So I went to spot clean Iris's tank and get her out to handle her and found her shed skin! This was her first shed with me and I've been waiting for 5 days with excitement. Its not a whole shed but its in two pieces and she has no stuck shed on her. But there is this spot on her body where it looks like her pattern has broken up. The only way I can describe it is it looks like a few scales of pie-bald. Its not rough or indented just pale tan. Its the first of the three pictures below.
odd, did it always look like that ? maybe you over looked it? my snake shed in five pieces, but nothing seems to be stuck. I hope it is okay to shed in patches.
I am sorry that I have no idea what that means. I hope it is nothing serious. I thought my snake had some lighter areas after he shed but I am not 100%.
Spots like that are not normal. Do you feed live? I have one BRB that will only eat live and he ends up with battle scars that look a little like that. Two pieces is fine assuming one just got torn off by the act of shedding. Five pieces even is not necessarily bad but obviously more concerning as bad sheds are the first indicator of inadequate humidity. Looking at the pics again I would ask you about humidity, what are you doing to provide/maintain the higher levels necessary. The first pic showing the white areas also looks like the other scales are not smooth/shiny like a well hydrated, freshly shed BRB should look. Could just be the pic but better to ask then assume.
She has a humidifier on 24/7 the humidity never drops below 85% and no she is on f/t fuzzies I've never fed her live.
little odd.. can't quite see well enough. Any chance it could be a little burn from something? Are the scales there or did they come off?
The scales are there. Each pale spot is a scale. And the CHE is out of her reach and has a cage around it. I checked her enclosure for anything "poky" and the only thing rough is the outside surface of her water bowl.
Here's it cropped and closer. I can see the outline of the scales that are pale. It doesn't seem to bother her at all, I can touch that spot and rub it and I get no unusual reaction from her.
I don't know much about rainbows so I can't offer much advice.... If the scales are there and you're sure it's not a burn maybe she/he just lost pigment....
Just took her out and handled her and there's no change on that area. Just fed her too and ate like a champ
Yeah I'll keep a close eye on it for now and if I see any redness or spreading of the spots its straight to the vet
I too think that it is scarring from some previous damage. If you look at the enlarged picture you can see a slight curve to the larger area that leads into the smaller spot. It was likely overlooked before and just happened to catch your eye because of the shedding.
My BRB has not shed yet. We got him/her, (not sure of the sex), three weeks ago. The pet store was not sure of the last shed. Should it be 6-8 weeks between each shed?
Snakes shed based on rates of growth, not on a timetable. They shed when they need to. Fast growing hatchlings may shed every couple of weeks while older snakes have a much longer interval.
