I bought a male boa constrictor off here a few months back and he has started to present these weird white spots, there’s not much of a pattern to the spots they’re appearing at random locations but they don’t disrupt his pattern just appear as white washed out spots. I thought maybe it was because he was over due for a shed but he shed out just fine a couple days ago and it’s obvious to see it’s not an issue with his scales but just blotches of color because they’re still there but bigger now and brighter. He had none when I bought him and now has about 7 I can count. Could anyone help out and take a guess at what’s happening here?
Hypo Arabesque Het. Kahl Albino 50% Het. RDR BEA
Born June 2021
Looks like a lack of pigment in the scale it self. Im not seeing anything wrong with the scales in the white spot atleast in this picture. Maybe its just something that happens similar to a paradox or the black spots in a super fire? Thats all I got, lol. Im sure others will chime in.
It is probably just how his pattern is devolving. not a great comparison but when I got my blue tongue skink (about 4 months ago) he had around 5 or 10 small white spots and now he has about 40 or 50 (hard to count on a wiggling skink ). It is kinda weird that it is happening to a boa but it is probably nothing bad and pretty cool
We feed frozen thawed and it’s not raised like a scar there’s no transition in the feeling of his scales in the white spots it’s only a visual difference.
I know you stated it shed fine but it has stuck shed in the picture. A good shed with a boa is usually one piece. I’ll have a tail tip get stuck here and there but that’s a fair chunk. I’m not sure if a stuck shed would cause what you are seeing but something to keep an eye on to see if something needs to change in it’s habitat regarding temp/humidity.
Has this boa ever had any antibioti shots? If so, it could be a burn mark from the meds. I know Baytril will leave burn marks if not injected the right way.
If this is the problem, there is nothing to worry about. The boa will just have this discoloration for life.
I have also seen boas just develop light spots in the pattern as they get older. Still nothing really to worry about.
Just keep an eye on it. If it gets hard and crusty or soft and mushy / puss, then take the boa to a reptile veterinarian.
The marks you are seeing are not a result of the distribution of pigmentation described in my quote above. These are more localized disruptions. Tom may be correct about them being “burn” scars from Batril injections, they could also be from other localized damages - I have seen water blisters and minor abscesses result in marks like these. There are also strange cases where occasionally areas will depigment due to environmental conditions
No shots here and the spots aren’t any different in feel than the rest of him not softer or harder, no disruption in the scales either they’re not warped or curled up or squishy feeling underneath and it’s not swollen at all just different in color.
I was reluctant to post this picture because I knew somebody would say something about the spot of shed on his side but I was excited to see if anyone had some answers to what might be happening. This was his first shed with me (so exciting!) and I accidentally caught him midway through (I was doing my morning spot checks) spooking him when I opened the lid. I later helped wipe off the piece left over; after I took the photo I realized I should’ve wiped it off first but I was anxious about the spots and took the picture asap after seeing they were still there post shed to message the breeder I bought him from since I’ve been keeping an eye on them since I first noticed the spots appeared. Thanks for the concern but he really did shed just fine for me. although I posted here days after the shed the photo was taken right after he wiggled out.
Don’t feel guilty/badly about the stuck spot of shed in your picture. I for one did not see it, as I was looking at the white spots elsewhere. You know what you are doing and you took care of it. I can certainly see and understand why you would be concerned about anything that seems abnormal on your snake and you came to the right place to ask for advice/opinions. As long as your snake is healthy and you get the help you need, that’s all that matters. Don’t sweat the small stuff!
). It is kinda weird that it is happening to a boa but it is probably nothing bad and pretty cool
but I was anxious about the spots and took the picture asap after seeing they were still there post shed to message the breeder I bought him from since I’ve been keeping an eye on them since I first noticed the spots appeared. Thanks for the concern but he really did shed just fine for me. although I posted here days after the shed the photo was taken right after he wiggled out.
