Question about scars and scales

[InsanePirateDragon]

I have a quick question about scars and scales for a first time snake owner.

Marley suffered from an attack a few months ago in late summer by a kitty (mine, crazy thing has it out for reptiles) and I had no problems treating the wounds and cleaning them and they all healed up nicely but a few of them are missing scales.

Now will those scales regrow over time or is it only going to be the scar tissue in its place. My only experience is with lizards that can at least regrow tails so I'm new to this.

None of the scars are big ones so if they don't then I'm not too worried, I'm more or less just curious.

[katach]

Can we get a picture of the area?

[kibakiba]

Scales don't regrow, so she'll likely have the scars for the rest of her life.

I have a snake, Hades, who has scar tissue on the sides of his mouth... And within the first couple weeks of keeping him, it seemed to have regrown the scales. However, his scales in his mouth were only half missing... If that makes any sense.

[EasternGirl]

Completely off topic, but I love the name Hades.

[InsanePirateDragon]

Well Miss Marley decided that she didn't want me to try and get closeups and couldn't sit still, too curious about the camera and the noise.

But they were mainly puncture wounds, cats cause more of those than the tearing that often happens with dogs so most are quite small and probably won't be noticeable until she's bigger. But the main damage is about the last inch and a half of her tail where she was probably carrying her around.

But the very tip of her tail is broken it looks like but she can still move it so it looks like a little kink.

[EasternGirl]

Oh dear...may I ask how the cat got a hold of the snake?

[guidofatherof5]

Infection from cat bites should be a big concern.
I hope all turns out well.

[RedSidedSPR]

Big.

[InsanePirateDragon]

Kitty actually brought her home, much like she does with mice and I got her to drop Marley. I first thought it was dead until I saw a flick of tongue. I took her in and worked on treating the wounds and kept her on paper towels while I treated her wounds until they were at least closed and gave her actual bedding.

I don't think she was that old, I know a couple of weeks before I relocated a good sized red sided garter that was nearly a meter long closer to the woods. We only have a couple of spieces of garter here in KS, the Checkered, Plains, and the Common or Redsided like its called out here.

[InsanePirateDragon]

Okay here's one of the bigger scars thats about mid body I believe and I figured it was caused by a claw.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i234/InsanePirateDragon/IMG_20120227_124153.jpg

[EasternGirl]

Well, it's a wonderful thing that you did taking her in, nursing her back to health, and giving her a loving home. So it sounds like everything is all healed up now...no signs of infection or anything at this point? I'm afraid she will always have scars and probably some missing scales too. Keep an eye on that tail...she could lose part of it at some point. If it starts to look dark or the skin looks dead...let us know. In fact, if you could show a close up pic of the tail...that would be good.

[guidofatherof5]

Okay here's one of the bigger scars thats about mid body I believe and I figured it was caused by a claw.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i234/InsanePirateDragon/IMG_20120227_124153.jpg

I don't see a scar at all in that photo, just a missing scale or two.

[InsanePirateDragon]

I know I was worried about the tail tip and it retained shed twice after the attack and soaking took care of it. Once everything healed she's hadn't had much trouble with it.

But here it is,
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i234/InsanePirateDragon/IMG_20120229_000309.jpg

[chris-uk]

That looks like a tail tip that needs checking carefully after every shed. At least you know that it can be a problem.

[EasternGirl]

Yes...I think that the fact that you are aware and keep a close eye on it greatly minimizes the chance that she will have additional problems with it. Just continue to monitor it after each shed for any retained skin.

[guidofatherof5]

Looks like a viable tail. It's got a slight catch in its get-along (true medical term):D but should be okay.
As stated just watch to make sure the future sheds are complete.

[Selkielass]

All the Wild caught Butlers I have caught have been badly scarred by cats, and I've seen no sign of scale regrowth on these wounds. On the plus side tho, the scars don't seem to cause any difficulty in shedding so far.

[harpercat]

Very interested in the tail tip photo. I had a ribbon snake, Eddy, who had suffered a broken tail at some point in his life before I got him as a youngster. He never had any problems with it at all, he shed perfectly every single time. He lived until he was 17. I had him for 16 years. I always kept an eye on it of course, but he was completely untroubled by it, even when it was touched. I took Eddy to the vet to be checked when I bought him, and he said that it was best to leave well alone as by then the break had long since healed and it was clearly not causing Eddy any distress.

[EasternGirl]

Wow...17 years is an extremely long life for a garter or ribbon snake. Isn't that some sort of record?

[d_virginiana]

I think there was someone on here (was it Richard?) who had a couple of concinnus live to be 18-20... At least I think I'm remembering that correctly. I think anything in the 12+ age range is considered pretty old.

Garters/ribbons and water snakes are seriously some of the toughest animals I've ever seen. Just keeping tabs on some of the wild ones I encounter a lot, I've seen them bounce back from some really crazy looking injuries (like a partly smashed jaw).

[Didymus20X6]

4761

[ConcinusMan]

Very interested in the tail tip photo. I had a ribbon snake, Eddy, who had suffered a broken tail at some point in his life before I got him as a youngster.

Sometimes they're just born that way.;)

[ConcinusMan]

Wow...17 years is an extremely long life for a garter or ribbon snake. Isn't that some sort of record?


Nope. It's not a record unless confirmed by a zoologist. In other words, if the snake spent it's entire life in a zoo, then it would be a record.


I think there was someone on here (was it Richard?) who had a couple of concinnus live to be 18-20... At least I think I'm remembering that correctly. I think anything in the 12+ age range is considered pretty old.

I would say anything over 10 is "pretty old" ;)

Nowhere are you going to find a record of a garter snake living 21 years but I had one that long and I can imagine that it probably is as long as they are capable of living but... Like I said, if it isn't in a zoo, it's not a record. :rolleyes:

I would say that 17 for a ribbon is definitely a long life, but absolutely not out of the question.

Oh, and back on topic, you probably already know now... the scales won't grow back. In fact, surgically removing scales in a specific pattern was used to I.D. individual snakes in field studies and even to I.D. very valuable captive snakes before RFID tags were invented.

[chris-uk]

In fact, surgically removing scales in a specific pattern was used to I.D. individual snakes in field studies and even to I.D. very valuable captive snakes before RFID tags were invented.

I'll put that down as "interesting fact of the day".

[ConcinusMan]

I read about that in some old-school scientific papers when I was a kid. They were doing movement, growth, and longevity studies and that's how they marked their subjects, which happened to be garter snakes of course.:D

[harpercat]

Yes, I discovered that it wouldn't count as a record, as I was aware that 17 was quite an achievement for a little guy like Eddy so I looked into the possibility. He was definitely at least a year old when I got him and I definitely had him from 1988 to 2004, so if anything he was over 17. It's great to see what is possible though.

[ConcinusMan]

it happens occasionally so its definitely possible. not typical by any means, but there you have it folks. they can live to around 20 yrs old.