Hey all few questions :)

[Dave3110]

Hey i am new here just joined today and i have a few questions.
1. my coastal carpet is 9 months old i belive she is female and she acts it lol her mood swings are terrible she is extremely grumpy when shedding but this is understandable but somtimes she is fine and others she strikes constantly. She always goes in to the strike position when i go in her viv no matter if she is in shed or not any ideas about helping her calm down ?? i handle her every 1 - 2 days unless she has just eaten or is in shed.

2. I have had her 9 months now and she has never ever mised a meal unless she has been shedding and all of a sudden she has missed 2 meals and she is definately not in shed any ideas on this would be greatful aswell thanks for reading i wil post piccys soon as i upload some from my cam :)

[C#@$e]

well welcome to the forum

[gonesnakee]

Many snakes are defensive in their cages. I'd suggest getting a hook or stick for when you first go in. Try to use slow deliberate movements & try not to come at the snake from above but rather underneath or the sides. Gentle handling over time will usually fix this. Any change in the husbandry lately? Could be possible temp drops due to the oncoming winter? Could alos be the snake is sensing fall coming & slowing down somewhat as well. Mark

[Dave3110]

hey nope no change and there is no temperature drop i have both my snakes on ceramics with temp stats so there both at constant temps. i think i have figgured out why he is not eating lol well i tryed 2 feed him 1 week but he diddnt take it because he was shedding the second week after he shed i tryed to feed hm again but again he did not take it a few days later i found another shed in his cage. I tryed to feed him this week but again he did not take it but he had gone very dull again but isnt this unusual for a snake to shed 3 times in 3 weeks ????.

I think he is starting to get used to me abit more now i dont know since i wrote that last post he has gotten much calmer after shedding lol he is extremely grumpy when shedding i have been picking him up with just an old pillowcase around my hand then handleing him without the pillowcase once he is out of the cage :) any idea on the rappid sheddng though ??? cheers dave3110 :)

[Aaron_S]

You should check for mites. Snakes will shed because they have parasites on their bodies to help get rid of them. Does he soak a lot in his water dish? Mites are little black parasites that cover the snake body. If you handle him and see little black dots no larger than the period at the end of this sentence, then you have mites.

He also could be going through a massive growth spurt.

[Dave3110]

hey aaron thanks for the advice he did come with mites when i purchased him and i thought i had gotten rid of them but it seems like he has them again. I did look for mites on him when he shed for the second time in 2 weeks but i could not see any on him i have cleared out all his bark substrate and put news paper down so i can clean the tank 3 times per week i also have bought hobby reptix mite spray for the snake and tank. and i also soak everything in his tank ie hides and climbing equipment in warm water with detol in for 1 hour then rince in the shower for 10 mins to rnse off the bleach. Does this sound right is there anything else i can do for him and again thanx for your advice.

Dave 3110

[Aaron_S]

Use paper towel instead of newspaper. It doesn't make much of a difference but it's easier to see the mites on it. I do believe there's a better product than that. It's called Nix and it's used on people to treat head lice. I believe there's a solution to use and it's on the forum if you can find some older posts by Gonesnakee. I don't quite recall what it is.

[gonesnakee]

http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/caresheets/nix.pdf link to NIX treatment. There is also a product called Provent A Mite that has the same active ingredient that works well too I'm told Mark
P.s. if link doesn't work right away try refreshing the screen

[carleenb]

hey i'm new to this website and I have no idea how to create and forum or ask a question. Can you help me out?

[Aaron_S]

Did you hear your name Mark and come to the rescue?

[PDXErik]

http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/caresheets/nix.pdf link to NIX treatment. There is also a product called Provent A Mite that has the same active ingredient that works well too I'm told Mark
P.s. if link doesn't work right away try refreshing the screen

Provent-a-mite is great stuff and I stand by it. You just have to house your snakes somewhere else for about 8 hours, though. It is toxic stuff. I had mites and this is what I did.

All of my snakes went from their enclosre and got treated with reptile relief. They went into cardboard boxes and then into the bathroom (where I can turn up the heat). Everything in their enclosures got treated with Provent a mite and all doors were left open (It might be smarter to just take the substrate out and throw it away outside at this point). Substrate was changed after about an hour of sitting in there with the toxin. Everything came out of the enclosures and got cleaned as best they could. The wood climbing things can't be gotten that great, don't sweat it. Everything went back in after new NEW substrate went in. The snakes were again treated with reptile relief. And I havent seen a mite since. Pay attention to the corners and little tiny itty bitty hiding places.

It is a big job, but it does the trick. In one treatment, no less.

[SerpentLust]

I swear by Nix treatments. Worked EVERY time. Everyone's already told you what to do though, I'm not going to just regurgitate the info

[Dave3110]

Thank you to every 1 that posted replys and helped me out alot i am glad to say it looks like the mites have gone but i am goin to keep paper down until next week and give the nake and tank 1 last blast to make sure lol i dont want my snake to suffer because i diddnt do my job proporly lol. and as i promised as soon as there is more substrate in there i will post piccys for you all.

Thank you all Dave3110

[zazzygrlrbi]

Hey, I didn't want to make a whole new post about it, so I just wanted to ask where the title "Morelia" comes from. I say this because I know theres a place with that name.

[gonesnakee]

Hey, I didn't want to make a whole new post about it, so I just wanted to ask where the title "Morelia" comes from. I say this because I know theres a place with that name.

Well its Latin as are all scientific names pretty much. If one had a Latin dictionary they could find out for sure I guess LOL All I can tell you its a name given to all Carpet Pythons & their close relatives. Not sure of the orgin of the word though, Mark