Please Give Your Opinions!

[RobbiesCornField]

I just took out the shed and there is NOT one single scale missing from it. I just can't understand how this could be called a bad shed when the shed is perfectly normal and no scales are missing...none from the past 2 sheds too.. it make sense to be of no oxygen but why would it happen to most of his body if it was only a few places that the skin didn't come off.

I have big pieces or paper (kind of like the ones they wrap glassware at the stores) im going to use those.

I am just so worried that there could be something wrong with him and there is no way i could know because he does not make any noise or any facial expressions that can let me know if he is okay. And i really don't want to just wait it out if there is something to be alerted about.

I remember when i first saw the stuck skin, the first thing i wondered is, how did i miss those. The other weird thing is, as he was crawling all over my hands, his scales were so crisp as if he just shed, and they kept cracking, i even heard them, and i was afraid if i kept holding him, i might break some more.
I keep the heat at around 60 degrees, I usually wear layers of clothes and use blankets, I don't like it when it's over 60 because it dries up my throat & nose. Sometimes, on cold nights (like last week, when it was in single digits, I put it no higher than 65) I hope that's not considered too much heat!

That's usually considered not enough heat. Unless you're brumating him? That could be why he hasn't been eating.

 

[StormRose]

That sounds too cool for him hun, and that could be why he hasn't been very active.

Corns should have a cool side that's about 75F and a warm side that's about 85.

 

[Lennycorn]

With a heat mat in the viv, the house heat should not make a whole lot of difference of the temp in the viv.

I don't know what to say Witch!

 

[bekers71]

That's usually considered not enough heat. Unless you're brumating him? That could be why he hasn't been eating.

That sounds too cool for him hun, and that could be why he hasn't been very active.

Corns should have a cool side that's about 75F and a warm side that's about 85.

Precisely why I previously stated--

.... As far as not eating and being inactive, sounds like he knows it's winter and is trying to brumate him self. I have a few males that do that and will go months with out eating.

 

[Cursed_Witch]

 

[Cursed_Witch]

That's usually considered not enough heat. Unless you're brumating him? That could be why he hasn't been eating.

i was talking about the heat of my apartment not his... he has his thermostat and his warm side is always between 80 and 85, no matter if it's winter or summer.... you misunderstood me as well.. am i not typing correctly or something?

 

[bekers71]

What kind of lid do you have on the snakes tank?

It doesn't necessarily have to have a cold temp to try and brumate on its own. He is older now and his instincts may be telling him its time.

 

[Cursed_Witch]

That sounds too cool for him hun, and that could be why he hasn't been very active.

Corns should have a cool side that's about 75F and a warm side that's about 85.

that MY apartment im talking about.. his is always between 80 and 85.. jesus as if i don't know how to take of him/
My apartment right now is 74 degrees.. my thermostat for the apartment never goes below 60. Only on cold nights when my apartment drops, i have to put the heat up to 65.... i dont see how that has any effect on his temperature.. his is 80 to 85 all year long....

 

[RobbiesCornField]

i was talking about the heat of my apartment not his... he has his thermostat and his warm side is always between 80 and 85, no matter if it's winter or summer.... you misunderstood me as well.. am i not typing correctly or something?

That was a mistake on my part, and I apologize for it. If he's near a window that has natural light, he could be judging his brumation by the light cycle. It's not entirely unheard of.

 

[StormRose]

jesus as if i don't know how to take of him

We're just trying to help you to figure out what's going on. You'd be surprised at how many people don't know how to take care of their animals, so the obvious questions are always asked first.

Are the pictures you showed of his last shed, or a previous one?

 

[Cursed_Witch]

We're just trying to help you to figure out what's going on. You'd be surprised at how many people don't know how to take care of their animals, so the obvious questions are always asked first.

Are the pictures you showed of his last shed, or a previous one?

