Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I noticed these weird scales on my snake and were wondering what they were.
These have been there for maybe a little over a week:

These I just noticed today (probably appeared today) After I put a wet paper towel in her tank so she could shed easier:

It might be nothing and I'm just being paranoid because I had a snake die and she had the same damaged scales, but all over her. (That snake died in January, I didn't even have this one yet, and I didn't use the same tank.) Also: she eats f/t, so it couldn't have been a mouse. Her belly scales look fine, so I don't think its the substrate. She was pretty active until she started shedding (normal for her).

If it is something serious, how can I "cure" her from it? So are they just regular scale damage or scale rot or mites or something?

If you need any more info or pics please let me know!

It looks to me like a burn. Is that possible? What type of container do you use... tank or tub and also what type of heating and substrate/hide do you use?

I have a 10 gallon tank, newspaper substrate, and a heat lamp. As for hides I have a clay cave on the warm side and an exo-terra light bulb box on the cold side.

Is it possible that the animal is getting too close to the heat lamp when trying to warm itself or just being curious that it causes a severe burn? It seems very plausible to me. I would suggest going to an undertank heater and possibly going to a 20 long as the animal is certainly going to outgrow the 10 gal. What is the wattage of the heat lamp, and what are the temps on the warm side? Regardless of those temps, the temps near the heat lamp itself can easily cause a burn. That's my thought as to what has happened.

And one last thought. You had mentioned that another snake has already died, with the same type of injuries all over. I am reasonably sure that those were also caused by the same type of heat element and ultimately caused the animals demise. I am of course assuming you were using the same heat lamp. Food for thought....