View Full Version : My Red Tail Boa has mites, PLEASE HELP I'm scared she might die!!
sinwonderland
03-23-11, 09:17 PM
Please help!!
I have a Red Tail Boa... it's about a year old and about 3 ft long. She's always eaten a (live) mouse once a week... never refused one. She's always seemed been very healthy. We moved her into a bigger habitat about a month ago and she stopped eating about a week after. She started losing weight and her skin looked a loose. I thought it was because she was stressed and needed a little time to get used to her new environment but about a week ago I noticed she had mites. The cage was made of wood and plexi glass and it was giant and we threw it out, bought a 10 gallon aquarium (until we can get her another large enclosure) and put her in it with just some paper towels. We sprayed her with Jurassi-Mite and waited about 20 minutes, soaked her in the tub, cleaned the aquarium with bleach water and put her back in it. I've done this about 3 times over the week and I haven't been finding any mites on her in the past 2 days.
Tonight I was watching her and about six inches down from her head her body looked like it was going to regurgitate something but at the end she just raised her head and opened her mouth. Since that happened (about an hour ago) she'll lift her head and open her mouth about every 15 minutes. I'm scared to death she's gonna die before I can get her to the vet!
If you have any idea what may be going on with her or what I can do for her, please help!! I won't be able to get her to a vet until Friday!!
it might be a URI. both my snakes got this not to long ago also accompanied my mites. U need to get her to a vet ASAP. She probably wont die. but u still need to get her checked. in the mean time keep her on the paper towel. check it every day to see if u find any mites on the paper towel. also if u can check close up under her chin, thats the place where the mites tend to latch on to the snake. Up the temp of ur aquarium to about 85-90. this will boost her immune sysyem. also up the humidity. and as for her not eating, if she does like my two boas did she probably wont eat until the infection is gone. By the way a URI stands for Upper Resperatory Infection. Listen to her breathing. you shouldnt hear it...if you do its again a sign of an RI. Basicly get her to a vet... all the info i have here is what my vet suggested along with ALOT if meds.. :( and a pretty high bill. Make sure u find a GOOD reputable vet in ur area to avoid mistakes. they will most likly give u injections to give and a treatment for th mites. theres a bunch of home made remadies for the mites but in my opinion better safe than sorry. i would rather not risk poisoning my snake.
ANyway i know thats alot of info lol i hope it helps... im no expert but i have 3 snakes and what u say she is doing sounds alot like my guys... agais this is all the info my vet have me
hope shegets better KEEP US POSTED
I'm thinkin uri as well every snake show different signs but my guess is that shes showing early neurological signs now
Reptile_Reptile
03-24-11, 08:06 PM
i dont think a snake would lose weight after only a month of not eating.
belovedboas
03-25-11, 08:24 AM
ya agreed Reptile not from one month. If its raising its head alot...(stargazing) or
wheezing or blowing bubbles.......as others said get it to a vet...and mites can be a pain lol....but in my experience, the few household remedies I, aswell as others around me have been successful with, are better than nething from a pet store, but if its something from a qualified vet.....well thats a lil different.....if you don't have alot of experience with these kinds of health issues or are fairly new to snakes...than playin it safe is the way to go...I wish u the best of luck and am looking forward to your babies recovery!!:)
sinwonderland
03-27-11, 06:36 PM
Thanks for responding, y'all! I really appreciate it!
The day after I posted I called the exotic pet store a couple of counties over and they gave me the number of a really great vet. They're pretty far away but when I called them they were the kindest people.... the vet told me she would tell me how to treat the snake at home. She actually took the time to e-mail me instructions on what I should do in case she has a respiratory infection. I've been doing what the e-mail said and Alice (the snake) really seems to be doing much better. The vet told me to soak her a little more often and longer and her skin looks great now. She is no longer raising her head and opening her mouth!! She's also moving around more. The vet was really awesome and I've been in contact on the phone and through e-mail with her and everything is going great right now. We're keeping her warmer (around 95 F 24 hours), soaking her longer, handling her for a few minutes every day to get her active and the doc said this will help her immune system fight the respiratory infection. From the night I made the last post, she's improved at least 70%. I'm stoked! If she's not 100% in 10-14 days the vet is gonna give her some antibiotics.
I'm happy to be able to give a good update! And lucky to have found a really awesome vet who genuinely cares about animals!
Thanks again!
Awesome news! Very nice of them to do this for you.
Hope she makes a great recovery!
blindfireak40
03-31-11, 11:42 PM
Glad to hear everything's going better! Be sure to keep us posted, and as soon as you can get pictures up, we'd love to see your Alice!! :)
shaunyboy
04-01-11, 10:43 AM
is your boa due a shed ?
coming into a shed can put them off food and cause wrinkled skin
what are your hot end temperatures ?
if you run a tank too hot a snake will start to show neuroligical signs
re larger enclousure
sometimes a larger enclousure can stress them out if they feel its too big they become insecure.put plenty of hides and fake plants in to bulk up the extra space and give them places to go to feel safe and secure
the wrinkled skin could be a sign of dehydration i will pm you a link that will re hydrate your snake if you think dehydration is the problem
mites are no big deal i use provent a mite
you use it once and the mites are dead its that simple its made in the usa and designed for reptiles
cheers shaun
sinwonderland
04-01-11, 01:24 PM
We have been soaking Alice a lot lately and last night she shedalmost her entire skin. She still has some skin to head on the top of her head and a few inches down from it but after the mite problem I'm really happy that she was able to shed fairly good.
She also ate last night!!
She's moving around and she looks great! I was able to get a larger enclosure and it's not too big but I think she likes it!
