Hello, I have a breeder size male Banana 100% het pied. Lately I’ve noticed he has these pieces of shed hanging from his neck area. Maybe only on the first few inches of his underside. Best way I can describe them is like a Hanging Chad. They are no bigger than a single scale from the top side scales. I cant pull them off with no harm to the snake. Just curious if anyone knows what these might be? My apologies for not having a picture. At work currently.
Living arrangements. 40 gal front opener using shredding coconut substrate. hot and cold side hides, water bowl, fake trees and plants as well.
EDIT: The “hanging chads” are not thick, imagine a piece a your own skin on your fingers by the cuticles. You know the ones we can pull off but we are have that irrational fear that if we pull them they are going to pull a strand clear up the length of our finger lol
Why is this? If the shed cycle has passed and the animal has some stuck shed, you can help and remove it. I would give him a soak and then use a damp washcloth to gently wipe the area.
I’m guessing the answer is that these are damaged or bent scales and not actual shed based on the “Hanging Chad” description. Hence they would not come off without harming the animal.
Oh, and if it’s damaged scales. There’s nothing that needs to be done. Just making sure that there’s no extra sharp objects in the tank and making sure that the area stays clean.
not bent scales compared to other snakes I’ve had with bent scales. I made an edit to the post but this literally look like slivers of skin that are transparent. I’ll have to try and get a picture and add it. Doesn’t look like stuck shed either. I am gonna try soaking him and wetting down his substrate as it has dried out.
nothing in there that I would consider sharp. I’ll take a look and see if anything stands out or I can feel anything. I don’t see cuts or anything of that nature on him so thats a postive
@kinkylinkballpythons I don’t do well with advice regarding damaged scales/scale issues so no opinion on that subject.
That said I think I am safe to say that the best thing to do is for you to provide pictures as best as you can so everyone can get an idea of what the problem might truly be and then go from there……
