Why does my Iran Jaya soak?

[ranmasatome]

hi all,
i was just wondering why my iran jaya likes to soak in his waterbowl?? sometimes he can stay there for a day!! and i was worried that it may be ticks or lice...so i checked him and i found nothing...i checked the enclousure and nothing...all good!! i looked at his hide cork bark and found some small white insect there but it was probably a wood insect....i tried handleing him with white gloves to make sure i don't see the pepper specks and nothing!! so what can it be?? i know its not normal behaviour for him to be soaking!! any suggestions?

[Lasher]

I have 2 JC's in the same enclosue and one of them loves to soak also. The other doesn't like it so much. They are both fine.

[Zoe]

Sounds like mites to me... Carpet Pythons pretty much never soak unless they are sick, shedding, have mites, or have no where else to hide. Does your IJ have a suitable hiding spot? Is he due for a shed? Sounds like you checked well for mites, so that's probably not the problem.

Zoe

[snakemann87]

hey, my burm does it every day too, so i dont think you should worry much, unless it is mites

[Zoe]

Burms and boas will soak on occaision, sometimes often, but carpets are different. My IJs NEVER soak. Ever. Not even when shedding. They never have, and I hope they never will. The only carpet python I've ever known to soak was diagnosed with mites shortly thereafter.

[ranmasatome]

well i do find that this is strange which is why i asked...i have heard that it was mites because this is the same individual that wouldn't eat for 4 weeks so thats why i check and checked again but so far i don't see an "moving pepper" spots. i also don't think it is shedding...cos she just shed 2 weeks ago and she just ate like a 3-4 days ago. She never did soaked until after the feeding though come to think of it. she has a good hiding spot as well...so i find it really strange...is she really sick?? what can it be?

[ranmasatome]

Man this mite thing is freaking me out!!! my snakes have never been sick b4 and i really don't want this to happen expecially to this guy...GOsh!! why can't i find them!!

[Zoe]

try taking a wet paper towel and running it down her body... you might see little black specks. If you don't, then she probably doesn't have mites.

How is the humidity in your cage?

Zoe

[ranmasatome]

okay will go try that....
the humidity is fine i think...i manage to max out my humidty meter once..hahaha i think its like 80-85% now.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Doesn't necessarily have to be mites. Not at all.

Your cage can be bad. Your temperatures can be bad. Your hide spot locations/temperatures could be wrong. There's dozens of things that could be bad and not involve mites in the slightest.

[Zoe]

Could you describe your cage set up to us? Size, temperatures, humidity, hiding spots etc? Then perhaps we can take a move educated guess as to what is causing the problem.

[ranmasatome]

well...the temperature is now 83 degrees farenheit..which is something like 28 degrees celcius...and the humidity is 90%...i know thats a little too humid. but why would he soak when it is already so humid? is it too hot AND humid? right now hes in temporary holding...i'm going to transer him into another tank anyway...so i'll see how that works out....any suggesstion guys? what do you suggest jeff?? zoe?? anyone??

[Zoe]

Does he have a temperature range? The low end should be 79-83, and the high end should be 87-89. At night the temps should go down 2-4 degrees. And yes that is too humid.
How many hiding spots does he have? Where are they located in the tank, hot end or cold end?

How big is he and how big is the tank?

Zoe

Oh, check out http://www.moreliaspilota.com for complete tank set up info.

[JIMI]

Even if it is mites, dont freak out. I've had mites a couple times. It's just annoying because they're a pain to get rid of. lots of washing and rinsing and quarantine time. buy something like Provent-a-Mite or the other one (it's got Black in the name i think).. they work great.

I removed everything and washed down the tanks, then I sprayed them and let them air out over night. I also sprayed everything that I'm putting back in except for the water dish which i soaked over night. doing that got rid of them all completely and imediately. the first time I got them I just soaked everything with a mixture of water and Nix which is a lice shampoo. that only worked after the 2nd attempt. It sucks when you do all that work and they mites just come back. like I said it's a pain.

mites can cause undue stress and even death of your snake. but the mites can be get rid of, but it'll take up a good part of your day. or 2 days. or 3 days like me.

[Zoe]

Black Knight is what you're thinking of.

Black Knight and Provent-a-Mite are pesticides, and should only be used on healthy, mature animals. Some say they are safe, others say they will kill your pet. Both are usually fine if they are used in the proper doses, but if you have a weak or young animal, do you really want to take the risk?

I use Nix myself, and it works great. I wrote an article at http://www.moreliaspilota.com on how to get rid of mites.

However, it doesn't sound like you have mites. My guess is a temperature/humidity/stress problem.

Zoe

[ranmasatome]

Hmmmm.....maybe i should move him over to his 55gallon sooner....i know the tank he is in now is a little small and that may be causing some problems with the humidity and hot and cold spots etc...right now he only has the option of basking or hiding under corky wood...which is not too good...but what can i do...the tank he used to be in has a huge crack in it and i am wating for a larger tank to free up so i can put him into it. so hes probably not used to having 2sq feet of space instead of his usual 6....i'll still be looking out for mites but i think you guys may most probably be right abt. the space/humidity/temp. thing....i do feel bad for him....GIVE ME MY TANK NOW!!!!heh...heh..gosh these tanks are expensive...