Split in belly scales? : (

maitre · 10-27-10, 11:39 AM

Hey guys,

I just got this borneo 2 days ago and have been letting it relax in her new tub. I took her out today to handle for the first time and found this - splits in her belly scales. There's even some substrate trapped between the splits!!

Has anyone seen this before? I'm really, really worried about my girl right now and I'm hoping it isn't anything serious!!! I've contacted the breeder and sent him these pics. Hopefully he has an answer or will provide a replacement.

Any help is appreciated!! Thanks so much

TylerWortman · 10-27-10, 11:56 AM

Ive noticed this in all of my snakes I think its the belly button but I am not sure.

Will0W783 · 10-27-10, 11:57 AM

It looks like cleft scute, a birth defect. The scutes (belly scales) on the left and right sides fuse together during the last stages of developmen in the egg, and sometimes something goes wrong and a few don't fuse. Then you end up with a snake that has a split in the middle of belly scales. I would put it on paper towels and monitor its status after a shed or two. As long as it doesn't appear to be a wound that is healing, there isn't really anything you can do.

dragunov.762 · 10-27-10, 12:00 PM

one of my corn snakes anal plate is like that only the two scales overlap. he has not had any proplems arise from it that i have seen.

Feebo · 10-27-10, 12:04 PM

That`s a birth defect by the looks of it. Notice the scales curve inward toward the "split" I`m guessing that`s where the umbilical cord was. It doesn`t look too nasty or anything, I wouldn`t say you`re in trouble there at all. I would however take every precaution against infection by putting her on newspaper so there`s no substrate to get in there. Keep it clean with iodine (mixed nine parts water per one part iodine) using a cotton bud and taking care not to catch the bud on any sharp part of the defect. Keep her water clean fresh and changed EVERY day until this problem is sorted. I wouldn`t swap her matey, I really don`t think you`ll have problems with this if you keep it clean and keep the vivarium sterile. Make sure the viv is good and humid, drying her out may make it worse. Is she eating ok? How do you heat her viv? I think I might be a little concerned if you`re using a heat mat.....

marvelfreak · 10-27-10, 12:07 PM

I believe it like a belly button. All my snake as babies had this. My yearling no longer have it so it will vanish by the time they're a year old. With each shed it will get smaller.

Feebo · 10-27-10, 12:08 PM

Can we see some pictures of the whole snake please? She looks a little under weight in that top one, if she isn`t eating AND looks under weight it may act as barometer to the situation...

marvelfreak · 10-27-10, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feebo

Can we see some pictures of the whole snake please? She looks a little under weight in that top one, if she isn`t eating AND looks under weight it may act as barometer to the situation...

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/pytho...tml#post576443

Feebo · 10-27-10, 12:24 PM

Cheers Chuck

She`s a real looker isn`t she! Maybe a little bit slender but she`s definatly eating. A totally manageable situation there I recon......

maitre · 10-27-10, 12:24 PM

Thanks for the responses guys! So, I inspected my ball python and my BCI and noticed they have what appears to be similar splits (but not nearly as bad). My ball python has whole scales but you can see a dark line and a dimple where the split MAY have been. My BCI has split scales too but they aren't separated - they are very tight against each other/overlap.

I don't think it's a wound but, then again, none of my snakes have had major injuries before. The closest injury I've experienced was when I was taking my ball python out of her tub and a few of her scales scratched against the lid. They got caught and kinda flipped over. She now has a fading scar where the scales flipped : (

In terms of housing, all my snakes are in tubs. I put them on newspaper so I can monitor their stool. I used aspen for a short while but found that when my BP was young, she'd drop some urates under the bedding and I wouldn't notice it until I did her bi-weekly cleanings (the urates were small and I couldn't see/smell them.. now that she's 1100g, I notice her urates right away from the smell). I also once had to extract a piece of aspen that somehow got stuck in her anus (just a couple millimetres in). So yup, my borneo is on newspaper.

She's also on a regulated 8x8" 8W heat pad right now. I have my herpstat II set to maintain that spot to be 88F.

I'm going to try to give her a bath and to clean out the split. The breeder kept the borneos on cocofibre and I could actually see some particles between the split so I'm going to have to clean that out.

I usually change the water every 2-3 days but I'll start doing daily changes. Do you think it's necessary to do daily newspaper changes? I lightly mist the newspaper to up the humidity but, thinking about it now, I'm going to stop that.

Thanks again for all the advice! I'm feeling slightly better because it seems many snakes have this type of slit in the belly scales... the only thing still bugging me is that 2 of the split scales don't overlap.

maitre · 10-27-10, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feebo

Can we see some pictures of the whole snake please? She looks a little under weight in that top one, if she isn`t eating AND looks under weight it may act as barometer to the situation...

I think it was the way I had to hold her to take the photo that made her look extra skinny. When she's laying down and relaxed, she's quite thick for her size!

She's actually a really sweet girl. She was actually quite alert and active when I took her out today. She didn't go into a threat posture at all and didn't seem to threaten me (I was surprised because I heard young short tails can be quite feisty). Though... I think it kinda bugged her when I was inspecting the split and taking pics so I put her back into her tub right after snapping the shots.

I think I'm going to wait a couple more days before attempting to feed her.

infernalis · 10-27-10, 01:26 PM

Having had to cut umbilicals before, I'd say judging by the location that is the "belly button"

The curvature on the inside indicated that it's nothing recent, and the location on the snake is about dead on for where the umbilical cord would be attached pretty much says "belly button"

Will0W783 · 10-27-10, 01:58 PM

Huh, I'm going to have to go take a look at all my snakes now..I don't remember seeing spots like that, but I'm going to have to check now. I'm all curious.

maitre · 10-27-10, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Having had to cut umbilicals before, I'd say judging by the location that is the "belly button"

The curvature on the inside indicated that it's nothing recent, and the location on the snake is about dead on for where the umbilical cord would be attached pretty much says "belly button"

This is great news! It seems like the general consensus is that it's just the belly button and should be there. There has been substrate caught in there so I'm going to give her a warm soak to try to get the particles out.

maitre · 10-27-10, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

Huh, I'm going to have to go take a look at all my snakes now..I don't remember seeing spots like that, but I'm going to have to check now. I'm all curious.

I did this right after noticing it on my borneo! I never noticed it on either my ball python or BCI.. but now that I know what to look for, I can spot where the 'belly button' used to be on both of them.

I'm going to take Feebo's advice and just keep her and her enclosure clean.