Help MbK strange scales? And problem around mouth?

[Shakiera]

Hello everyone!

Sorry for my bad english

I bought an adult male Mexican black Kingsnake a few Months ago and when i looked at him closely i saw that he has some strange scales at his tail.
The scales look kind of wrinkly. I went to a vet and she told me not to worry and to wait for the next shed.
On the 01.08 he had a beautiful full shed and the wrinkles are still there. On the shed itself the scales have a dark/ nearly black spot on them
I tried looking through the internet for answers but i honestly couldnt find anything like that.

And a second problem that i found is that around his mouth around some scales it lookes like he has something white on top of it (in the picture it actually lookes a bit worse that in RL )
Im not sure theoretically i can't be stuck shed because he shed everything off in his last shed.
To me it kind of lookes like lime? from the water (is that right? thats what google translator tells me) you know the minerals in the water when they dry they get so white too.
Problem with that is i dont know if using something to remove it from the water is healthy for the snake. Should i boil the water before i put it into his water bowl?

I Could'nt update any Images so i hope an Imgur Link is Okay
https://imgur.com/NtufSVF
https://imgur.com/VipW8Fw

[PanUzasny]

Hi Shakiera,

I'm a beginning snake keeper, but I thought I'd share my thoughts anyway:

1. I'm having a hard time seeing the wrinkly scales. Are you talking about the little folds in his tail? Anyway, from what I understand that could be something the snake was born with or it could happen if the snake is folded up a lot which would cause the skin to fold. To me, it doesn't look like an issues, but again, I'm new to this.

2. As far as the white on his scales, it looks like stuck shed to me and doesn't look like anything serious. I don't think you need to worry about the minerals in the water. However, if you wanted to test it out you could use some distilled or reverse-osmosis water which should have minimal minerals. I don't think boiling the water will remove the minerals from the water unless you are condensing the steam and using that. If anything, I would expect the minerals to be more concentrated in the boiled water.

Anyway, hope this helps and that someone with more experience jumps in. Your snake looks awesome by the way, the Mexican Black Kingsnakes are just so striking. I have a Florida "Firecracker" Kingsnake myself.

[Scubadiver59]

What is your humidity like in your room? What is the humidity in the cage? If it's too wet, your snake can suffer from scale rot though I'm not sure that's the cage here, but it definitely does not look right.

What else is in the cage with your snake? How hot do you have it on the hot end? Are you using a heat rock, lamp, under tank heater/heat pad, etc.?

Describe the cage contents as best as possible.

Originally Posted by Shakiera

Hello everyone!

Sorry for my bad english

I bought an adult male Mexican black Kingsnake a few Months ago and when i looked at him closely i saw that he has some strange scales at his tail.
The scales look kind of wrinkly. I went to a vet and she told me not to worry and to wait for the next shed.
On the 01.08 he had a beautiful full shed and the wrinkles are still there. On the shed itself the scales have a dark/ nearly black spot on them
I tried looking through the internet for answers but i honestly couldnt find anything like that.

And a second problem that i found is that around his mouth around some scales it lookes like he has something white on top of it (in the picture it actually lookes a bit worse that in RL )
Im not sure theoretically i can't be stuck shed because he shed everything off in his last shed.
To me it kind of lookes like lime? from the water (is that right? thats what google translator tells me) you know the minerals in the water when they dry they get so white too.
Problem with that is i dont know if using something to remove it from the water is healthy for the snake. Should i boil the water before i put it into his water bowl?

I Could'nt update any Images so i hope an Imgur Link is Okay
https://imgur.com/NtufSVF
https://imgur.com/VipW8Fw

[Shakiera]

Hez, Thanks for the answer

The humidity is around 45-50% usually and during his shed i sprayed the Enclosure 1-2 per day so it was around 60% or a bit higher. He actually was soaking in his water bowl most of the time of his shed.

Right now his terrarium is around 80degree because were having a small heatwave, usually around 75degree
The basking spot reaches a maximum of 93degree the hide on his basking side is most of the time around 89-90degree- i am using a heating lamp.

