Hi all! So, my boa (who I’ve posted about previously) shed today and I’m noticing an incredibly strange pigmentation loss right above where her tail starts.
She’s about 1.5 years old, she’s a hypo possible pastel, she’s very friendly and a fantastic eater, she’s been growing great since I got her (and she still is). Not sure if this info helps but figured I’d give it!
It’s not fungus, it’s not a scar, it’s not an injury, and it’s not stuck shed- I’m 100% certain of that. It reminds me of vitiligo but snakes can’t have that as far as I know?? She’s very healthy and in fantastic shape so I’m not concerned so much as I am very curious. Any clue what this could be?
Again I know they look like injuries or something but I’m absolutely certain they aren’t and I’m certain it’s not stuck shed either… pretty clueless here.
I’m actually hoping that a dwarf reticulated python does this exact thing when he’s a year and a half. In Retics it’s called calico. But they haven’t quite pinned down what causes it yet.
I am not knowledgeable enough to know if it’s a Boa thing too … But it could be a similar process.
I’ve had something like this before. Shed in one piece (presumably a “good” shed) but for some reason pigment left some of the scales. When I checked the shed, the pigment was in the shed. So I’m assuming something went wrong during the shedding cycle, and part of the scale broke loose with the shedded skin.
Not saying that’s your issue 100%, but it did look a lot like that. I’ve had it happen 2x. Once very noticeable and the other lighter, like yours. The pigment looks normal now a year later.
Yeah I’ve had this same thing happen before which is how I know this isn’t the case this time- Ken (my boa) is a very reliable and good shedder and has never had issues (and like always she did not have any issues this time either, all one piece nothing stuck) so it’s very baffling… scales are all fully intact and feel exactly the same as surrounding scales, just so strange! Thank you heaps for your input, I’m gonna continue monitoring her weird scales
Oh wow this is very good to know, looked it up and calico 100% is a thing in boas and is an ontogenetic change! I think this is totally a possibility since I really have no clue on Ken’s lineage, all I was told about her is that she was approx 6 months upon purchase and that she’s “some sort of hypo”. This is super helpful thank you!
I’ve had this happen a few times with my boas. The shed was good/complete but they had some small groups of scales that looked white. This happens when the boa scrapes themselves on something during shed and the top layer of the new scale comes off with the old skin. The picture you shared looks exactly like the spots I’ve seen on a few of my snakes. It doesn’t appear to hurt them and the pigmentation comes back during the next shed cycle. I’d bet after the next shed your boa looks back to normal and pigmentation has been restored in that spot.
I see! Yeah honestly not sure at this point… can’t imagine how she even managed to scrape herself since she shed in an area of her tank with only smooth objects but this snake has done much weirder so I’d 100% believe it lol. I’ll make sure to update after she sheds again, very curious if the white will spread or if it will disappear. Only time will tell, won’t be too long till she sheds again anyways she’s growing like a weed lol
