Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I really need some help. We have two Rubber Boas that are wild caught. We live in N. Idaho. We have had them for about 2 months and they are both feeding on pinkie mice. I just noticed today that one of them has some strange blothes on its skin. It is kinda darker and the scales seem ruff there. I should note that when we first caught them, I had them in a cage that had the soil from where I found them. I had them in there for about 5 days until I got Eco Earth and bark. I cleaned the cage very well after I took the yucky soil out. The snake I am wondering about just shed about 5 days ago and it was a normal, healthy shed. I know that it isn't the ideal thing to keep a wild caught snake but we LOVE rubber boas and they are not easily found for sale and they are abundant where we live. Any help would be appreciated. I have photos but can't figure out how to upload them on here. Thanks so much!
Sam and Hayden (9 year old snake LOVING son)

pretty tough to say with out seeing these marks.
Are you sure they aren't just scars?
What part of N. Idaho?
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Steve Perry
North Idaho.

definitely not just scars. He didn't have them before. We live in Cataldo which is about 30 minutes East of Couer D'alene. I have pics but can't figure out how to post them on here.

And I meant to add that we took him to the vet yesterday and she had no idea what it was. She didn't think it was fungal, and she looked in his mouth and said that looked great. We decided to change the substrate to newspaper and sand and add some terranium moss in a hide box for moisture in case it was too dry.

It is always a good idea to move to newspaper when trying to diagnose a problem. Newspaper plus moss will be just fine, either temporarily or permanently. They like to hide in the folds of the newspaper, so add a couple of loose sheets on top.

Also, are you using heat? RBs do like a strip of heat at the far end of the cage, with the majority of the cage cool. They use heat to fight infection, to prepare for shed, and to digest (although RBs can digest meals at lower temps than many other snakes.)
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Mark

I actually don't have a heat strip but can definitely get one. It is just hot here now and I was thinking they didn't like hot weather as much as most snakes. Should I just get a small pad to put at one end?
Thanks,
Sam

also, here is a link to some pics of him. I couldn't upload photos on here, so hopefully this link works!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=75600&id=1392011279&l=5c86b2234c

Thanks!
Sam
Link

Were you keeping them in pretty moist conditions? I have seen similar things with snakes kept to wet (blisters). Keep them a little drier (provide a water bowl) and add some heat (try to get a small hot spot around 90F). Make sure they still have access to cooler temps (65-75).

Just my 2 cents,
-Chris
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Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

Thanks for your 2 cents! O I had them in moist stuff for about 1 week before we switched it to sterile stuff from the store. Coconut bedding and it wasn't too moist, maybe not moist enough... I changed that and am hoping it helps. I am starting to wonder if they didn't like the coconut bedding for some reason. Some one said something about scale rot, in which case, how do they treat that?

I've kept them in moist coconut for months (babies) with no issues.

Back to your question - Neosporin on the suspected area is a good idea. If it works, great, and if not, it is harmless.

You are correct about RBs liking it cool. Cool temps are their base, and they access warmth for specific tasks. What they do not like is constant high temps. If your daytime ambient temps are already hitting near, no need to add heat.

When I kept a few, the best heating method seemed to be simply taping a heat pad to the far side of the cage, vertical. I put a piece of driftwood near that. The snakes would squeeze between the wood and heater as needed. The rest of the cage stayed room temp. This was the safest method I could think of that provided adequate warmth when the snakes wanted it while not a chance of overheating the entire cage, especially when the cage size is rather small. Works awesome for mtn kings too.

During hot weather I put ice packs in the cage. When the ambient room temp was 85, the RBs coiled up rather close to the ice packs.
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Mark

I've seen quite a few of them with marks just like that in the wild. I wouldn't think its anything to worry about.
I think I have some pictures, I'll try to dig them up.

I'd recommend that you contact Richard or Ryan Hoyer through Ryans's website rubberboas.com.
Let us know what he says .
Josh

They look like old scars to me, but the pics were pretty dark on my monitor. Was this the first shed since you've had them? If so, you may not have been able to see them as clearly as when you have a fresh shed.
I would keep an eye on them to see if they spread/get bigger but they look pretty normal to me.
If they are old scars then you'll notice them get smaller and smaller with each shed.
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Steve Perry
North Idaho.

Thank you for all of your comments. I too, do the ice pack thingy. I did contact Mr. Hoyer and he thought (although it was just one pic) it to be scar tissue. I am just wondering why it seemed to spread, as we watched it get worse. That is my concern. I have found Rubber Boas and seen scar tissue. I am thinking maybe the pics don't due it justice. I will try the neosporin as it won't hurt anything. I sent Mr. Hoyer more photos in hopes it will show more detail. I just want to make sure I do the right thing in regards to the snake. We love him. He didn't seem worse today and he is eating so I guess I should stop worrying a tad, and be happy about that.
Thanks again,
Sam

Okay, I have been doing the neopsporin, but today I noticed that the areas that were dark, are now a whitish color. After holding him, I had scales in my hand, hence the white color where the scales came up. What would cause that. I am calling the vet tomorrow, but since she seemed clueless, any suggestions I can give her??

Today, about 1/2 of his scales are off over his entire body. THe other snake, now has one tiny spot on it. Mr. Hoyer said it could possibly be fungal or some kind of toxin in the tank. I called the vet, not that she will know, but hopefully something can be done.

Can you post photos of this? It is very strange!! Make sure you keep these animals away from your other pets!

Keep us posted, fingers crossed.

-Chris
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Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

I will post some pics in about 15 minutes. The vet called in Silvadene cream in hopes that if it is fungal or bacterial, it will help it. When you say keep away from other pets, do you mean other snakes? I only have one other snake that is in a seperate cage and then the 2 Rubbers. I do have dogs, cats and chickens but they don't come in contact with them. What about my kids? I have my fingers crossed too about the cream helping. It makes me sad if I somehow did this. I mean, the cage is super clean and I read up all about them before I kept them, so it bothers me that this happened. Off to take so pics.

Here is a link to the photos. The first photos are what I just took (I had scales in my hand after holding him) and then the original pics from when it first started about 1-2 weeks ago.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=828344&l=dc63fe5c56&id=1392011279

Definitely keep it away from other reptiles. I would wash hands very well before being around other animals/people.

Looking at the photo it looks like there are still scales on the affected areas, is this the case? It could be going through a very bad shed.

-Chris

P.s. This is why I try very hard to only buy captive bred animals.
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Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

Did you smear the neo all over him? I have noticed if snakes are treated with oil or cream, sometimes the skin sheds a scale at a time. Eventually after all the clear scale coverings are gone, the skin is OK. My experience has been with other species. Good luck.
Al Winstel