New JCP...please advise?

[wizbit13]

Hi there. I have recently bought my first python. Owned a grey rat snake for quite a while, but the python is obviously a lot different. The thing I am worried about is he/she spends a lot of time soaking in the water bowl. Been in there almost 24 hours now and very rarely comes out. It has shed about a week ago and the temp in there is about 82/83 on the warm side and 78/79 on the cooler side, although it is a lot cooler up top if he wishes to cool down a bit more. Is this normal for it to be spending so much time soaking or is something wrong with my setup??

Cheers

Adam

[Tim_Cranwill]

Wel, no. It's not really normal but it's not that strange as well. You may want to check your snake for little black bugs called mites. That is why a lot of snakes soak for longer periods of time.

Also, you need to get the warm side up to about 90F. 83F is ok for colubrids but not for a carpet python.

[wizbit13]

Hi there. I have upped the temp on the warm side and will slowl get it up to about 90. I have inspected the snake and he appears to have little white things crawling on him. I can only spot one or two of them. Are these likely to be mites or could they be something else?? He is kept on brown like wood shavings which I purschased with the snake and was told it would be the best thing to keep him on, although I think im gonna get rid of it and keep him on something different. I just checked the rest of the bag of these shavings and the little white bugs are everywhere in it. Is there a chance that they are not mites but could still be something that irritates the snake? Any suggestions or ideas here would be much appreciated as I hate to think that he aint happy.

Regards

Adam

[Diamondpython]

no mites are black the colour you just said white sounds like ticks to me with pythons i think it is best to keep them on newspaper or paper towels. i would get your snake to a vet. if your not going to change the subsrate maybe you shouldn't of gotten it look for the best interest in your snake just because you brought it doesn't mean to use it. i might sound mean but if the python is kept on newspaper you could pick these things up alot easier and quicker and paper towel is alot easier to change it might not look natrual but i don't think the python would really care. my pythons love paper i've tryed wood shavings they go abslotely hey wire strike at everything and everyone.but once i changed to newspaper they were fine. the wood shavings could be irritating him or her and that could be way he is in the water aswell but the white cretures crawling over him sound like ticks to me.

[Kimo]

My suggestion is to deffinately move the snake to paper towel for about 90 days (standard quarantine time) and get rid of the current substrate your useing, i would suggest going to the vet for different solutions on how to remove the white crawley bugs, and after the 90 days has expired, then think about a more natural substrate if thats the kind of houseing you wish to provide for your snake, either way i think more research is in order...

Best Of Luck!

Kimo

[wizbit13]

As stated on my previous post I said that I was NOT GOING to keep the snake on this substrate any longer. I have moved him onto newspaper on wednesday and he no longer has no more of these white ticks on him or in the vivarium, but he is still laying in his water continually, so I think we can rule out the idea of him having ticks or mites or anything else for that matter. Does anyone else here have any more ideas as to why this might be??

Cheers

Adam

[RepTylE]

going out on a limb here but maybe he is using the water dish as a hide. does he have a hide box? I've seen those little white bugs in crpress back before and they don't seem to be parasitic to reptiles although they climb over everything.

[Invictus]

Actually, if the bag was full of these little pests, it's wood mites. And yes, they will irritate the hell out of the snake. Here's a link for you just in case it's something different:

http://www.k i n g s n a k e.ca/TARAS/contents/nix.doc

(Just remove the spaces above. This site doesn't allow us to post the kingsnake site.)

[wizbit13]

Hi. He has got a big hide box, lots of branches and logs and a big water bowl. He has now been on newspaper for over a week, and everything has been thoroughly cleaned and he has been inspected. I can not see anything on him at all and there is defiantely nothing left in the viv, but he is still spending 24 hours a day in his water?? Does anyone have any more suggestions as to why? Temp is on about 86/87 so he should not be to warm. He is very active and well when he is out being handled, so I dont think there is anything major wrong with him??

Cheers

Adam

[jozef]

Maybe it is the humidity. How do you keep the huminity right? sometimes my snake does that before a shed.

[RepTylE]

If all the husbandry is right then all I can say is maybe it's some kind of snakie quirk. Maybe he'll grow out of it.

[wizbit13]

Ok I have come to the conclusion that it must be the humidity. Everything else is spot on, but my humidity is very low. I have put a tray in there with damp soil for the past few days and he is spending all his time in there now instead, but obviously that is not a permanant solution. What is the best way to raise humidity to good levels? There is a big reptile bowl full of water underneath the heat lamp, and I mist it reguarly, but I cant seem to keep it up over 40-45%.

Also I have read that it is best not to stick to a feeding routine, and just to feed when they are hungry. He is on a rat pup, once a week at the moment, but how do you know when a snake is hungry or not??

Cheers for all the help peeps.

Adam

[Derrick]

well if you cant keep the humidty over 45% with misting and such you have to much ventalation. I never mist my enclosures and the only source of moisture is the water dish on the cool side and I have no problems and the humidity in my house is about 20-25%.

You wouldnt be keeping this guy in a screened top aquarium would you?

[wizbit13]

He is kept in a Melamine, purpose built enclosure with glass front and only 2 small adjustable vents on the cold side, so too much ventilation is definately not the problem. Could it possibly be not enough ventilation??