Amun
New member
Hey guys, I scoured the net and only found one case of this.
About three weeks ago, I noticed my king had some raised scales on his side. I suspect it was because I left the substrate in far too long without changing it. Mistakes were made, I felt bad, but can't change the past. I took him out and gave him a good, long bath. Cleared out the wounds with hydrogen peroxide and then went to town on his terrarium. Took the HP to it and cleaned it from top to bottom.
I then lined the tank with paper towels and took out any ornaments I had. Replaced his hideway with an empty cereal box and then finally applied triple action polysporin to the worst areas. The next day, I noticed he was losing the enamel from his scales. Not the scales themselves, but the actual enamel, revealing a rough scale underneath. For a week I cleaned the cage and Anubis with HP, reapplying the poly and making sure he had enough drinking water, but not enough to worsen his condition. He was pretty calm.
His behaviour throughout was good. He was curious and just seemed like he needed my help. After a week, he ate a mouse. A good kill, so I was happy. About a week later he was ready to moult. About 5 days ago, he shed. I was lucky enough to be there for it and helped him through the process. It was a clean shed and he looks amazing again. Except for the scales that lost their enamel. They are still a little rugged, but it looks like they do have a covering.
His feces is good. Nothing unusual there. No behaviour problems. He's eaten since then and seems in good spirits. As I type this, he's in hunting mode, so it'll be feeding time tomorrow.
Now the guy I found on the net said his boa had this problem. He said that he was given antibiotics by his vet, but the vet ultimately didn't know what it was. He said the issue cleared up after the snake shed, but only for a little while. Soon after, the enamel started peeling off again.
I've kept my terrarium spotless. I periodically clean it and when he defecates, it goes through a thorough cleaning. So does he. I make sure he guts rubbed down with a tissue and some HP. I am mindful not to overly clean him as he has his own natural bacteria fighters, but I also don't want him dragging anything around. I'm inclined to think it's bacterial and perhaps the guy with the boa just didn't do a good job enough keeping his enclosure clean. I haven't put anything back, waiting a while to make sure it's safe. Then I want to sanitize all the wood and fake plants too.
So has anyone heard of this? Am I in the clear? I didn't want to bring it to a vet to be billed for a dose of AB and a "I dunno" if he really doesn't need it.
Cheers
About three weeks ago, I noticed my king had some raised scales on his side. I suspect it was because I left the substrate in far too long without changing it. Mistakes were made, I felt bad, but can't change the past. I took him out and gave him a good, long bath. Cleared out the wounds with hydrogen peroxide and then went to town on his terrarium. Took the HP to it and cleaned it from top to bottom.
I then lined the tank with paper towels and took out any ornaments I had. Replaced his hideway with an empty cereal box and then finally applied triple action polysporin to the worst areas. The next day, I noticed he was losing the enamel from his scales. Not the scales themselves, but the actual enamel, revealing a rough scale underneath. For a week I cleaned the cage and Anubis with HP, reapplying the poly and making sure he had enough drinking water, but not enough to worsen his condition. He was pretty calm.
His behaviour throughout was good. He was curious and just seemed like he needed my help. After a week, he ate a mouse. A good kill, so I was happy. About a week later he was ready to moult. About 5 days ago, he shed. I was lucky enough to be there for it and helped him through the process. It was a clean shed and he looks amazing again. Except for the scales that lost their enamel. They are still a little rugged, but it looks like they do have a covering.
His feces is good. Nothing unusual there. No behaviour problems. He's eaten since then and seems in good spirits. As I type this, he's in hunting mode, so it'll be feeding time tomorrow.
Now the guy I found on the net said his boa had this problem. He said that he was given antibiotics by his vet, but the vet ultimately didn't know what it was. He said the issue cleared up after the snake shed, but only for a little while. Soon after, the enamel started peeling off again.
I've kept my terrarium spotless. I periodically clean it and when he defecates, it goes through a thorough cleaning. So does he. I make sure he guts rubbed down with a tissue and some HP. I am mindful not to overly clean him as he has his own natural bacteria fighters, but I also don't want him dragging anything around. I'm inclined to think it's bacterial and perhaps the guy with the boa just didn't do a good job enough keeping his enclosure clean. I haven't put anything back, waiting a while to make sure it's safe. Then I want to sanitize all the wood and fake plants too.
So has anyone heard of this? Am I in the clear? I didn't want to bring it to a vet to be billed for a dose of AB and a "I dunno" if he really doesn't need it.
Cheers
