Is this scale rot or--??

[Lori P]

Hey guys, I was cleaning the ball python's home and discovered Fluffy has some funky looking scales on her head. What do you think of this??

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/Fluffy_head_very_close.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Fluffy_head_resize.jpg

THANKS--

[adamanteus]

Hi Lori, it doesn't look like scale rot to me. Does Fluffy often shed in bits and pieces, rather than one piece? Looks like indididual scales that have failed to slough (maybe more than once).

[Snaky]

For me it looks like the scales came off or that there is still a piece of the old shed on it... but it does not look like scale rot to me. If the scales came off, I don't have clue what you can do about that. Otherwise you can try the 'wet bag' method. It can be that the environment is not humid enough when you're snake is shedding.

[Lori P]

Oh good. I've not seen scale rot so wasn't sure; I better do some research on it.

Fluffy has had a few good sheds and a few sheds in bits and pieces. I am having a hard time keeping the humidity where it should be in their tank. I do mist them every couple of days and keep a damp hide in there. The other thing is, these two never soak themselves. But the baby just had a wonderful shed, all one piece (remember I was asking about her eye caps a little while ago) so I was thinking we were on a roll...

Thanks, I will keep working on it! I think Fluffy is getting ready to shed again soon, she is looking pretty dull. Here she is with the baby snuggled on top of her this morning:

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Fluffy_and_Squiggles_cuddling_resize.jpg

[KITKAT]

That looks like unshed scales in patches. Try wet-bagging her overnight, or use a washrag with warm clear water and try gently massaging the areas. If you get even one of them to shed on out, then you know what it is for sure.