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Wrinkled looking scales?

B

BrendaBooBear

New member
Hey Guys,

I'm looking for some input. I have a corn snakle that is almost 5 years old. He's always been a healthy snake. He's shed regularly and has never had problems eating.

About a week and a half ago I noticed some flaky looking scales on his head. My snake loves to burrow in the substrate most of the time and so I figured he just caught a scale on the substrate or something. A few days later I noticed there were more flaky looking scales. So I started misting him a few times a day, made sure to give him fresh water regularly. It didn't seem to change the situation much. Today I looked and he's got these flakey skin pieces all over his head, including his chin. And a few scales on his head look wrinkly and dry. So I cleaned out his cage - I didn't notice any mites or anything weird in his cage. I put fresh substrate in there (I think they're aspen chips or something. I've been using it for years on both our corn snakes with no previous problems).

Does this sound like a moisture problem? I'm wondering if anybody has any other ideas or have had this happen before. He just ate a few days ago with no problem and his very active in his cage. I'm wondering if I should put a larger water container. I don't think it's large enough for him to submerge in. He's never been big on soaking, but did it sometimes. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him soak for a very long time.

Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!
 
When was the last time he shed? Was he due for one? Are the flaky/dry areas only around his head? Or are there areas of loose skin elsewhere on his body?

I would recommend buying a hygrometer. They can be found for pretty cheap at pet stores and will give you an idea of the humidity you are working with. Humidity tends to drop in the winter as the air drys out in most places.

Hopefully, someone else can add their opinion if they've heard of other conditions that cause something like this. To me, without other info, it sounds like a bad shed.

(Pictures never hurt either!)
 
My big amel male gets like that when he's overdue for a shed. Right now he's in breeder mode so he's very active. I think he trashes himself crawling all over the place.
 
He's due for a shed any time. His last shed was smooth - no excess shed anywhere. I'm hoping that once he sheds, it will be better. The only rough spots are on his head. I checked elsewhere and his skin looks healthy everywhere else. I put a larger water bowl in the cage so he can soak and I'm going to keep misting.

I just realized I have a humidity gage. Somebody gave it to me for Xmas and I stashed it away - forgot all about it. I'll use that and check it out. It has been a dry winter here and we've been running the heat more than usual the last few weeks, so that might also be contributing to the problem.

Thanks for the input, guys! I always find this board to be helpful when I'm uncertain about something.
 
my corn has the exact same thing wrong with it. her humidity is at 55 and the scales under it look wrinkled and dry and lighter, and then clear up after shed.
 
This is perfectly normal for corns to go through about a week or so before going through blue/shed. All it means is that he is getting ready for a shed. You may also notice some wrinkling at the neck and maybe even some waves or ripple-looking indents along his ventral (hard to explain...). Upping the humidity during this time would be helpful to him anyways since he's probably pre-shed, but it shouldn't be anything to worry about otherwise. A water bowl that is big enough for him to fully submerse would also be a good upgrade.

For when you do get the hygrometer up, the ideal humidity for a snake not in shed is around 40% or less (I keep mine at around 25% and that has worked well for me). For a snake in shed, it should be worked up to about 50-70% to ensure an easy shed.
 
umm... okay, my hydrometer is at 55 right now normally, (i have the same problem) and at shed about 65, so i think in America it might be different, becuase here 25 percent would be like 80 degrees and dry as a desert.
 
luvmycorn said:
umm... okay, my hydrometer is at 55 right now normally, (i have the same problem) and at shed about 65, so i think in America it might be different, becuase here 25 percent would be like 80 degrees and dry as a desert.
Click to expand...
No, 55% humidity anywhere in the world is the same measurement
 
when I notice mine are getting ready to shed I spray the enclosure with water...not tap water, bottled. They are kept on Aspen bedding..and so it will get pretty moist. I put the box back into the rack, and the heat from the heat tape makes the humidity around 80%. After they shed I completly re-due the bedding. Been doing this just lately after having some snakes not shed complelty. So far it has works wonderful. Reverse Okeetee just had a complete shed nothing left behind...i will continue doing this from now on, works great for me!!
 
well the less moisture you but into the enclosure, the lower the humidity...they have to have a water dish, if you have a rack system with heat tape on the backwall, put the water dish as far from the heat as possible. The room where my snakes are at is fairly cool...ussually around 70-75 degrees, but inside the snakes tubs it is 82 degrees on the "hot side" and about 78 degrees on the "cool side"... hope that helps alittle. It's all about moisture.
 
in my snake book they said the humidity should be at about 40-60? is this right? becuase every where i cheak they say the same thing.
 
It's very easy that I'm wrong and mine are at too dry a temp. Since the majority seems to rule against me, I would go ahead with the 40% and I'll be upping mine.
 
50% humidity is about normal when not in shed. Just up the humidity when you see the need to. Just try different things and see what works for you at your house. It's probably going to be different depending on your environment outside and inside your house.
 
thanks so much, my snake has the same thing wrong with it and right now she is blue and almost ready to shed. *cheaking cage for snake and shed* she hasnt yet, but her eyes are blue and getting clearer so she should shed by christmas.
 
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