Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a BP from a local pet store around October of last year, and he has been doing just fine. It was only recently that I discovered a few slight problems regarding his scales. On his underbelly (first starting near the very tip of his tale), I noticed an unhealthy scale (literally, just one scale) which was starting to turn brown (scale rot, I feared). Soon after I found two more places on his underside where the pearl white scales had begun turning a sickly brown. I began monitering his humidity more closely and since then the scales are turning back to their healthy white color.

Just when I thought everything was a-okay, I discovered that the scales on either side of him (mostly the left, midbody) have begun to keel.

He is in a 40 gallon glass aquariam, screen-top, heat source above, a hot spot with an undertank heater below, all on cypress bedding. He has another hide with dry moss (that I wet down when it's time for him to shed; perhaps this is my source of trouble??), a water dish, all the requirements. His temperatures are being kept at 75-78 during the night, low 80's on the cool side during the day hours, and a consistent humidity (or as the best of my ability) of about 30 to 40 percent, kept at about 60 to 70 percent during his shed.

Can anyone point out any flaws in my set up that would lead to keeled scales? Any other ideas??

Thanks,
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Adam

"I wish I were wise! I wish I were wise from the heart of me, like my serpent!"

Just a thought..........
Your hotspot, do you have the heat mat and the light centered on the same spot?
Sometimes those heat mats can get really hot if there is not enought air movement from the bottom to dissipate the heat. I was shocked when I purchased a temp gun, and first found out how hot some of my heat mats were getting!!!!! I think small burns, such as created by a too hot heat mat, could get infected and turn into scale rot. Especially a burn around excessive moisture.

An inexpensive rheostat & temp gun should help you control how hot it's getting.

You may want to change the cage bedding and remove the moist hide until he starts to clear. Direct contact with these moist surfaces will probably aggravate the situation. It's also a good idea to clean the scales off with a rinse, like a Betadine/water soln. A topical anibiotic ointment prob wouldn't hurt either.

You don't have to provide your B.P with direct humidity sources, as there are other options to provide ambient humidity. You can go to Home Depot and buy a piece of plexiglass to cut to fit the top of your tank screen, as i've done with my 40G. The concave area left in those pull-out screens will let a piece of plexi lay inside very nicely. (Hopefully you or someone you know can help you cut it, I tackled the project with some miscellaneous saw I found - Pain in the rear. LOL)

Good luck!

||||No, the overhead lamp is on the opposite side of the tank as the heatmat. The reason for the moss hide was because he was going through incomplete sheds for the first three months I had him. After I supplied the moss hide, he has had perfect sheds ever since. I have the same set up for my boa constrictor, in which he is doing perfectly fine and is extremely healthy. As of now, the moss isn't moist and his (BP) cage is rather dry.

I think I will clean out and replace my BP's substrate (Cypress chips), scrub his cage, and give him a good bath as well.

>>Just a thought..........
>>Your hotspot, do you have the heat mat and the light centered on the same spot?
>>Sometimes those heat mats can get really hot if there is not enought air movement from the bottom to dissipate the heat. I was shocked when I purchased a temp gun, and first found out how hot some of my heat mats were getting!!!!! I think small burns, such as created by a too hot heat mat, could get infected and turn into scale rot. Especially a burn around excessive moisture.
>>
>>An inexpensive rheostat & temp gun should help you control how hot it's getting.
>>
>>You may want to change the cage bedding and remove the moist hide until he starts to clear. Direct contact with these moist surfaces will probably aggravate the situation. It's also a good idea to clean the scales off with a rinse, like a Betadine/water soln. A topical anibiotic ointment prob wouldn't hurt either.
>>
>>You don't have to provide your B.P with direct humidity sources, as there are other options to provide ambient humidity. You can go to Home Depot and buy a piece of plexiglass to cut to fit the top of your tank screen, as i've done with my 40G. The concave area left in those pull-out screens will let a piece of plexi lay inside very nicely. (Hopefully you or someone you know can help you cut it, I tackled the project with some miscellaneous saw I found - Pain in the rear. LOL)
>>
>>Good luck!
-----
Adam

"I wish I were wise! I wish I were wise from the heart of me, like my serpent!"

Your hotspot might be too hot. After breeding season, I raise my temps to 88, and 90-91 hotspot. The humidity is at 45-70 depending on when the humidifier turns off. You might try putting him on paper towels until he heals from this. I hope someone more knowledge able on this subject chimes in, as I am not familiar with scale rot.