Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had an alterna that developed these irregular growths on her scales. My vet had never seen anything like it before. It made her sheds a little more difficult, but she lived several years after developing them, then died of a seemingly unrelated heart problem.
So now my Mex-mex kingsnake started having more frequent shedding, and has started showing these same bumps on her scales, although not as extensively as the alterna. Anyone ever seen anything like this? Both snakes are (or was for the alterna) over ten years old when the symptoms started showing.

i think i read that this some how an effect of Ca???

When this first started showing up on the Alterna a few years ago, the only thing like it I could find was an article in one of the reptile magazines that mentioned something like it in snakes that were getting supplemental calcium to offset problems with eggs dieing before hatch. I haven't ever given minerals to any of my snakes, and the supplier I get my mice from says that they just feed straight rodent chow to their feeders, without any supplements.

It looks sort of similiar to what happens when mountain kings get the dreaded "zonata disease". The scales get like a sandpaper like consistency and the animals go into a perpetual shed phase one after another. Are the animals neurologically impaired at all i.e. do they crawl on their sides at all?

Neither snake show (or showed) any neurological syptoms. The alterna lived for about four years after I noticed the growths on her scales. Other than problems shedding, she didn't seem to have any other symptoms. The Potosi king has gone off feed for a few weeks, but that may be because she started going blue about a week after her last shed. But she doesn't seem to have any of the other symptoms of 'zonata' disease-the lower body limpness or paralysis. I haven't seen any pictures of animals with the zonata disease, but the descriptions sound like in those cases the scales look like they're abraded with sandpaper instead of 'bumpy' like my snakes...or am I being overly optimistic?

I have a mex mex female which is 4 years old and only about 26". she feeds well, has good body weight, but is almost cconstantly in shed and has to be soaked to peel it off. she also has a stiff body, not soft and supple as most colubrids. I have no idea what it is. I've seen it before (rarely) but don't have a clue as to the cause.

JH

...hyperkeratosis brought on by a D3 imbalance. Excess keratin deforms scales and results in repetitious ecdysis. Try 12 hrs UV B light exposure per day and reducing mammal-based food intake. This in turn affects Ca ionic form and its metabolic uptake, which may start to correct the problem over time. Consult a vet who knows snake physiology to be sure.

that's what i meant.............