Rostral Scale

[Carrie]

First off, I've always thought that the rostral scale was the one between the nostrils, so if I am wrong, I apologize.

I've had a bluey for two weeks now. I thought from the time I brought her home she might have a retained rostral scale. Now, since she's shed, I'm pretty sure...but I would like opinions. "She's" (I don't know her sex) is a 6-month old living in a 40-gallon tank. The substrate is a piece linoleum. She has two hides...one a half long, the other a basking cave thingy that I put a warm washcloth in, wetting it back down every day. She does spend most of her time in there, but she is still getting used to things too. I feed her a tbsp of Bluey Buffet with 1/2 tbsp of what has been Zoo Med's Red Banana every other day. When that is gone, I'm planning on vegetables. I sprinkle calcium with D3 every feeding and with Reptivite without D3 every other day. She's been cleaning out her dish. Her poop has been good. And she has a huge water bowl in on the cool side. Her humidity is around 50%, her temperatures are around 88 degrees on the basking side and 75 on the low end. She has a Reptisun 10.0, 100-watt ceramic heat emitter, and 100-watt basking light. And, as I mentioned, she shed on Friday...perfectly. She shed her tail tip today.

Okay...the first picture is of Burt before her shed and Burt after. I have been gently rubbing a warm washcloth on it or spray a cotton ball with Zoo Med's shedding aid (I heard that they are a major ripoff...after I bought it.) Any opinions will be most appreciated. This is my first bts. I had bearded dragons before.

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[Susann]

Oh boy Carrie, I apologize; this post is old and you've probably gotten your answer elsewhere, but as I'm catching up after a long surgery recuperation, I thought I'd take a crack to see if you're still around and willing to share how things are going...?

Those scales do not look quite normal from what I can see... Doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong, but those scales look almost as if there may have been some injury to them. As long as the nostrils are clear and she's breathing fine, I wouldn't necessarily worry about them as long as nothing swells or turns red.

[Carrie]

Hi, Susan!!

I hope you are feeling better.

Thanks for answering (I haven't figured it out yet.) She's just fine in every way. She has shed again, so I don't think it's retained skin. I do put a little Vitamin E on it once a week. She doesn't push her nose against the glass when she's in her tank. The only time I've seen her do it is in the container that I carry her around in. I keep her in my room so when I take her out of her tank, I put her in there to bring her out to the front room. And also when I clean her tank. Her breathing is fine (especially if I walk by her tank.) Her appetite is really good too. temperatures and humidity are good. She's not in a high traffic area. I take her out every day and she's curious about everything.

[Susann]

Sounds like all is well then.
There are plenty of possible reasons for the odd looking scales, but as long as it's not affecting her breathing and she's shedding fine then ....all should be good.

And, thank you; I am recovering ...much slower than desired, but at least going in the right direction...

[Carrie]

******Relief******