New addition - Morelia Bredli python

Cobra89 · 01-08-18, 12:23 AM

Hey everyone, picked up this beautiful baby Bredlis python from the Reptile Super Show expo in Pomona just the other day. The show was pretty amazing, I saw tons of stuff I had never seen before, and lots of beautiful snakes. This little guy (or girl, not sure yet) I had to do a little research about before buying, I knew he was essentially like a carpet python (just because of the taxonomy), which was cool because I've had a ton of interested in carpet pythons. There were a lot of other Bredlis at the expo but this one was by far the youngest. I was surprised at no initial nip handling, but apparently they are a pretty docile species.

I set him up in his temp tank with a UTH, water, hide, stick, & forest floor. I didn't handle him to transfer, didn't want to add any stress, I put his container in the tank and nudged him out, as we still had a 6 hour drive back home. Once I got home I set him up in an appropriate-sized exo-terra, but when I transferred him I noticed a mite. I had never seen a mite before, so I had to look it up. I looked him over thoroughly, didn't see anything else. Looked over everything he was in, all through the substrate and everything else.

The more concerning thing to me is that he hasn't been able to fully extend his tongue, it seems to only come out very little. You can see this in my 4th picture, it only comes out that far. I have seen that in the past as an RI symptom, with snakes not able to open their mouths properly. I held him up to my ear to listen for popping, but he's so small, I don't know if I could hear it if he did.

Aside from that, I feel like he's kind of lethargic, especially for a morelia. I had to tap him a couple times because he was sitting for so long in the same position, odd positions. Eventually he climbed and perched on the stick. He didn't seem to do much when handling, but he climbs and perches just fine in his enclosure. I don't want to handle him any more for several days, he's quarantined on my desk so I can at least keep an eye on him.

Anyways, I just want to make sure he's healthy and do what I can to care for him properly. Anyone out there with experience owning this kind of species is greatly appreciated!

DJC Reptiles · 01-08-18, 04:45 AM

Just make sure to keep him far from any of your other snakes, mites can travel very far and spread harmful diseases. What information did you get from the person you bought it from? I recommend keeping your enclosure completely sterile, this means swapping all hides for plastic ones, and remove any substrate you are currently using and switch to paper towels. I recommend placing your snake in a tub of warm water as it may be dehydrated. I recommend using DeFlea's Reptile Mite spray found on amazon,

https://www.amazon.com/DeFlea-Reptil...+spray+reptile

This product doesn't use toxins so it is safe to spray inside the cage with your animal still in it, as well as the water bowl. Use F10 Veterinary disinfectant in a 10 percent solution to clean your animal, and sanitize any of it's cage accessories.

https://www.amazon.com/F10SC-Veterin...y+disinfectant

I hope this helps, just be sure to be careful when handling all of your snakes in the future. Never wear the same clothes when handling this snake, and then switching over to another. This sterile period of using mite spray and veterinary disinfectant should last a minimum of 30 days and you should not see a single mite at that point. Beware as the mites can travel to different places very easily, don't be alarmed if you find mites on another animal, and follow the same precautions.

Cobra89 · 01-08-18, 09:58 PM

Thank you DJC, I appreciate the information! The vendor advised me of his feed schedule and general setup recommendations. I also asked if captive bred, which they said he is, I imagine there's no way to know for sure, but he's pretty docile.

I will definitely pick up some of that spray and keep a very close eye on the rest of the collection. I didn't think to soak him, I tried to show him where his water bowl was and coax him to drink, but he didn't seem interested. Maybe warm water would get him more interested in hydration.

Last night he wasn't looking too good, fell from his perch and just sort of stayed there, half suspended. I had just woken up and thought he was dead, but he reacted quick enough when I went to retrieve him. His movements still seem kind of weak, I'm going to have to schedule a vet appointment soon if he doesn't look any better this week.

DJC Reptiles · 01-09-18, 12:23 AM

Australia has very specific Wild caught animal regulations and it is much easier to believe your animal is captive bred then wild caught. It seems your animal is also plagued with an underlying disease, often caused by mites. Most likely a respiratory infection, but it is vital you see a vet soon as it may not be so simple.

**EL Ziggy** · 01-09-18, 09:02 PM

Nice looking Bredli Cobra. I have one that's still growing on me. I agree with DJC about putting him on paper towels until you know he's might free and keep him far away from your other snakes. I really hope he doesn't have an RI but if you suspect he does I'd advise a trip to the vet asap. A reputable breeder really shouldn't sell a sick animal. The mites you could have picked up from another source at the show. Best wishes with getting him in good health. Keep us posted on your progress.

Cobra89 · 01-22-18, 09:33 PM

Hey all, sorry I have not been browsing the thread much lately. My Bredli is looking better than he had originally, he's been drinking normally, looks hydrated, he's on paper towels with a couple small things to climb on and a hide.

Small-wide Exo Terra, decent heat gradient around 76F in the coolest area up to 92F for basking, humidity usually between 50 - 60%, I know these Centralian species come from a pretty dry climate. I have both UTH and small red heat light. Typically I always prefer UTH exclusively, but I wanted him to be able to bask when he climbs so I've been using the light primarily.

Pretty active, likes to climb, spends some time in his hide but not too often. Unfortunately he has not yet eaten. I've offered F/T pinky, also tried leaving overnight in the dark with UTH only. Tried live, doesn't really express any interest. Also tried pre-killed, no luck.

He looks alright but his skin is a little saggy in some areas, weighs between 25 - 30g (I need a more precise scale, mine only shows grams in .5 increments). I don't know when he last ate, the vendor advised the bulk of their reptiles eat on Tuesday, so he potentially has not eaten since the the 2nd of January.

