# damaged scale help :(



## Freako99 (Mar 6, 2013)

So, I went to work this morning and quite a lot happened to my boy while I was gone. The cat thought the cage would be a good sleeping spot, he is fat, the roof got dented in. My mum saw and tried to fix the lid until I was home by taping it up with gaff tape. Then she calls me freaking the hell out because the poor snake has gotten stuck in a bit of tape that has fallen down. 

She tried to get the tape off and basically pulled his scales off.. well.. the top layer of skin I guess? I can see where all the new, lighter coloured scales are now and Im supposing they are quite sensitive. He still has some sticky stuff from the tape on him (not much) and little bit is on his eye. I cant get him to my vet today so Im wondering if there is anything I can do for him or should I just let him be. All dramas aside he has taken it quite well. 

Do you think there is a lot that can be done or will it be more of a wait until he sheds thing. Thanks.


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## Skippii (Mar 6, 2013)

Any kind of sticky tape is nasty stuff when it comes to reptiles. You're very lucky it wasn't worse than this. Glad your little critter didn't get too badly mauled.

I've heard a cloth soaked in warm (not too hot) water can be used to gently rub the sticky residue off. Vegetable oil is also meant to be good, and might sooth his skin a little.

For the most part though, I believe it's mostly waiting until he sheds. I haven't actually experienced this myself, so hopefully some people with more experience chime in for you.

All the best!

x


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## sharky (Mar 6, 2013)

Oh god! Tape and snakes is a no-no! But I guess we all make mistakes?

Will soaking him over night in luke-warm water and vegetable oil help? I have had no experience with this but I hope you can get it off! If you can't it will come off next shed, don't try pulling it off.

Good luck!!!


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## disintegratus (Mar 6, 2013)

Don't feel too bad, it was an accident. And tell your mum not to feel too bad either, at least she tried. To be honest, I'd rather come home to a snake with tape damage than a snake that's become cat food, so I suppose it turned out better than it could have.

As for the snake, is there any kind of open wound? If so, I'd remove all his substrate, disinfect the enclosure and keep him on plain newspaper til he heals. Hopefully longqi will pipe up with some good info, he's pretty awesome at stuff like this 
Hopefully it'll only be a couple of sheds til he's good as new


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## PieBald (Mar 6, 2013)

^^^^ I agree, longqi is the go to guy for this stuff , im sure he will have something.


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## Freako99 (Mar 6, 2013)

disintegratus said:


> Don't feel too bad, it was an accident. And tell your mum not to feel too bad either, at least she tried. To be honest, I'd rather come home to a snake with tape damage than a snake that's become cat food, so I suppose it turned out better than it could have.
> 
> As for the snake, is there any kind of open wound? If so, I'd remove all his substrate, disinfect the enclosure and keep him on plain newspaper til he heals. Hopefully longqi will pipe up with some good info, he's pretty awesome at stuff like this
> Hopefully it'll only be a couple of sheds til he's good as new



There are no open wounds, as I said the only wounds are where some scales have been pulled off but he still has scales there I mean just looks like he has shed bits here and there. Mostly his head. To think the poor guy went through this makes me awfully sad, my poor mum was in hysterics. I thought waiting until a shed was likely all I could do, I will try some warm water tomorrow for tonight I will let him rest, I think he has been through enough stress and whats left on him is very very minor spots. Im not sure I can do anything for the little bit stuck on his eye..he might have to deal with funny eyesight until he sheds?  

Also thanks for all the comments/tips/care guys


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## buffcoat (Mar 7, 2013)

Olive oil, q-tip and non pain relief neosporrin.

Dip the q-tip in the olive oil and rub it where the sticky residue is. After getting it all off, anywhere the scales pulled up or off, put your neo on it. This will help in case of any infection. MAKE SURE THE NEO IS REGULAR NEO, not the kind with pain relief. Emphasis on the regular neo (I'm not yelling )

Everything should be good on its next shed, just keep an eye on it and keep putting the neo on.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2


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## slide (Mar 7, 2013)

Eucayptus oil also lifts tape residue. The vapours are pretty strong but its also a disinfectant. Check there is no weeping at the injury site because it will be tender. 
As said keep the enclosure clean. The scales should come right in 1-3 sheds


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## benjamind2010 (Mar 7, 2013)

slide said:


> The scales should come right in 1-3 sheds



That all depends on whether the scales have been completely removed or not, and to a certain degree the severity of damage. 

Snake skin has basically 4 layers, the top two layers, the two enamel layers (these are sloughed off when a snake sheds its skin, the second layer contains the melanin or very dark pigments), then the chromophore layer (coloured pigments - this is the layer that gives your snake it's colours), and finally the thickest and most critical layer which is a soft membrane-like layer that lies beneath, this is usually a pale colour or may even be white. Damage to this soft layer is irreversible - the scale will not grow back and there will be a scar. Damage to the chromophore layer may be irreversible depending on the severity of the damage. Parts of this layer can recover but other parts may not. This is a grey area. However, the bottom soft membrane layer, if that is damaged then it's very permanent.

I can tell you that I've seen some older snakes where they've had a particularly bad shed and some scales were completely torn off (often happens with rostral and nearby scales) and they never grew back, even after 20+ sheds, there were just dry scarred areas.

Sorry to be the bearer of troubling news. I once kept an old Slatey grey snake that had a terrible shed many years ago and one scale just would not get it's shiny layer back. I realized that the soft layer underneath had been damaged when I lifted the scale up to see why - of course it wasn't going to grow back, it's like taking an eyeball out of the socket and expecting the eye to miraculously regenerate. We all know that just ain't gonna happen.


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## Pythoninfinite (Mar 7, 2013)

Sounds like the damage is fairly superficial and there are no open wounds, so the q-tip thing with cooking oil, (olive, peanut... or whatever, doesn't matter) will be the way to go to remove the remaining rubber-based adhesive from the tape. No open wounds = no need for antibiotics, and please avoid using toxic products like eucalyptus or tea-tree oil, they will dissolve the adhesive but can be extremely irritating to sensitive or damaged skin.

Treatment overkill in a situation like this will likely do more harm than good.

Jamie


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## Freako99 (Mar 7, 2013)

Pythoninfinite said:


> Sounds like the damage is fairly superficial and there are no open wounds, so the q-tip thing with cooking oil, (olive, peanut... or whatever, doesn't matter) will be the way to go to remove the remaining rubber-based adhesive from the tape. No open wounds = no need for antibiotics, and please avoid using toxic products like eucalyptus or tea-tree oil, they will dissolve the adhesive but can be extremely irritating to sensitive or damaged skin.
> 
> Treatment overkill in a situation like this will likely do more harm than good.
> 
> Jamie



I wasn't going to use eucalyptus because I know I wouldn't put that on my skin if I just had a layer ripped off. Yes the damage doesnt look too bad, he still has all his scales, as I said just some of the damaged ones are a lighter colour as if he has shed those ones and not the rest so I guess after a shed or two he should be fine. I will keep his enclosure simple and clean (its always clean) to be 100%. 


Thanks everyone for the replies!  He seems to be ok today, he is just chilling in his tree at the moment.


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