Chondro Help/advice please

[Koosman09]

Hey guys. I have an adult male chondro who has these weird Markings on his head. I'm trying to figure out whats up with him. Looks like he's about to go throug a shed and is off feed for 2+ weeks now. I'm getting a little nervous bc he hasn't been active lately and perched up day and night. Do chondros do this when there gettimg ready to shed what are those spots on his head? Any and all advice please!!

[yeloowtang]

Hard to tell by that one picture !!!
is it ON the scales or between/missing scales ??

once the shed is done, if that's still there, you should get that looked at by a qualified vet..

but to help you now:

-1 what are the temperatures in the cage (specificaly the hot spor near his perch

what are you using as a heat source, reason i ask is because it looks or couild be dried up/burnt scales from a heat lamp being to close

-2 what is the humidity in the cage, could also be too dry

-3 parasites !!! any mite visible ?? could also be from mites sucking blood
if it's spending lots of time soaking in the water it could be a signe that mites are on it..

4- what type of cage are you using?? could also be a damaged screen top and he is hurting himself pushinmg on it trying to get out

i'm sorta thinking it's #4 as it does look like damaged scales and dried up blood from it trying to push out from a screen top or anything else in the cage that could harm it..id the rest of the body is perfect and only the head looks like this !!!! good chance he found a weak spot that he tried to sqeez out of..

to help it now you could could clean it with betadine solution or a diluted chlorhexidine solution then apply a tripple antibiotic polysporin on the affected area.

first thing i would look for is how can the snake hurt himself in the cage..

it may be none of these but it's a start to help you out

hot spot should be no more than 86 and humidity should go up in the high 80s to low 90s and left to drop near 50/60 during the day

[Albert Clark]

It also may be fungal. Is there any mold on the branches or in and around the substrate? And it certainly can be any of the other 1 through 4 possibilities in the aforementioned post. Consider getting a vet to look at it if it doesn't resolve in a few days. Good luck.

[Koosman09]

Hey I went thru all the points you brought up and non of them seem to be the issue. He's in an exo terra terrarium 24x24x24 has a beautiful perfect setup with perfect temperatures and perfect humidity. I use a ceramic heat emitter which is 4 inches from the screen top safely away from the snake.

Here's the thing I bought him knowing he had a stuck shed bc I fell in love with this snake when I saw it at an expo. His colors are very very different then your normal chondro. I paid $400 for em.

Anyways I've had him now for 3 months and last night was the second shed. Those black dots are completely gone from his head but now there just empty white spots because the scales are missing from were those black spots were again now its white bc the scale is gone the white is what you would find under neath the scales. I had to assist him tonight finishing his shed by leaving him in a bath a shed aid salution, it worked excellent he's complety free from left over skin.

I am really concerned about those missing scales now bc when he shed for his first time it was completely green I will attach a 2 photos one when I first got him after his bad shed that I assited last time and one now after this assisted shed.

Please let me know your thoughts on this and anyone who may have an idea please advise!

Originally Posted by yeloowtang

Hard to tell by that one picture !!!
is it ON the scales or between/missing scales ??

once the shed is done, if that's still there, you should get that looked at by a qualified vet..

but to help you now:

-1 what are the temperatures in the cage (specificaly the hot spor near his perch

what are you using as a heat source, reason i ask is because it looks or couild be dried up/burnt scales from a heat lamp being to close

-2 what is the humidity in the cage, could also be too dry

-3 parasites !!! any mite visible ?? could also be from mites sucking blood
if it's spending lots of time soaking in the water it could be a signe that mites are on it..

4- what type of cage are you using?? could also be a damaged screen top and he is hurting himself pushinmg on it trying to get out

i'm sorta thinking it's #4 as it does look like damaged scales and dried up blood from it trying to push out from a screen top or anything else in the cage that could harm it..id the rest of the body is perfect and only the head looks like this !!!! good chance he found a weak spot that he tried to sqeez out of..

to help it now you could could clean it with betadine solution or a diluted chlorhexidine solution then apply a tripple antibiotic polysporin on the affected area.

first thing i would look for is how can the snake hurt himself in the cage..

it may be none of these but it's a start to help you out

hot spot should be no more than 86 and humidity should go up in the high 80s to low 90s and left to drop near 50/60 during the day

[Koosman09]

This image is from tonight after fresh shed. See how the black dotes are gone and left white.

[yeloowtang]

looks much better now, this does however keep me thinking he found a spot to rub onto !!

try looking for a sharp edge, sometimes the screen top has steel mesh that stick beyond the rubber gasket they use to keep in place !! run your fingers all along them.
or if the top isn't locked properly, the snake can push enough to lif it and get his nose/head stuck, then the only way back is to pull and then injure themselves..

it could be something else too.. but from what i see , it looks to be something in that order..

look for
-screen top edges
-loose top (sometimes they don't clip perfectly) push from the inside out to see
-the exo terra vines if used, they have a metal wire inside and it can protrude when bent
-something you're using to hold perches,vines
-a piece of wood with a jaged edge
-damaged water bowl

the list can go on and you may never find it !! plus as i said , might be something else..

you can help him with that triple antibiotic polysporin to prevent infections.. just use a little and apply it with a Q-tip
after a few more sheds, the scales should grow back and he will look pefect again.
what you see is the skin and i think the black spot was dried blood..

other possible thing i just taught of !!! did you leave a live rat or mice in there that could have defended itself ?? either scratching it or biting it ??

nice GTP by the way :-D looks like a Wamena local with the blue triangles along the body..