This is an update/fyi of sorts. I purchased a V. Rudicollis from a private owner on 1/19. It came to me in great shape except for it seemed to having problems shedding. (some who read my earlier posts will remember, thanks again for your advice)

Anyhow, I had him on a daily soak regimen for the first 8 days, then went to an every other day soak and then finally every 3 days for the rest of the first month. The shed was hardly coming off, causing more concern. I had him in a 4x2x2 with cypress mulch, high humidity (daily misting), 85 degree ambient temps with a 120+ bask spot. As the shed started to come off, the problem spot became his stomach. Everywhere else it was loosening but his stomach seemed to just be getting worse and not better. The pics will tell the story here. The third pic is on 2/1, 12 days after I took ownership. I noticed the scales had a 'sheen' to them and seemed to be more tightly bonded to the underlayer than others.

By 2/8, the rest of the skin was slowly coming off, but the skin on his stomach was starting to become discolored in patches. At first it was just darker so I had hoped it was coming loose. (unfortunately I did not take pics here) Another couple days passed and those patches had swollen and now contained fluid. Assuming an infection under the skin, I lanced the boils and drained them. The fluid was clear but worrisome nonetheless. At this point I stopped soaking, as I feared introducing water to the area would encourage further infection.

On 2/18, the damaged areas had started to slough off, most likely due to his activity in the cage (how are you supposed to tell a monitor to sit still and not rub his belly??) I removed the dead, loose tissue, the 1st pic shows the result. Now we had a problem. I knew that the cypress mulch and logs would severely irritate the would and the particles would embed in the tissue, causing further aggrivation and infection. So, I removed all of his substrate and replaced it with Carefresh bedding (like you see for gerbils and such). This allowed him some digging and combined with his new hidespots, allowed him comfort and security.

For the last 2 weeks its been daily inspections of the wounds and constant attention to temps and diet to make sure nothing impedes his healing. Most of the rest of his old shed is gone, he appears in good shape and improving daily. The 2nd pic shows his progress. Now I will say, I have a vet ready should the wounds become severely infected, or had I noticed his general demeanor turning sour. But just regular common sense regarding the care of wounds helped me solve this issue, no 'exotic' treatments necessary.

I thought some of you may find this of interest and comments and criticism are welcome. And yes, his new cage is in construction, I hope to finish it this wkd and will post pics to show he has a real home!

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Chris
1.0.0 Columbian Boa
1.0.0 Columbian x Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Argentine Rainbow Boa
1?.1?.0 Bearded Dragons
0.0.1 Black Throat Monitor
0.1.0 Black Rough-neck monitor