mites? They look more like black stains

[Lockie]

I've bathed him in water for 30 mins - only his head was out of water - and nothing came off - although the marks under his jaw look like they've gotten larger... it looks strange.

Either way i'm off to the vet.

what do you think it is?

 

[Lockie]

more

 

[Vixen]

Haha paradox albino? :lol: Thatd be awesome

Not sure by the photos though, I agree with you on the vet. What happens when you soak her in water? Do you ever see little mites walking around?

 

[FNQ_Snake]

Are they under the scale or simple the tip of the scale turning black?

 

[Lockie]

Hi Vixenbabe,

After soaking him for 30 mins, there was 1 tiny little black thing which could have been ANYTHING!!

And there was nothing in the water - I put the container of water onto a bright white piece of paper so I could see any black mites - nothing! I also put a black bit of paper under the container and couldn't see any little white things!

It couldn't be scale rot? (really really early stages maybe?)

 

[Lockie]

HI FNQ,

It looks more like the tip of the scale turning black! What does it mean?

some of the scales look like the black 'may' be coming from underneath....

 

[Lockie]

Sorry - all pictures above should be showing now.

 

[alex_c]

Could it possibly be melanin? i know my jungle has black tip's on some of his scale's. maybe have a close look at them with a magnifying glass

 

[Jason]

i hope its another paradox mate! id email those pics to simon stone, he would know what the paradox young look like, he may be able to shine some light on the issue for you. good luck, kinda exciting but i can imagen wit would also be nerve racking.

 

[Ramsayi]

Do you keep them on newspaper by any chance?

 

[gman78]

How since it's shed?
Looks interesting though

 

[Kathryn_]

If it's not mites, that's completely surreal. Under the chin it really does just look like black-tipped scales, doesn't it? o_0 How very strange.

 

[Sdaji]

It's certainly not mites. If it's skin pigment you have an extremely interesting animal! I've seen plenty of paradox albinoes and none looked anything like that. It looks like the snake is just a bit dirty. I wouldn't bother with a vet visit unless you like unnecessary spending of time, money and hassling you snake. One slough will tell you whether it's a dirty snake or a funny pigment thing.

 

[bubbaloush]

Will be interesting to see what happens after its next shed.

 

[Lockie]

Yeah I can't wait until it sheds next..... it isn't being kept on newspaper, so its not ink or anything like that!

I've had one experienced keeper confirm its a paradox albino. I guess i'll email Simon Stone to see what he thinks.

regards,
Lockie

 

[Wench]

what does paradox albino mean? i looked it up on google and found some cool pics but nothing really explains how/what/why etc..
is it rare? is it a good thing or a bad thing?

 

[Kyro]

Wench, if you do a search on this site you might find a bit of info

 

[Hetty]

My first thought was newspaper ink too. Have you got a small child with access to a black pen? :lol:

I was thinking, because the chin has black on it it can't be a paradox? because the chin would be white like on all Darwins albino or otherwise.

 

[daniel1234]

Interesting.
Thanx for the link Chris, looks like Lockie is on a winner. A bit like when you buy something at a gararge sale to find it worth alot more than you paid for it. Not that you would find such a creature at a yard sale.....or maybe I should start stopping at them....:shock:

 

[Chris1]

hey Wench, i had no idea either,..

heres a link i found, thanks for the idea Kyro!

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-snakes/paradox-albinos-76558