Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

I just noticed that my three-year-old blood is missing two scales 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.

Missing or losing scales happens. There isn't much you can do to completely prevent it from happening. Fortunately, if it's not due to disease, parasites or other illness, it is usually not a common or frequent event.

As long as there is no inflammation or other signs of distress, disease or injury at the site, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

As far as your question about how long it takes to grow back... it may never grow back. Sorry, but it happens that way sometimes. It's difficult to even give an estimate of how long it will take. It really depends on the individual snake, it's species, current rate of growth (and the subsequent meals and shed cycles), it's health, etc, etc.

Others may have more insight or a differing opinion than me, but in general this has been my experience.

Keep an eye on the site and your snake's behavior. If you begin to notice something isn't right, bring it into the vet.
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Stay United!

I'm still not sure if it's weird that my best friend is a two year old boa named Ronin. He's quiet, non-judgemental and listens... what more could you want?

Brandon,

Thanks for your input. She seems otherwise completely fine. No other abnormalities.