

Oh! I am so happy that Mango is OK!!!

[Karoni]

Thanks, Naagas! Me, too.

[SnakeAround]

I really hope everything turns out well for your snake! I had two cases of what I call 'glued skin' last year. The snakes got blue, their heads and eyes cleared but their body's did not clear up and did not shed. They both died of it. They both were egg bound and had gotten several measures taken, so I think the stress and egg binding was too much and just wrecked the shedding process. Both had had also one perfect shed during the ordeal though. It sounds like you are experincing the same with your snake, but thank god only on parts of his body.

I would not soak any skin that feels clammy/sticky, with thinner, dull looking scales. That's skin not ready for exposure yet that was exposed most likely by helping removing a bad shed. I had skin like that soaked and it started rotting right away.

Just be alert for the smell of rotting flesh any way, then you're better soon then late with treatment.

This is the only info I could find on what happened to my snakes;

http://www.applegatereptiles.com/articles/bookshedding.htm

[Karoni]

Bluetengel, I'm sorry to hear that happened to your snakes. In Mango's case, because I am a paranoid snake mom, I think I've caught it early. He doesn't have any areas of his body that have the clammy skin you spoke of (that reminds me of Naagas' snake, Tausara). He just has a few discolored scales and his skin is flaky. I'm relieved the vet didn't seem overly concerned, but I hope things improve. I put a humid hide in with him and he used it last night. I'll put one in for a few days each week and see how that goes. BTW, I told the vet I was concerned about scale rot from the soaking, but he said it's rarely a problem. That's good to know.

[SnakeAround]

Karoni, you said when you increase humidity there are clammy spots of skin on him. That's what I referred to.

[dan803]

Mine seems to be getting reclusive. I hope it means he is going into blue...

[Karoni]

Karoni, you said when you increase humidity there are clammy spots of skin on him. That's what I referred to.

Oh, I see now. What I meant was that his entire skin gets clammy, like yours or mine might on a dewy day. But there's no exposed layers of skin from underneath the scales. Thank goodness.