Concave Head Scales?

[AlexReptilian]

So, I noticed this about a week or two ago, but thought it had always been like that till I looked up an older picture of them- My bearded dragon, Koana's, head scales (nearest the front, on top of the snout) have developed a concave shape, and just don't look right. I've also removed two pieces of shed that were attached to these concave scales, and after the second one was removed, I noticed some pinkish-dark skin underneath. I don't know if I may have removed them too early (though Koana had been out of shed for about a week and a half at this point), but upon looking it up, it seems like they could have an infection of some sort. My research never showed me any similar images to my beardie's issue, though, so I thought I'd come here to see if anyone else has this with their beardie, or if anyone knows what it could be and what I need to do. I haven't seen any reptile vets in my area, either, so I hope this can be solved without one. I don't know if a regular vet would know what to do.

 

[AHBD]

It's not uncommon and is not a health problem. Is Koana healthy + eating well ? BTW, resist the urge to peel any leftover shed, it needs to come off when it's ready. But Koana looks fine and is not in any danger.

 

[AlexReptilian]

It's not uncommon and is not a health problem. Is Koana healthy + eating well ? BTW, resist the urge to peel any leftover shed, it needs to come off when it's ready. But Koana looks fine and is not in any danger.

Ah- okay! Thank you! As far as I'm aware, Koana is healthy. They eat quite well, if you mean their appetite. They chow down pretty quick. I feed them at least 2-3 times a week. I do try to add more recommended foods to their bowl (I used to feed them mostly kale (with very few other veggies and fruits (they were picky at the time, and I didn't research much on the best foods for beardies)) until I learned that it wasn't the best for them (long-term, at least), and could eventually cause problems), so they eat pretty healthy, too. I know I shouldn't touch their shed unless absolutely necessary. It just seemed painful with the way their scales were growing, and I thought the pieces of shed might've been stuck, since it had been at least a week and a half after they had shed. Thank you for your reply! This eased my worries, though it still confuses me a bit. Do you know why this happens?

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome ! There's no real explanation for the slight deviation from the norm in the scales afaik but I've seen it in this forum before every once in a while. Humans have different lips, noses, ears, eyebrows, hair thickness, moles, etc. so it may just be the reptile equivalent. It sounds like Koana has a good diet, you can use kale as one of the staples of his salad, it's perfectly safe.

 

[AlexReptilian]

You're welcome ! There's no real explanation for the slight deviation from the norm in the scales afaik but I've seen it in this forum before every once in a while. Humans have different lips, noses, ears, eyebrows, hair thickness, moles, etc. so it may just be the reptile equivalent. It sounds like Koana has a good diet, you can use kale as one of the staples of his salad, it's perfectly safe.

Well, I hope that if there is ever a final answer for this, then that would be it! Thank you. I heard that kale has a lot of calcium, and too much can cause problems? But thank you for the advice!

 

[AHBD]

Kale is high in calcium, which is good. The reason some people have a bad opinion of kale is that it used to be thought that it was high in oxalates, which binds the calcium and make it hard to absorb. But kale has the same or less amount of oxalates as collard, turnip, mustard greens and other healthy veggies.