I actually realised that the strange scales around his mouth might actually be stick shed because he keeps trying to rub it off. I tried to to get it off but its really stuck on :/

What i am also worried about he is around 4 Years old and he shed on the first this month but he is already going into shed again. His eyes are turning blue and he keeps soaking in his water dish. Isnt that to soon? My baby snake sheds every month but he is an adult shouldn't it take longer for him? I am actually worried that i did something wrong so that he is going into shed again o.o

I really hope you might help me out a bit- i guess i will wait out this shed again and if nothing gets better i'll go to the Vet again.

[Scubadiver59]

Your temps and humidity sound fine.

Snakes go into shed when they need to...either because of growth spurts or other reasons. Just keep providing that water for it to soak in and I'm sure everything will work out. Let us know what happens after the shed.

Originally Posted by Shakiera

Hez, Thanks for the answer

The humidity is around 45-50% usually and during his shed i sprayed the Enclosure 1-2 per day so it was around 60% or a bit higher. He actually was soaking in his water bowl most of the time of his shed.

Right now his terrarium is around 80degree because were having a small heatwave, usually around 75degree
The basking spot reaches a maximum of 93degree the hide on his basking side is most of the time around 89-90degree- i am using a heating lamp.

I actually realised that the strange scales around his mouth might actually be stick shed because he keeps trying to rub it off. I tried to to get it off but its really stuck on :/

What i am also worried about he is around 4 Years old and he shed on the first this month but he is already going into shed again. His eyes are turning blue and he keeps soaking in his water dish. Isnt that to soon? My baby snake sheds every month but he is an adult shouldn't it take longer for him? I am actually worried that i did something wrong so that he is going into shed again o.o

I really hope you might help me out a bit- i guess i will wait out this shed again and if nothing gets better i'll go to the Vet again.

[Scubadiver59]

Take your snake to a vet...soon. The following is what happened to my Indigo and what the vet (exotic pet vet) prescribed:

I brought my Eastern Indigo (Drymarchon Couperi) to the vet today due to the appearance of the scales towards the tail (the same shriveled scales you have on your snake) and one or two other lesions that appeared a bit further up from the tail.

I don't see him every day, or most days for that matter, and he always takes his food back into his hide so I didn't notice the problem until today and I took him in as an emergency case due to the other lesions one of which was bloody, like a scrape.

Anyway, the vet told me she recently had a similar case and it turned out to be fungal, not microbial/bacterial (though fungus might be considered microbial when you think about it, but I'm not a biologist so who knows).

I'm taking home multiple antibiotics and a pain killer, putting Silver Sulfadiazine on the affected scales, bathing twice a week, and who knows what else. I'm going to be waiting for a biopsy result and when I get it, I'll post it here.

Also, take your snake out of the enclosure then clean the enclosure with a strong bleach/water mixture; or, if you can get it, get some F10 disinfectant. The F10 is pricey, but it's worth it. Put the snake back in the enclosure on paper towels until you get your snake fixed.

You can also wipe the F10 on your snake, from the neck to tail, just not on the head, to kill off anything that might be there as an added precaution, it won't harm your snake.

Some info on F10:
F10SC (super concentrate) veterinary disinfectant is an EPA approved hospital grade disinfectant. It is used in many of the world’s leading veterinary hospitals and zoological institutions as well as by leading reptile, avian and exotic pet breeders and keepers. F10 disinfectant is widely recognized as the most effective and economical total spectrum disinfectant on the market.

F10 is non-corrosive, non-toxic, non-irritating and aldehyde free so has no adverse effects on people, animals, equipment or surfaces. It has been proven effective at recommended concentrations against all types of bacteria, fungi and spores including MRSA, avian influenza, psittacine beak and feather disease, canine parvovirus, e.coli, aspergillus and a host of others.

F10SC Veterinary Disinfectant can be used in a wide range of applications — disinfecting cages, water bowls, floors, racks, shelving, perches and toys, food preparation areas, inside incubators, washing eggs and decontaminating hands. F10SC can also be applied as a fog or fine spray to mist rooms to eradicate airborne microbes and to stop cross contamination.

F10SC is active against bacteria, fungi and spores. It is an excellent product for achieving a high level of biosecurity and poses no hazard to yourself or your animals when used at recommended concentrations.

F10 products are non- toxic, non-corrosive & biodegradable.

F10SC can be sprayed on and left to disinfect after cleaning with no need to rinse off. Unlike many other products F10 stays active providing an ongoing residual effect.