New Ball seems sick - advice needed

stlphotogal · 04-07-10, 12:48 PM

I'm so frustrated and a bit freaked out about this

- as per my original post, we picked up our new ball python (our first snake) on 3/28/10 and last night while holding her we noticed a mite crawling on her - to top it off we noticed that she was whistling from her nose when she breathed (I've not heard that before yesterday but she's not breathing out of her mouth) so we are taking her to the vet this evening to have her checked out. I called the shop we purchased her from and they said that they don't have any guarantee's in writing as to the health of their animals

(stupid of us not to ask ahead of time I suppose but she seems healthy apart from those two issues). I should mention she's not eaten since we got her (although we've tried a couple of times). We are feeding frozen mice (2) and she initially shows interest but then doesn't eat. She's appx. 30" long and about 2" at most around at her largest point.
Her tank details are as follows:
Temps: 78-82 on the cool side, 86-90 on the warm side, 55% humidity steady with occasional misting. I have a UTH on her warm side that stays on all the time, a UVB bulb, and a 75 watt bulb in a ceramic reflector for warmth. We keep her lights on from 8a-8p and then leave them off (with on the UTH for warmth @ night) - temps in our house have been averaging about 75 for the past week. She has two hides, one on the cool side and one on the warm side, a 9" bowl (of which she's not been spending any significant amount of time in - i.e. dip in, and then out once or twice), and a branch for her to climb/shed against. Her tank is a 18 x 18 x 36 glass with a locking screen lid.

Any advice/help/calming words/vibes would be helpful...thanks so much.

Angela

infernalis · 04-07-10, 01:34 PM

OK, The mites are a bear but easily fixed.

You MUST strip down the enclosure and clean it with bleach and rinse it out with hot water.

Soak the hides, wash the bowl and replace the bedding.

The wheezing sounds like a respiratory issue, the vet is a great idea....

emseeKAY · 04-07-10, 04:01 PM

as infernalis said a vet is a good idea, and if there is A mite, there is bound to be more than just one. also do you have any other reptiles? if so it will be a good idea to remove them from the same room as the BP as well as the other reptiles (that is, if you have any more

) good luck hope it helps!

citysnakes · 04-07-10, 04:33 PM

you'll definitely need to treat the snakes enclosure with Provent-A-Mite if you want to permanently be rid of the infestation as well as treating any other snakes enclosures in the house(assuming you have more that one).

ask your vet to do a bacterial culture to determine what antibiotics are needed to fight off the respiratory infection(if RI is the diagnosis). dont just let them prescribe you some broad spectrum antibiotic that may not even be effective in treating your specific case and result in you doing the culture anyway and another round of antibiotics.

mykee · 04-07-10, 04:49 PM

I recommend Nix over PAM any day.
It's easier to find, cheaper and more effective in my opinion. It also won't stink you out of your home, or choke you half to death if you decide to stay.
Do a search and you'll find hundreds of thread on the topic.

shaunyboy · 04-08-10, 07:48 AM

i recommend prevent-a-mite.you take everything out the tank spray it with prevent a mite.then spray the tank.DO NOT SPRAY WATER BOWL OR SNAKE.leave everything for 2 hours then put the tank back how it was and thats it.prevent a mite stays active for 30 days.it kills all the mites then waits on the mite eggs hatching and kills them too.you can repeat the treatment after 30 days.i have never had to do this as this product has worked first time everytime for me.it comes from the states,you get a lot of use out a can.somewhere around 30 to 40 tanks it will do.imo you get your moneys worth from this treatment and it has never let me down.it costs me £28 delivered to my door.as said it comes from the states so you should get it a bit cheaper i would think.the whistling from the nose sounds like an R.I. has the snake shed recently ? as some times a bit shed stuck in the nostril can make the same noise.i also rescued a snake once and after treating it for an r.i. it got a clean bill of health.but to this day it still whistles out one nostril as it was damaged by the r.i. like you said a trip to the vet will give you piece of mind.its also not uncommen for snakes with an r.i. to go off their food.best of luck with your treatments,i'm sure you'll do just great.
cheers shaun

p.s. if its a bit shed stuck up a nostril it needs the vet to reverse flush it with a catheter.they put the catheter inside the snakes mouth and flush the nostril so its nice and clean and whistle free.you usually have to give the snake warm baths for a week or two before the flush can be done.

