Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have this problem with my rainbow boa. his skin is very dry even though i keep his cage at about 80 in the hot spot and 77 in the cool and between 80-90% humidity I want to know if something is seriously wrong and what i should do. any help would be appreciated thanks.

Integraman,
. How dry is the snake? I know, this is a tough question to answer. Healthy BRBs should have skin which looks like it has a very slight irridescent or oily sheen. If the snake is dehydrated you can rehydrate it by soaking it in lukewarm water for half an hour or so. When BRBs are dehydrated or have dry looking skin it is either because they do not have enough humidity in their cage or they do not have water to drink or they have a health problem.
Jeff

>>I have this problem with my rainbow boa. his skin is very dry even though i keep his cage at about 80 in the hot spot and 77 in the cool and between 80-90% humidity I want to know if something is seriously wrong and what i should do. any help would be appreciated thanks.

When i first got him he had a lot of iridescence to him and was fine but about two days ago he is really dry. His face is cracking and he looks like he shed but his skin didnt come off that is how dry he looks. Do you think soaking him would help?

Integraman,
. Yes, soaking him will definitely help. It sounds like he probably does have a stuck shed. Are you sure your cage has the humidity you mentioned in the first post? Stuck sheds are a common problem with BRBs when they are kept too dry. Soaking a BRB is nearly always the right first thing to do when they have problems.
Jeff

>>When i first got him he had a lot of iridescence to him and was fine but about two days ago he is really dry. His face is cracking and he looks like he shed but his skin didnt come off that is how dry he looks. Do you think soaking him would help?

I soaked him last nite for about a half hour and i looked at him this morning his whole body looks better but his face still looks horrible it looks like a worn basketball. The humidity in the cage right now is 90% cuz i covered the cage with a damp towel. I dont know what is going on with him still.

Integraman,
. Can you post a PIC here or email one to me? I do not understand what you mean about the way it looks.
jclarksnakes@comcast.net
If you covered the cage with a damp towel and now have 90% humidity then it must have been much lower before. What kind of cage is it?
Jeff

>>I soaked him last nite for about a half hour and i looked at him this morning his whole body looks better but his face still looks horrible it looks like a worn basketball. The humidity in the cage right now is 90% cuz i covered the cage with a damp towel. I dont know what is going on with him still.