Dry skin? Bruises?

I have a few concerns. I do not know where to put this. Its about a rat snake and I am not having too much luck looking elswhere.

First of all I have no visual aid. I wish I did but I need a new camera. I'll try to explain the best I can. I might be able to get a few shots with a webcam on Friday though. He is a leucistic rat snake and he has had some weird skin issues since I got him. It actually started happening after I got him so maybe its the change of environment. He is on aspen bedding and gets misted every week (should it be more? Since he was raised in eastern Canada where its humid and now he is in a very dry part of Canada) His hot spot is 90F and his cool sides anywhere from 75-82F. He has a large water bowl and is in a 40G critter cage. He gets 2 adult mice every 10 days. He has always had a whistling problem but I kinda linked it to being picked up. I think its a small hiss actually, but I would rather be embarrassed and knowing he is safe than not. He is going in for a vet check next month. OK so there is his history.

He is not totally white. He has a few discolored scales (orange to reddish) and he has never been a really bright Texas rat like some you see, he is more pinkish/ivory. Here is what worries me. He seems to have some flaky, dry looking scales. They are brownish but are dry and not moist and in those few spots there is very clear plastic looking stuff coming off of him like dead skin. Today when I had him out he was crawling through my hair. He got tangled and when I took him out there was a purple/pinkish line across his back. Is this a bruise? I have not seen anything like it in books and I am pretty sure its not skin blister disease.

Once again I am sorry if this is in the wrong place...Where is a good place to post non-cornsnake health issues on this site?

Burns - A common mistake by first-time reptile owners is to buy a heating rock as a heat supply for their reptile. Heat Rocks are the number 1 cause of burns in reptiles. It is best to supply your reptile with a basking light (not touching metal screen top and about 12 inches or more from the top). Basking lights allow your reptile to be warmed without them actually touching the heat source. Under-tank heating pads are also a great way to give heat but should never be put under a tank without adequate substrate to cover it (repti-turf works great). Symptoms of burns include water filled blisters and blackened patches of skin. If you see these symptoms, it is imperative that you get your reptile to a vet immediately. These blisters and any open wounds can easily turn into a life-threatening systemic infections.

Thanks for the info! I have never liked the heating rocks or even the UTH's myself. Just too many burns happen that way. One guy tried telling me to get a heating rock way back when I got my first corn but I knew better even then.

I am 100% positive they are not burns though. The vet said it was dry skin so I am hoping that more frequent baths and more misting will do the trick. However they couldn't explain the purple marking. When I picked him up he didn't have the line on his skin. He then went through my hair and got tangled in it. I know that a few strands were pressing against him and I got him out as gently as I could. I just think it might have been a bruise because his weight shifted and pushed against the hair. (Kinda like how you get a mark when you wear an elastic band to tightly around your finger) So when I examined him again before I put him back I noticed the purple line across his neck. I have no clue what it is. Could it be a simple bruise? Its kind of a scary thought.

Ps. Its not longer there. Faded within a few hours.

id offer up the possible suggestion that it could be your humidity if burns are ruled out, im unfamiliar with your particular snake species, but corns being a subspecies of rat snakes (think thats right!) they prefer humidties around 40-50% if your vivarium environment is too moist, it could be causing scale rot.

Just a suggestion though, and you could find out for more by buying a digital Hygrometer, they're not very expensive.

What would help is if you could tell us all more about the way you regulate your heating and humidity, ie. do you have a thermostat linked up to your viv to control the heat source (what is your heat source?) and do you measure humidity at all? with corn snakes unless your humidity is very low ie. below 40-50%, then spraying the viviarium is usually only considered as helpfull when your snake is shedding

Only a suggestion, that you could consider
Goodluck
Tom

oh yeah forgot to mention this put ellavated humidity levels might also explain the whistling sound, perhaps indicating a mild respiratory infection, although again with only the information you've provided it could be something completely different :shrugs:

I would suggest that you decrease the temp at the hot spot a couple of degrees. 90 F is just too high unless the whistling is actually a RI. Since he's had the problem almost since you've had him, how does shedding affect the skin issues? Are his sheds complete? Do the spots in question look better right after a shed and then get worse or does shedding have no effect?

Yes Tom your right about the corns being a subspecies of ratsnake, originally called the chicken snake? Correct me if I am wrong. I am just glad corns are no longer called red rat snakes lol.

I was worried it was scale rot at first but it just seems way to dry. Saskatchewan is a very dry place and it even effects my lungs on some days.