It's his last shed, i can take from the previous one too if you want, but it looks exactly the same.
I appreciate the help and i understand the questions viewpoints, but i also am not looking to be judged about how i take care of him.. this has happened many times when i come here and frankly i just don't like to be treated this way.

i am just very nervous about this.. i know he hasn't had any bad shes since he was a few months old... so when they tell me that it is from a bad shed, i cannot grasp how it could be when the shed was perfect and there are no missing scales from the shed...

Something is going on with him.. and yes.. not eating.. he's brumated before... a few years back, i remember discussing that here when alot of the 05 hatchlings had this brumating period, but there's something else that's making these scales come off... is it normal for his scales to crack in my hands as he's crawling??

 

[RobbiesCornField]

It's his last shed, i can take from the previous one too if you want, but it looks exactly the same.
I appreciate the help and i understand the questions viewpoints, but i also am not looking to be judged about how i take care of him.. this has happened many times when i come here and frankly i just don't like to be treated this way.

i am just very nervous about this.. i know he hasn't had any bad shes since he was a few months old... so when they tell me that it is from a bad shed, i cannot grasp how it could be when the shed was perfect and there are no missing scales from the shed...

Something is going on with him.. and yes.. not eating.. he's brumated before... a few years back, i remember discussing that here when alot of the 05 hatchlings had this brumating period, but there's something else that's making these scales come off... is it normal for his scales to crack in my hands as he's crawling??

My '05 Charcoal does get crackly every now and then after his shed (it sort of sounds like old, brittle, crackly paper, or a candy wrapper). It's usually in the winter time, or around an unusually dry period. A mist, or a humid hide helped him out in the beginning, but then he started soaking to take care of the problem himself.

 

[StormRose]

I'm sorry, I thought in the OP you said that he had stuck skin and that you were trying to get it off. That's usually what a bad shed is.

Is it normal for him to go for so long without shedding? You said he hasn't shed since November, so I'm wondering if maybe he has shed since then but it came off in pieces so tiny that you didn't notice.

I know that for me personally, the reason I think it's a bad shed is because I've seen it before and that's what it was caused by. If you really are worried though, then try the other vet. You know your guy better than anyone here, so if you think it's something else, than follow through with your gut feeling.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

 

[bekers71]

I notice that most of the scales that are damaged are all along the same path. It looks as though he has damaged his scales on some thing. Maybe he went under some thing then backed out, cause the scales to damage? Or he's rubbing at night along the top of the tank looking for a way out to find a mate?

 

[Cursed_Witch]

I'm sorry, I thought in the OP you said that he had stuck skin and that you were trying to get it off. That's usually what a bad shed is.

Is it normal for him to go for so long without shedding? You said he hasn't shed since November, so I'm wondering if maybe he has shed since then but it came off in pieces so tiny that you didn't notice.

I know that for me personally, the reason I think it's a bad shed is because I've seen it before and that's what it was caused by. If you really are worried though, then try the other vet. You know your guy better than anyone here, so if you think it's something else, than follow through with your gut feeling.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

it is very normal for him to go this long without sheds.. he's even had longer periods without shedding, but his every shed has been a whole piece, this tells me that he has no humidity or dryness problems.

Yes i said that because that's what my normal reaction was to see the stuck skin, i mean it IS stuck skin. But his last shed has no scales missing from it...i also mentioned in one of my posts how i thought it was weird that i missed these scales....i considered that it might be a new shed but i found no pieces anywhere in his tank. i didn't care how it happened i wanted to clean them. but now that we are discussing the shed itself... the last shed was fine, I just looked at it, and the area where you see the most stuck skin right after his head... i posted the picture of the shed, i even put a pen in there to make it easier to see with the color contract if there was any missing scales...
The stuck skin is not my concern.. i know it will get better with his next sheds... the part where there are no scales..the parts where the scales seem to be deformed. Would a scale, that had no skin stuck to cut its oxygen, do that?

