Should I be concerned?

sattva · 12-05-16, 11:32 AM

Moe! My JCP Has been soaking for three days now??? Yesterday He had been soaking for 48 hours... He dropped a sperm plug in his water, {at least that's what I think it is} so I pulled him, his water dish, cleaned and sanitized, fresh water... And then I hold him to get him warmed back up... This is not the first time I have done this with Moe... Usually I'll put him back and he'll climb up on his branch under his heat and goes to sleep... Which he did yesterday but this morning he was back in his water dish soaking... I got a body temp of 76* {using a temp gun} so I put some heat over him in the water to get his temp up... I don't see any bugs, and believe you me, I have been looking... Fred {my Taiwanese beauty snake} has been soaking a lot the last few days but he likes to poo in his water dish... Which he did twice in the last two days...
I guess my questions are is this normal behavior? How cold can a snake get before it goes into hypothermia?

**Minkness** · 12-05-16, 11:44 AM

You may want to try putting them in a tub with just paper towls and see if there are any motes. Sounds to me like mites but can't 100% sure unless you have evidence.

Sorry to hear your babes are worrying you. Good luck!

dave himself · 12-05-16, 11:59 AM

You could just put a smaller water bowl in for a short period of time if your really worried about it mate. I've had snakes do this to me in the past just before they'd started showing any signs of going into shed, it could be this especially with you saying there's no sign of mites

sattva · 12-05-16, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave himself

You could just put a smaller water bowl in for a short period of time if your really worried about it mate. I've had snakes do this to me in the past just before they'd started showing any signs of going into shed, it could be this especially with you saying there's no sign of mites

I use to have a smaller water dish and he was always trying to get in it so I thought if he wanted to soak I should prove him with the opportunity...
Moe Shed 10/11 so he's really not do!

sattva · 12-05-16, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minkness

You may want to try putting them in a tub with just paper towls and see if there are any motes. Sounds to me like mites but can't 100% sure unless you have evidence.

Sorry to hear your babes are worrying you. Good luck!

All my guys are on white paper towels {Bounty 2 X absorbent to be exact}
They got me on the soaking mite thing last time... I didn't see anything for days until they showed up...

SnoopySnake · 12-05-16, 12:02 PM

I agree that you should put them all in simple cages on paper towel to check for notes. If I remember correctly didn't one of your animals just have mites?

sattva · 12-05-16, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnoopySnake

I agree that you should put them all in simple cages on paper towel to check for notes. If I remember correctly didn't one of your animals just have mites?

I treated for mites 8/27 and then again 9/12 and thought I had them under control... but this is how it started out last time... What is the gestation period on these little #%$&*#@???

SWDK · 12-05-16, 01:27 PM

I'd get some Nix and start treating for mites to be safe. It can't hurt to be proactive. Maybe it's a simple case of needing more humidity because of the dryer air during the colder months?

**Andy_G** · 12-05-16, 01:40 PM

I'd guess you haven't won the mite battle yet, Sattva. I'd treat minimum for a whole month. The little buggers can travel approximately 30 feet in a hour and will find the oddest places to hide so one must be diligent and repetitive to ensure they've been taken care of.

toddnbecka · 12-05-16, 01:40 PM

My carpets sometimes soak for a day or two, particularly before a shed. My (relatively) little female IJ just shed, and the humidity must have been too low because it didn't all come off like usual. I put her into a linen reptile shipping bag with a dripping wet hand towel, then put that into a small tub overnight. Rest of the shed was off when I took her out today. I think it was due to the forced air gas furnace lowering the humidity. Didn't have any issues with stuck shed until now.
I've also seen them both soak in the water bowl/s for no apparent reason, even when the humidity is fine and they're not in shed. Same with the sub-adult and adult Dominicans, though I haven't seen any of the babies soaking yet, possibly because the shoebox tubs in the racks hold higher humidity than larger enclosures(?)

**Minkness** · 12-05-16, 02:05 PM

I feel like a broken record saying this, but try Sevin Dust. Put it in tye enclosures under the paper towels and then if you have carpets, sprinkle it on the carpets. It doesn't kill them like NIX and PAM but it prevents them from gestating and they will all eventually die out.

SnoopySnake · 12-05-16, 02:48 PM

Yeah I definitely think you should nix again but you want to treat more often. Two treatments over two weeks unfortunately won't do it, I treated every 4-5 days for a month minimum. I bleached/deep cleaned the enclosures, then NIXed the crap out of it, wipe snake down, ect, leave water bowl out for 24 hours, repeat in 4-5 days. I didn't do the deep clean every 4-5 days, just NIX every 4-5 days.

sattva · 12-06-16, 11:25 AM

Yea I got to get some NIX if for no other reason to have it on hand and for maintenance... But he crawled upon his branch this morning and I don't see any bugs in his water nor his paper towels... I hate to put him through treatment if I don't have to... Can the Sevin Dust and the NIX be used together? I don't want to over treat... I still have a half of can of PAM and a reptile rinse from the last bout of them... They better not be back... Grrrr

Albert Clark · 12-06-16, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sattva

Yea I got to get some NIX if for no other reason to have it on hand and for maintenance... But he crawled upon his branch this morning and I don't see any bugs in his water nor his paper towels... I hate to put him through treatment if I don't have to... Can the Sevin Dust and the NIX be used together? I don't want to over treat... I still have a half of can of PAM and a reptile rinse from the last bout of them... They better not be back... Grrrr

Always be concerned when it comes to mites. What you can do is a maintenance treatment by treating the perimeters of your enclosures. Just remember to still remove all the water dishes and bowls for 24 -48 hrs.

sattva · 12-12-16, 11:27 AM

Just an update here guys.... I took Moe out to give him a mite bath and started with a hot bath as before... No Mites came off... I wiped and wiped and nothing... So I decide to do what I think Dave said was to take the water away to break the cycle... He got his water dish back yesterday and so far he's stayed out of it... But I think I beat the bug thing... Except for ants... My wife and I are at the tail end of the worst ant infestation I have ever had... But that another story...
Everybody ate last night; George shed in one piece for the first time since I got him... I have always had to help him through it, So I guess 80% humidity is the magic number... Yaaa everybody's healthy and happy... Knock on glass! Haha