Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My kings belly is dry and flaky is there something wrong? I would take him to the vet but I can’t afford it right now.
Hes going into shed so I will see how he is after. Any comments
Thanks
Sorry about the blurry picture but you can still see it

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Josh Delaney

Delaney Colubrids

Although i do not know exactly what going on with those scales I do not think a shed is going to cure the problem.

How are you keeping him? Is the cage damp? Also, how old is that snake?

~ Mike

Hes 4yrs. Im keeping him on crushed english walnut reptile litter. Its not damp this is the first time it happened. I had my snakes on this bedding that was recycle paper(Cell-Sorb)for a while when I noticed it so I switched them back to the walnut bedding. My female king has some on her belly in one spot but its getting better but not as bad as the male his whole underside is like that and my hognoses are just fine.I dont know?
Thanks
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Josh Delaney

Delaney Colubrids

Well, the good news is Matt who also responded to your post has seen this scale issue before & feels it will clear up with the next shed.. So, please let us know if the next shed clears this up.. And, hopefully i am wrong!

Also, now it's on more than one of your animals, so i am even more interested in finding out what it is?

Maybe try changing that walnut bedding to newspaper.. I don't know if this issue was caused by the walnut bedding but, I have only heard bad things about it.. In my opinion any bedding that lends itself to spot cleaning is a poor choice for reptiles. i might get slammed for saying that but it's my opinion!

Keep us posted

~ Mike Russo

well thanks for the input but it started when I had them on the newspaper bedding thats why I switched them back to the walnut.
the picture is what I was using
thanks

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Josh Delaney

Delaney Colubrids

Yeah he shed and hes doing much better
thanks for all the help
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Josh Delaney

Delaney Colubrids

Good to hear Josh. Sometimes the old skin takes a while before they feel ready to shed, and the old skin will start to look quite odd, not to mention cloudy and flaky.

Glad it's doing better.

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Matt from Minnesota

Sometimes during a long "pre-shed" cycle my kings' scales will look just like that. After they shed they look perfect. It's just the old skin's condition after it has separated from the new skin underneath. That's my snakes story at least. Put a wet paper towel in his cage to help moisturize the skin and make it easier for him to shed.

If this condition came up just recently as he prepares to shed while in the "blue", I wouldn't worry about it, unless things look bad AFTER the shed.

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Matt from Minnesota

I agree with mike.

I have seen similar things to this a few times in snakes that have just come out of brumation. My best guess is that the snake is nearing a shedd before brumation, then you drop the temps on him so he doesn't shed. And then in the spring he wakes up and goes into breeding mode which is very hard on the skin cause they are so active. And he still hasn't gotten the old layer off! I would be surprised if it is still there after a shed. If it is the snake will require a trip to the vet.

That also looks like the beginings of blister disease from being kept on dirty/wet/inapropriate substrate. If this is not the case then I think he will be fine. Let us know what happens after the shed.