He is in a 40 gal tank with a screen top. I use a lamp (can't remember the wattage) that I suspend a little above the screen so the wire does not get too hot just in case he gets close to it. He is on aspen bedding and I have a enclosed hide cave for him with moist moss when he is just out of blue. The moss usually remains dry-ish. I have a digital thermometer and hydrometer. It was rather expensive because I try to go for the best. 40 bucks too much or too little? It was from a petstore and seems to be OK. Its reads at 90F right under the hot spot. and 78ish in the cool spot and the humidity is usually 34-38% but on days when I do not mist its 20% or lower. I use a thermostat to controle the temps. Actually its not a really super good thermostat because it only has 3 switches, high, medium and low. Still I hope I payed 60 bucks for one that works well Lol! He sheds in full all the time and no scales seem to be missing ever. I always check. I might also mention that he feels kinda dry...Like the difference between healthy hair and dry damaged hair if that makes any sense?

I took a few pictures of him to show whats happening. Its not like blisters cause its really rough dry scales and not pockets of fluid. On some of these scales there seems to be a topish layer coming off that looks like clear plastic and yet some scales are jagged around the edges. Everything is back to normal after he sheds so sometimes I think its dry conditions. I just wonder if that can also cause respiratory problems. Vet said he lungs are normal and the whistling is defence. :shrugs: I do not want to go against what a vet says but they have been wrong before and this is Saskatchewan XD! Not to offend anyone.

I remember reading in a few books and off the net that 90F was preferred for a hotspot but then again, those books could very well be outdated.

Thanks so much for the info guys! It is really appreciated! I am not completely new to snake keeping, just this condition in general. But we learn something new everyday don't we ! Thanks again guys! I'll post the pictures in a post bellow this one. Check it out.

Here is just under his vent. Its a dry patch but it looks as if the scale is turning brownish. Again its not like a blister but dry skin. :shrugs:


Here is that plastic looking piece. Like part of the scale is shedding.


Here is a pic of his underside. Its dry on some places too. Its weird because one scale could be effected while the others around it are all fine.


He flicks his tongue all the time, is moving around regularly and eats like a charm. I just noticed his dirty nose though. He likes to burrow could it be dust? I never noticed it until I blew up the pic. I usually check his nostrils and mouth for signs of RI and never see mucous and such. I hope this is just dirt.





Oh thats yellow spot in the pic is natural pigment. He has a red spot as well and the more he sheds the more they brighten. Makes him unique! Oh and that one really hairy arm is not mine but my friends lol!

UTH heaters are much preferred over a basking heat source. Since the condition goes away after shedding, but then returns, it sounds as if it may be caused by something in the viv. Is it always the same scales that are affected or does it change each time? That "plastic looking piece" sort of looks like a spur that some snake species have. I'm not that familiar with all the little details about Texas rats, but that may be something to look into.

The brown patch in photo #1 looks like a very mild (and early) case of scale rot to me. Can anyone else see the likeness?

This is what I did:
* Reduce humidity (smaller water bowl, no humid hide)
* Move to newspaper substrate
* Change the newspaper daily (scale rot is fungal and spores can live in substrate, reinfecting the snake)
* Wipe the snake two or three times a week with a reptile disinfectant (sorry, am at work - can't remember what I generally use!)

My case was much worse than yours (that kind of ragged brown egde across most belly scales) and I had it cleared up in about 2 months.

His humidity is low already, I would not lower it. To me too low seems the problem. Why don't you try misting once a day for a while? I' bet it will work!

I own a yellow ratsnake and she also has some ragged scales sometimes, more often then my corns do. It seems like their scales are slightly more rough so maybe they are just easier to 'rag' when the snake is slithering around and touching stuff.

Once again thanks everyone! I certainly hope its not scale rot but humidity problems instead.

I devised a plan. I am going to move him onto news paper and put a lot of cloth-like plants in his viv to bring keep the humidity up. I'll mist him everyday and since the 40 gal tank has a huge open top I think I am going to put something to cover most of it so that less moister escapes. Maybe thats my problem. I did notice that my rat snakes scales are more keeled than the corns. So is his attitude :grin01:

My second attempt to make him better if this doesn't work is to take him back to the vet and see if some tests can be done. If I can get a disinfectant without prescription then I will lower the humidity, less water bowl and no humidity hide and keep him on newspaper or glass and clean the tank everyday. I want to try the cheap way first.

Susan, I think the anal spurs only apply to the boids. If I can remember its because of evolution. I think they are also the ones with remnants of pelvic girdles. Woo hoo to vestigial limbs! Lol! Oh I also wanted to ask you why UTH's were preferred? Do snakes just do better with the UTH's? I am always so worried I would burn my snakes.

just a quick suggestion the dust on his nose. Whatever is dusty in his cage is not healthy for any snake. The dust can get into their lungs and cause an RI. Even dust from aspen or wood chips. Thats how my corn got an RI. I use astro turf now I paid I think like $12 for mine and I bought two peices so when one gets soild I can remove it to clean it and replace it with the other one. Its easier to clean then aspen or wood chips and its more hygenic for them too because when they deficate the bedding wont really soak it up and you can tell when they do. Just a suggetion thou.