Will0W783 · 04-08-10, 05:31 PM

I have to agree with Mykee on the Nix method. I have used it several times in the past always with excellent results. It kills not only adults, but eggs and larvae and it's relatively non-toxic to the snakes, unlike Provent-a-mite and most other commercial mite treatments.
What you do is go to your local Wal-mart, pharmacy or such, and get a box of 56oz Nix lice cream rinse. Dissolve the cream in a gallon of distilled water- this may take some doing. Shake it all up, and pour into a clean spray bottle (it's better to get one that hasn't been previously used). You will want to remove all bedding and furniture from the cage and the snake. Spray down the cage very thoroughly and put down clean paper towels. Spray the paper towels. Then spray the snake very well, making sure to get all around the face and throat. Put the snake back into the enclosure and remove the water bowl for 24 hours. Put it back after the 24 hours and repeat the whole process in a week and another week after that, for 3 total treatments.

citysnakes · 04-08-10, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

it's relatively non-toxic to the snakes, unlike Provent-a-mite and most other commercial mite treatments.

Im not really sure how you came up with that conclusion as both Provent-A-Mite and Nix, and most likely many commercial mite treatments, contain the exact same chemical. Permethrin is a commonly used insecticide with an apparently low toxicity to mammals but is great at killing cold blooded pests(obviously including your pet reptiles). Only one of the mite treatments mentioned in this thread has been developed and tested for the purpose of eradicating snake mites but both of these treatments can be effective and both can kill your reptiles if used improperly. Is one option better than the other? Well they both do the job...

infernalis · 04-08-10, 06:37 PM

any opinions on this......I have a bottle that was given to me by a friend.

Natural Chemistry De Flea Reptile Relief

Will0W783 · 04-09-10, 02:20 PM

Don't know, as I have never used it. They sell it at the pet store I frequent, but when their snakes get mites they only use Nix.

shaunyboy · 04-09-10, 03:20 PM

i'm with citysnakes on this.prevent-a-mite was develped for snakes.the stuff your using willow was not.from what i gather this nix stuff is designed to kill human lice ? (please correct me if i'm wrong) i'd rather use something that was designed for use on reptiles.ive never seen your product before infernalis,but it is designed for reptiles.
cheers shaun

Will0W783 · 04-09-10, 05:13 PM

Yes Nix was designed to kill human lice, but it does kill snake mites very effectively, smells nice and is relatively non-toxic to the snakes. It is also a heck of a lot cheaper than PAM. I understand if you're leery of it, but I will continue to use it when the need arises (God willing it won't again, but you never know).

infernalis · 04-09-10, 06:08 PM

Rubbing the whole snake down with light olive oil works well to eradicate mites, it makes their skin shiny and was the method people used ages ago.

But you still have to bleach out the cage, change out the bedding substrate and boil all the hides and water bowl.

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My personal opinion of this product is "it's rubbish" If you are lucky, you may drown a mite or two, but it is not effective at all.

mykee · 04-09-10, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Rubbing the whole snake down with light olive oil works well to eradicate mites, it makes their skin shiny and was the method people used ages ago.

Dude! Seriously?..

infernalis · 04-09-10, 08:48 PM

Yes very seriously, I would not suggest it over the more proven modern methods, but the oil clogs up the mites ability to breathe and kills them.

the downside is it does nothing to kill the eggs.

Back before we had all these fab products available to us, oiling the snake was THE method of getting rid of mites.