This is a picture of her (him? It's either Alice for Alice In Wonderland or Alice for Alice Cooper! LOL) before we had any problems with her (In her giant wooden enclosure that we had to throw out)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/Pinky666/001-3.jpg
And this is her about 30 minutes ago. (the camera made her out to be a little brighter than she is, although she is pretty bright since her shed!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/Pinky666/003-1.jpg
(She's always had the little black spots in her color.... the mites are gone!)
Thanks again for all of your help!
sinwonderland
04-01-11, 04:38 PM
I'm not sure if she's ready for rats yet.... a full grown mouse is just a little smaller than her widest point....
Since I don't have a supplier here I can only get adult rats from PetSmart and they're pretty big...
Lankyrob
04-01-11, 04:43 PM
You want prey bigger than her widest point really. 1.5 to 2 times bigger is the eneral rule
sinwonderland
04-01-11, 04:59 PM
Think she's ready for an adult dumbo rat? (that's usually what they sell) I think one day next week I'll probably get one from our PetSmart and then make the drive to the nearest one that sells the opposite sex and try to mate them so I can start with 'toddler' rats and work my way up. (Our PetCo closed and the nearest place to get mice is a small business pet store and well, the last time I got a mouse there it died before I could feed her... doesn't seem like a healthy meal to me!)
Speaking of feeding! Y'all are so helpful, I have another question! (Should I post it in a new thread?) Anyhow, I was curious if there are any alternatives to feeding her rats.
I love rats.
I knew when I got my snake that I would have to feed her rats when she was ready... but could I feed her larger hamsters or gerbils instead? I've never fed her anything but mice. Of course she'll have her rat every week if that's what she has to have but is there an alternative?
belovedboas
04-09-11, 07:42 PM
Think she's ready for an adult dumbo rat? (that's usually what they sell) I think one day next week I'll probably get one from our PetSmart and then make the drive to the nearest one that sells the opposite sex and try to mate them so I can start with 'toddler' rats and work my way up. (Our PetCo closed and the nearest place to get mice is a small business pet store and well, the last time I got a mouse there it died before I could feed her... doesn't seem like a healthy meal to me!)
Speaking of feeding! Y'all are so helpful, I have another question! (Should I post it in a new thread?) Anyhow, I was curious if there are any alternatives to feeding her rats.
I love rats.
I knew when I got my snake that I would have to feed her rats when she was ready... but could I feed her larger hamsters or gerbils instead? I've never fed her anything but mice. Of course she'll have her rat every week if that's what she has to have but is there an alternative?
Not really.......I don't think hampsters should be used as a staple food......but thats just my opinion.....rats are better for your snake:)
rats come in all sizes ? rat hopper would be the same as an adult mouse a little bigger maybe your boa will be eating jumbo rats
mistersprinkles
04-09-11, 09:58 PM
Why does everybody put a P in hamster?
I don't think that snake is ready for a full grown rat. A juvenile slightly bigger than a mouse yes.
Why does everybody put a P in hamster?
I don't think that snake is ready for a full grown rat. A juvenile slightly bigger than a mouse yes.
LOL i meant eventually right now it looks like it could squeeze down a hopper np
sinwonderland
04-09-11, 10:44 PM
The other day she was being really active and smelling around. I could tell she was super hungry and after all she's been through I had to get her food quick. Unfortunately the pet store didn't have any mice or small rats so I did buy a dwarf hamster... it was her biggest meal... it equaled about a mouse and a half. She got on it immediately. I won't be feeding them to her regularly but I think I'll move up to a small rat.
She's doing absolutely great and I appreciate everyone who replied and gave me advice! You probably helped me saved her life! I really appreciate it, y'all!
Damion930
04-10-11, 01:02 AM
Feeding ft makes it a lil easier to feed when you like the lil furry guys I love animals to but my snakes gotta eat
whoaxmary
04-10-11, 12:54 PM
Feeding ft makes it a lil easier to feed when you like the lil furry guys I love animals to but my snakes gotta eat
Exactly why I feed f/t.
People always ask me why I don't feed live, and say how cool they think that would be...
I do not think it would be cool to have crazy ugly feeder rats as pets. Because that is what would happen to me. >.> I rather just buy a domesticated rat and keep feeding f.t. :)
Lankyrob
04-10-11, 01:25 PM
Also not cool if the prey decides to attack the snake rather tahn sit peacefully and be eaten, my snakes mean too much to me to risk them being injured by live prey.
Also not cool if the prey decides to attack the snake rather tahn sit peacefully and be eaten, my snakes mean too much to me to risk them being injured by live prey.
exactly!!!!:)
sinwonderland
05-15-11, 04:25 PM
Just thought I'd post a picture of Alice that I took yesterday. She just shed (really well - head to tail one piece of skin). We've also switched her to frozen.... Right now we're giving her large mice because the small rats look a tad too big (but I think in a couple of months she'll be ready). Surprisingly, she had absolutely no problem switching... she took it immediately. She's eating regularly and being very active... thanks again for all of your tips!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/Pinky666/005.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/Pinky666/007-1.jpg
serpentshideawa
05-15-11, 08:16 PM
My boa isis is about 3'2" and shes on small rats she should be able to take em down but i would suggest workin her up to them
sassy_snake_lady
06-01-11, 11:14 AM
I just switched my 3 hogs to rats. All switched with no problem.
stephanbakir
06-01-11, 11:22 AM
Glad to hear it :)
belovedboas
06-01-11, 12:44 PM
Glad to hear your snake is doing better. Honestly though you should be able to get an appropriate sized rat for it, If a sm is too big go down a lil in size. Definitely should be on rats though. Also you might find that using household carpet as a substrate will get messy and stinky, just my opinion but I would switch to a better bedding as well.:)
stephanbakir
06-01-11, 12:46 PM
Looks like gravel to me, is it carpet?
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