Quarantine and captive methods - Page 2

KaHane · 01-10-03, 03:40 PM

Gorelith, you should not have trouble with the possiblity of the mites spreading if the right procedure is taken. As soon as a new snake arrive, we let it soak for about an hour and throw away any container it came in( pillow cases, deli- cups, etc.) After soaking we put the snake in it's setup enclosure( Which has been sprayed with Black Knight.) We also spray around the quarantine racks with the BK and turn the airfilters off for a few hours so it does not filter out the BK.

Linds · 01-10-03, 07:58 PM

Kahane,
Nix is by far the safest mite treatment available. It's a shampoo for people with head lice, crabs, or any other body bugs..lol

You can buy it any pharmacy. You just dilute one bottle of Nix with one gallon of water and spray all over snake and enclosure. It is just as effective as BK and PAM, but <B>alot</b> safer.

Gorelith,
I agree with Kahane. There is no reason that mites would be able to spread anywhere in your collection as long as proper treatment and prevention proceudres are followed.

V.aw · 01-10-03, 10:23 PM

Grant VG.

It doesn't matter really. I dont feel anyone should be talking about what meds to use. Unless of course someone here is a licenced vet, that actually has the knowledge and papers to prove so! Otherwise, saying panacur is safe could be very misleading.

Grant vg · 01-11-03, 12:27 AM

Id trust the knowledge of the ppl in this hobby far more then any vet out there.
Knowledgeable Vets for exotics are rare, and most of them dont keep exotics themselves.
Friends that i know have used this drug for worming with great success, i have as well without a mishap.

We use horse dewormer, for snake parasites, we also use human headlice shampoo and cockroach spray, for snake mites.
I've been to the vets and thay charged me up the A$$ for ivomec injections (for mites) which didn't do a thing, I use a 5 dollar bottle of nix, and it gets rid of mites for years!
Never did i say it was safe, nor do i believe its unsafe. It just works.
I also use extra strength tylenol for headaches, but i guess i should keep that to myself as well.

KaHane · 01-11-03, 12:34 AM

Linds, I will try Nix the next ime I need a mite treatment. Hopefully that will be never

By the way your posts are great.

Grant Vg, I also use fenbendazole and thiabendazole. Like you I do not treat the animals until they have settled in and eaten.

eyespy · 01-11-03, 01:15 AM

When pressed for space, I clear out my coat closet and use that for a quarantine room and have my mom keep my junk in her basement. Who needs Christmas decorations, giftwrapping supplies, assorted junk and a choice of coats when there could be a new herp in the house instead? And if my vacuum and mop and brooms have to lean in a corner of the bathroom, so be it.

I'm not a routine dewormer myself, but I have a few very close friends who are vets and they come to my house to do fecals and help me with my rescues so all my new herps are checked and treated only if needed. Why give the stress of processing a mild toxin on top of adjusting to a new home if it's not necessary? I realize not everyone has the luxury of house call fecal exams though.

I'll have to remember that Nix tip! Sure beats the heck out of all those Betadine soaks, Vapona strips and Ivomec. I don't trust Ivomec at all for herps, I've seen a fair number of them develop neurological problems, especially when given internally.

Linds · 01-11-03, 09:37 AM

Thanks KaHane!

Grant vg · 01-11-03, 12:17 PM

One thing i wanted to add as well, is on top of washing hands between different snakes, i usually start from what i would deem the cleanest snake in my collection to say a Fresh WC at the end.

Ron · 01-23-03, 10:06 AM

Well last night I decide to go to a local pet store to pick up some incubator supplies and saw they had sub-adult female BP in. After some thought I decided to get her. When I got her home I gave her a good soak and threw away the sack I brought her home in (as per Kahanes post). When I removed her from her bath I noticed a few mites in the water. Since I had just happened to read through this thread earlier in the day I knew what to do. I got a bottle of Nix, diluted it and proceeded to spray everything in my condo which was or had been close to my new BP. I just wanted to thank everyone who posted on this thread because it prepared me for last night. I do have a few questions. How many times should I treat her with Nix? I moved her to a freshly "Nixed" enclosure this morning and found 15-20 dead mites in her previous enclosure, should I just keep doing this till I don't find anymore?

Thanks,

Ron

Grant vg · 01-23-03, 11:09 AM

Hey Ron,

Glad to hear this thread was of help to you.
if you can, i would continue to switch enclosures daily for the first week.
spray the snake in its own seperate rubbermaid, let it sit there for 20 minutes or so, while you work on spraying and cleaning a new rubbermaid, place it in there along with its water, and so one.
After a week or so, most if not all the live mites should be gone for the most part, then i would continue spraying the snake and enclosure every couple of days, (without the water bowl) for the next month.
till your sure the eggs are gone.
and when you finally think everythings gone...keep spraying for another week. ..lol.
This is what i would do anyway.

Goodluck

Ron · 01-23-03, 11:53 AM

Thanks Grant,

When do you think it would be safe to try feeding her? How long can I keep the extra Nix solution for? Does it lose it's potency over time?

Ron

Grant vg · 01-23-03, 12:55 PM

Id try feeding it this week sometime, its always nice to know whether its feeding or not, early on.
In most cases for aggressive feeding ball pythons, the stress related to nixing everyday, etc...shouldn't be a problem if it was eating prior to you buying it.
The nix will last for months, if not years,

However, im not sure how good it is over a years period.
I have a bottle of nix on hand, which i have only had to use half of it so far. and have gone through two 1 liter water bottles.
i use 1/4 of a nix bottle or so per 1 liter spray bottle of water. every 6 months i change it, just to be on the safe size. So one bottle of nix lasts 2 yrs IMO.
Goodluck, let me know how it goes.

Grant vg

Ron · 01-23-03, 01:59 PM

I think I will try to feed her soon but if she doesn't feed it could be either her winter fasting or the stress of the mites and treatment. I'm not too worried, she's ~1450 grams and only about 40" so she has good body weight. Too bad she isn't in shed it would probably speed up the de-miting process. I'll post a pick after her next shed. Thanks for the info.

Ron