You do understand my concern, I hope. And I apologize if i am being rude to any of you. But this is important. I am trying to get enough opinions here to understand if this is dangerous to wait it out.

 

[Cursed_Witch]

My '05 Charcoal does get crackly every now and then after his shed (it sort of sounds like old, brittle, crackly paper, or a candy wrapper). It's usually in the winter time, or around an unusually dry period. A mist, or a humid hide helped him out in the beginning, but then he started soaking to take care of the problem himself.

Yeah i think that's how it sounds like. It feels exactly like after they shed. that crisp skin.
He has been a stubborn one. In his whole life, he has soaked once when it was like over 90 degrees in the summer despite the fans, the ac and everything i had done.
I am misting his tank now even more than usual to make sure it's good.
I'm just hoping no more scales come off... i hope he grows new scales where those came off.

 

[Cursed_Witch]

I notice that most of the scales that are damaged are all along the same path. It looks as though he has damaged his scales on some thing. Maybe he went under some thing then backed out, cause the scales to damage? Or he's rubbing at night along the top of the tank looking for a way out to find a mate?

there...that's exactly what i was thinking of. But i wanted to know first if it was caused by a shed or anything similar. If you look at the damaged scales.. it goes from the top of his neck in a straight line down the middle at least along half his body. There are some to his sides as well.
He does climb at nights to try to open his tank. But because it is over his sides too, I just want to make sure i don't have anything dangerous in his tank that i am not aware of.

 

[StormRose]

That puckering can be caused by a few different things, none of which really seem to fit your situation.

stuck shed
overly dry skin
Sitting on a cool surface for extended periods
or prolonged water submersion

Scale rot typically appears on the belly first, and it will get brown margins around it, so I don't think it's scale rot.

Like Becky said, he could have been rubbing up against something in his viv that damaged his scales. It's probably the most likely answer if it's not a shedding issue.

I don't think it's dangerous to wait a little bit and see what develops though. Unless he has parasites on him (which you would be able to see), most skin conditions will improve with the next shed or even before. Just watch him closely over the next few weeks, and if it changes or gets worse take him in again.

I do understand your concern, it's really scary when we know something's wrong with our babies and we're not sure what to do.

 

[bekers71]

Considering you have all his temps right and humidity good, my opinion is he's damaged his scales then. The scales on his sides might be messed up from trying to "squeeze" him self in the edge of the lid or overly rubbing on a hide/other item in his home. I'd check his cage for any thing with rough edges and just keep an eye on the missing scales. Do like some one else said though and use some ointment on where the missing scales are just to be safe. Don't worry your self too much. I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[Cursed_Witch]

That puckering can be caused by a few different things, none of which really seem to fit your situation.

stuck shed
overly dry skin
Sitting on a cool surface for extended periods
or prolonged water submersion

Scale rot typically appears on the belly first, and it will get brown margins around it, so I don't think it's scale rot.

Like Becky said, he could have been rubbing up against something in his viv that damaged his scales. It's probably the most likely answer if it's not a shedding issue.

I don't think it's dangerous to wait a little bit and see what develops though. Unless he has parasites on him (which you would be able to see), most skin conditions will improve with the next shed or even before. Just watch him closely over the next few weeks, and if it changes or gets worse take him in again.

I do understand your concern, it's really scary when we know something's wrong with our babies and we're not sure what to do.

I never heard of scale rot until i heard it here tonight. Like Becky said, that was the reason i wanted to make sure that it wasnt a shed issue so i can move on to other possible reasons.
I will actually change the aspen tomorrow to paper and i will keep a close eye on him. Hopefully by then, Ill hear the blood results from the ER so i can be relieved there is nothing wrong with him internally.
And no, i did not see parasites.

Thanks Anne.
And thank you for all those that answered. I just wish i had an answer to all of this already. I'd hate to wait. I have too much going on in my life right now and the last thing I need is to worry about him.