Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

This isn't a specifically ball-related question, but other forums are kind of slow these days. And, I'm sure someone out there can offer some advice.

Just noticed that my three-year-old blood is missing two scales near her spine after a recent shed (there's a light spot where the missing scales used to be. There's no inflammation, seepage, blood or sign of mites, so I'm chalking it up to some slight injury that happened during shedding. There's no possibility of a prey bite either because she only eats F/T.

Anyone ever had a snake lose a scale or two? How long does it take for a new one to grow back in and fill the space?

Thanks for any input.

Ive seen this before. As long as the skin that is visible is obviously not damaged then all is well. I'm not certain how this happens either but my conclusion is one of two. I think either the scales get loose over time (not all of them lol, but some) and they get shed off and replaced, or they were having trouble shedding and had to be a little more ruff to get it off causing the slight injury. Either way I wouldn't worry about it, she will have them back after a few sheds, just keep an eye on it, be aware of it but don't let it drive you crazy, your baby is fine.
Will Wohlers

ps I like the picture, beautiful snake, I bet she loves fingers.

Thanks for the reply, Will. She's a total pushover. Completely tame, and doesn't even mind getting her head stroked. Last week I was misting her to get her ready to shed and she started drinking water right from my spray bottle. Nose to the nozzle. It went on for about five minutes.

A 20-lb. big baby, really.