I've spend countless hours of research trying to find a way to spark a feed response. I've heard so many wild things, lots of Morelia keepers swear by yogurt, others have tried all sorts of types of feeders, day old quails are supposed to be very effective.

The yogurt thing I'm not sure about, seems odd, I get the medical gut flora stuff but still, if anyone here has experience with that I'd love to know. Day-old quails I wouldn't mind trying, but I worry how long they may take to get here. I'm leaning more towards assist-feed, but should I wait any longer? He's just so little, I worry every day.

Cobra89 · 01-23-18, 12:26 AM

SO...more bad news unfortunately..Inspecting him again tonight, I found more mites. I think they may have been on him the whole time, I didn't realize how small they actually were and where they buried themselves, I picked off four of them on his underbelly. I will definitely be picking up some mite spray and keeping a close eye on the rest of the collection.

I got a little worried about them draining him more so I went ahead and just assisted him with a pinkie head, he took it down no problem, didn't have to walk it down his body. Hopefully he will keep it in him overnight.

DJC Reptiles · 01-23-18, 05:55 AM

That's good news actually, minus the mites of course. Keep up the treatment, and they should disappear. You can also try soaking him in shallow water to kill off some of them. Continue to use the paper towel substrate, and they should stop breeding. If you don't see an improvement in a week, I recommend getting rid of all cage accessories, and cleaning them. You can use cardboard paper towel centers as hides and branches.

MDT · 01-23-18, 06:04 AM

Watch this video, use the Frontline...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwCAuhSVRV4

IDvsEGO · 01-23-18, 06:36 AM

Someone on here used predatory mites. No personal experience but I like the idea of a non chemical treatment

Scubadiver59 · 01-23-18, 10:23 AM

Personally, I haven't had to deal with mites yet, but after reading a few posts here and there about snakes dying after using things like Provent-a-mite, I'll be picking up the predatory mites despite their cost.

Another thing to remember about pet shows...even if your pet doesn't have mites, you yourself can pick them up and become a carrier, after handling other reptiles with mites at the show, and you can bring them home with you. You won't get bitten, but they'll move into your snake cages.

There are some breeders that I've listened to that go through a "decontamination" routine when going back home to ensure that they don't bring anything unwanted with them. I'll remember that when I go to my next show.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IDvsEGO

Someone on here used predatory mites. No personal experience but I like the idea of a non chemical treatment

IDvsEGO · 01-23-18, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scubadiver59

Personally, I haven't had to deal with mites yet, but after reading a few posts here and there about snakes dying after using things like Provent-a-mite, I'll be picking up the predatory mites despite their cost.

Another thing to remember about pet shows...even if your pet doesn't have mites, you yourself can pick them up and become a carrier, after handling other reptiles with mites at the show, and you can bring them home with you. You won't get bitten, but they'll move into your snake cages.

There are some breeders that I've listened to that go through a "decontamination" routine when going back home to ensure that they don't bring anything unwanted with them. I'll remember that when I go to my next show.

I read some people saying that too. We all wore short sleeved shirts and I brought my own sanitizer that we used often

Cobra89 · 01-23-18, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJC Reptiles

That's good news actually, minus the mites of course. Keep up the treatment, and they should disappear. You can also try soaking him in shallow water to kill off some of them. Continue to use the paper towel substrate, and they should stop breeding. If you don't see an improvement in a week, I recommend getting rid of all cage accessories, and cleaning them. You can use cardboard paper towel centers as hides and branches.

That's a great idea using a paper towel roll or something similar to climb on, best to keep everything as sterile and visible as possible. I've soaked him a couple times but will for sure be doing it again soon after finding those last night.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MDT

Watch this video, use the Frontline...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwCAuhSVRV4

Thank you for sharing this! I never would have thought of Frontline for reptiles, used all that stuff on our dogs & cat when I was a kid. Definitely picking some up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IDvsEGO

Someone on here used predatory mites. No personal experience but I like the idea of a non chemical treatment

I was actually just researching those last night, I'm probably going to pick some up, to be on the safe side. Everything I've seen about those mites is good stuff, they seem to work for a lot of people when everything else failed. I found some here Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Hypoaspis miles) - Fungus Gnat, Thrips, Snake Mite Predator to my understanding there are a ton of subspecies, but most of them all pretty much do the same thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scubadiver59

Personally, I haven't had to deal with mites yet, but after reading a few posts here and there about snakes dying after using things like Provent-a-mite, I'll be picking up the predatory mites despite their cost.

Another thing to remember about pet shows...even if your pet doesn't have mites, you yourself can pick them up and become a carrier, after handling other reptiles with mites at the show, and you can bring them home with you. You won't get bitten, but they'll move into your snake cages.

There are some breeders that I've listened to that go through a "decontamination" routine when going back home to ensure that they don't bring anything unwanted with them. I'll remember that when I go to my next show.

You are absolutely right about that, this is one of the biggest shows out there, I can only imagine how many mites and other crazy parasites are floating around during an expo. Can't necessarily blame vendors either, they could have come off someone who handled him before I did, or I could have even had something on me.

Going forward I'll always inspect whatever I buy thoroughly, at least now I know what I'm looking for and it appears they like to hide in the subcaudal scales. I will for sure always treat them when preparing their new home (seems like Frontline would be great for that) from now on too. I can only imagine how terrible these things are for people with massive collections..

DJC Reptiles · 01-24-18, 05:14 AM

Some people have linked the transfer of IBD (Inclusion Body Disease), to snake mites. In a collection, Any boas or pythons would be wiped out within a year. Terrible disease, I hope I'll never have to deal with snake mites. That being said, I am attending an expo this weekend, I'll be sure to follow whatever decontamination routine is necessary.