Dried out scales on back?

[Tyrel26]

Well in my case it just seem to be damaged scales that were fine after a shed, however if after a shed the problem is still present (assuming it isn't retained skin) you will want to follow the steps richard listed.

Any potentially harmful treatment should always be a last resort or only used when you are certain its necessary.

Could you possible burrow a camera to get some pics? If not, are the scales in question crispy or soft or moist or some combo of those?

[ConcinusMan]

Any potentially harmful treatment should always be a last resort or only used when you are certain its necessary.

That is also good advice. Actually the iodine thing was suggested because it's good for killing any skin infection even if it's not your typical bacterial scale rot. Also, as long as it is used on the skin only, and not ingested (rinse thoroughly) it is perfectly harmless.

The medicine for fin rot, or whatever it was called might not be affective whereas the iodine is all but guaranteed to work.

But hey, you haven't had the snake very long at all. Is this WC or did it come from someone else.. from captivity?

The reason I ask is because if it is WC there's a good chance it's just an old injury. If it's from captivity then it's more likely to be early stage scale rot. It's pretty common for people to make that mistake with garters - the mistake of keeping too large a water dish, or not keeping the enclosure dry enough. I'm not immune. I did make that mistake early on as a teenager and had some northwesterns develop a nasty case of blister disease. That species seems particularly prone to it.

Luckily, correcting the conditions and treating with iodine worked and they healed up nicely.