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Why are the scales bumpy?

notserp

notserp

New member
I commented about this on another thread but I wanted to make sure I got some responses. All the Corns I have or have had have a smooth texture. I just got a new girl who is supposed to be a Snow het lava,motley. She is not smooth. Her scales have more texture. When you rub your hand accross her it doesn't feel smooth like the others. Is this common? What causes it? Could it be a hybrid? I think its cool but I want to know why. Any help is appreciated.
 
Pictures would be needed to answer this. I have never noticed hybrids looking/feeling more keeled, though.
 
My snakes, all "pure" corns, AFAIK, have varied textures, from fine, silky scales to kind of beaded-feeling scales, and everything in between. It's quite noticeable in the sheds.
 
Thanks Nanci, thats good to know. I don't have pictures cause I got her after she had a big meal, so she is being quarintined and left alone to digest and settle in to her new surroundings.
 
Nanci said:
My snakes, all "pure" corns, AFAIK, have varied textures, from fine, silky scales to kind of beaded-feeling scales, and everything in between. It's quite noticeable in the sheds.
Click to expand...

Have your prices on your snakes ever changed because of their texture? Do you find texture hereditory?
 
Texture wouldn't affect price, not for me at least. If it doesn't affect the colors/patterns, most buyers/breeders wouldn't care at all about how a snake feels.

Same as Nanci, I have all kinds from some that you can't even tell they are scales, to some that feel incredibly rough. It's the same for all snakes as far as I know.

My male carpet is rough, female feels like silk.
 
SquamishSerpents said:
Are all of her scales bumpy, or just a few?

If it's just a few, I'd be looking into the possibility of mites.
Click to expand...

All of them are the same. Its definetly not mites. I think she is perfectly healthy, just a little bit of a different texture then my others. I actually picked her up from a guy I think you know, Mike Franklin (Franklin Reptiles)
 
Could it have been a bad shed?

I have an adult snow that when I got her she felt like a freaking pine cone. After a good healthy shed though it went away. Turns out she had had several bad sheds before coming to me.
 
notserp said:
Have your prices on your snakes ever changed because of their texture? Do you find texture hereditory?
Click to expand...

No, but the microscale gene pooped up fairly recently, and that gene GREATLY affects price. It is still fairly rare (and desireable). Same with scaleless- still rare and expensive.
 
With corns that have the more beaded texture, it's nothing like keeled scales like you'd feel on a gartersnake. Keeled scales feel kind of rough and dry and spiny, sort of. Textured cornsnakes are still smooth feeling.
 
HVani said:
Could it have been a bad shed?

I have an adult snow that when I got her she felt like a freaking pine cone. After a good healthy shed though it went away. Turns out she had had several bad sheds before coming to me.
Click to expand...

I guess that could be it. She was in blue when I got her. She has a shed box to help her so I will see what happens. I got her from a guy that picked her up at an expo because he knew I was looking for a Snow female, so I don't really know a lot about her history.
 
kmonteith said:
Texture wouldn't affect price, not for me at least. If it doesn't affect the colors/patterns, most buyers/breeders wouldn't care at all about how a snake feels.

Same as Nanci, I have all kinds from some that you can't even tell they are scales, to some that feel incredibly rough. It's the same for all snakes as far as I know.

My male carpet is rough, female feels like silk.
Click to expand...

I wish I had a carpet or two. The women of the house drew the line at my ball python. Even he is too big and he is only a year old. At least she is good with the Corns.
 
Nanci said:
No, but the microscale gene pooped up fairly recently, and that gene GREATLY affects price. It is still fairly rare (and desireable). Same with scaleless- still rare and expensive.
Click to expand...

I have seen the scaleless ones (I don't think I like them) but I have never heard of microscale. Is it smaller scales then possable?
 
Nanci said:
With corns that have the more beaded texture, it's nothing like keeled scales like you'd feel on a gartersnake. Keeled scales feel kind of rough and dry and spiny, sort of. Textured cornsnakes are still smooth feeling.
Click to expand...

Yeah, she is still on the smoother side. Just a little bit more texture then I'm used to but I have gone years without snakes because of a girl (never happen again) so my current experiance is limited. After hearing from you I totaly feel she is completly healthy. I like the slightly different texture and as long as she is fine I hope it doesn't go away after she sheds.
 
It would be interesting to compare her shed skin to a smoother feeling corn-we've been collecting sheds and putting pieces under a microscope recently, and it's amazing how much difference there is when magnified even between two snakes of the same kind.
 
Alli_Draggy said:
It would be interesting to compare her shed skin to a smoother feeling corn-we've been collecting sheds and putting pieces under a microscope recently, and it's amazing how much difference there is when magnified even between two snakes of the same kind.
Click to expand...

Well, I don't have a microscope but with the naked eye her shed looked normal.
 
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