Posted by:
tomsburms
at Sat Dec 6 20:28:47 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by tomsburms ]
I had this happen to a red tail boa once about 10 yrs ago. I had recieved a little imported Guyana and she was terribly under weight and would not eat. She was so underwieght that her spine was like a razor blade. I was assist feeding her with rat pups, but she had gotten to the point that her skin had become almost like tissue paper. One time when I was holding her to assist feed her, she wiggled in my hands and her skin peeled back! I was staring at her muscle! I talked to several people about it and they said that her body was working so hard to find nutrition, it began absorbing her skin as a source of nutrition. I kept the exposed area clean and eventually it all healed up.
She ended up fine and eating by herself after months of effort. She was a beautiful Guyana with lots of purple. She was mean as a badger, but her attitude is probably what kept her alive. Where her skin healed back, it was solid white. Who knows, she probably got sold off as a "pied" boa.
That is the only time I have ever seen it, but YES, I have seen it.
Good luck with yours.
Tom
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