What are these red marks?

jhammond · 09-14-17, 09:37 AM

Hello, today i got ride of my snakes bad shed left over on the tail and the tip of the tail had two layers i think and it came off and bled a tiny but, no big deal, but he also has these red marks, is just irritation from the shed been on there, will it come off in his next shed, should i be treating it? Photos below
(excuse the arm and fingers)

https://imgur.com/a/B0V8E

Scubadiver59 · 09-14-17, 10:05 AM

It is a big deal.

Some might disagree with me, but if you see a bad shed, either soak the snake and then remove the shed with something like a washcloth; or, just go with a wet washcloth and stroke the shed off.

If you leave sheds on the tip of the tail, it could eventually end up constricting the blood flow and part of the tail will die and fall off...if it doesn't go septic and you end up having to visit a vet for antibiotic treatments.

**Andy_G** · 09-14-17, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scubadiver59

It is a big deal.

Some might disagree with me, but if you see a bad shed, either soak the snake and then remove the shed with something like a washcloth; or, just go with a wet washcloth and stroke the shed off.

If you leave sheds on the tip of the tail, it could eventually end up constricting the blood flow and part of the tail will die and fall off...if it doesn't go septic and you end up having to visit a vet for antibiotic treatments.

I agree with this. Shed left over on the head and the tail should be taken care of immediately. I'm an advocate of NOT soaking, and the wash cloth idea works really well for these areas.

**EL Ziggy** · 09-14-17, 10:16 AM

Nice carpet. I'm not sure about the red spots though.

Bandit · 09-14-17, 10:34 AM

I agree, any left over shed on the tail needs to be removed as soon as possible. If it continuously has bad sheds, trying raising the humidity some or soaking when you see a shed coming.

Black cobra · 09-14-17, 11:46 AM

My boa has some of the same marks

TRD · 09-14-17, 02:05 PM

He already seemed to have taken off the bad shed, just probably tried to type it from a phone or something that messed up the sentence quite a bit

I'm not sure what the red is, can't it just be irritation or leftover blood under the scales? Would wait for it to heal up a bit now that the old sheds have been removed.

Keep a better eye out with the next shed cycle, now that you have pictures you can also compare over time. Snakes (all reptiles) heal much slower than mammals.

jhammond · 09-14-17, 09:22 PM

thanks guys for the quick replies, sorry about the bad wording! the sheds already been taken off in those photos

jhammond · 09-21-17, 04:19 AM

He is fine, the red marks have almost all gone, i this i just irritated the tail and caused a bit of trauma, the tip of his tail is still the same but not bleeding any signs of infection