Smell

Auddi01 · 07-17-03, 04:15 PM

i just got some snakes from a guy and they regurgitated during shipping! it smells horrible, not only does the box bags and all stink, but the snakes stink now. I have thrown the bags and box away, but the smell is still on the snakes.....what would be the safest way to get rid of the smell??? my whole house is stinking, and every time i open the cage and hold the snake it gets worse! what can i do, can i just spray febreeze on them or sumthing?(lol) i dono what to do, help as soon as u can please

SCReptiles · 07-17-03, 04:19 PM

warm water. =)

Auddi01 · 07-17-03, 04:22 PM

thanks, do u know of any other ways tho, becuase these arent to nice seeming, i doubt they will appreciate a bath

SCReptiles · 07-17-03, 04:45 PM

Put them in a mess cage so they can’t bite you or get away and spray them down.

Linds · 07-17-03, 04:54 PM

Just restrain them gently (hold gently behind the head and support the body) and give them a rinse if you don't want to bathe them. Why do you keep taking the snakes out of their cages anyways? After travel, and the added stress of a regurgitation, you should leave them alone to recover. Don't bug them for a week. The person that shipped those snakes should've known better. You never feed a snake several days, if not a whole week, prior to shipping for that exact reason

Tim and Julie B · 07-17-03, 05:00 PM

I hate when people feed prior to shipping. It causes too much stress. Just go with the warm bath. You could use rubbermaids filled with warm water and just hook them in and let em soak for a while

Auddi01 · 07-18-03, 12:05 PM

i put a little bit of soap in the water and he keeps drinking it, is that safe?

Linds · 07-18-03, 12:14 PM

No its not safe to let your snake drink soapy water. The snake is probably dehydryated, take him out and let him drink clean water. What kind of soap did you use? The only kind I use is Ivory dishsoap... anything labelled antibacterial is no good, as well as most handsoaps/bar soaps since they leave a lot of residue. Ivory is the only dishsoap I have found that is mild enough for my tastes, all the others contain ammonia, if Ivory does it isn't enough to harm the snake, as their are no "do not mix with bleach" warnings on the bottle.

Siretsap · 07-19-03, 12:08 PM

Lol as much as you want, sometimes holding then gently down behind the head, isn't always as easy as it seems. I have a male ball python that is quite young. Yet he is the most agressive snake I have seen, he beats the amazons and emeralds I have been in contact with. Right now, the size doesn't bother me much.
What I did to help him shed (which you could do to clean them), is put them in a warm waterbowl with a lid and a few holes. I let him soak in there for at least an hour and then let him bite down on one of my gloves and removed his old skin.

SCReptiles · 07-19-03, 12:17 PM

Go to walmart and get a bottle of electrolyte and give him that to drink. Helps when they are close to dehydration.

The_Omen · 07-19-03, 12:25 PM

Hmm..... the best way I have seen to get rid of a smell on a snake, is to wait till it sheds.

The odor is absorbed by the older layers of skin and it may take a few shed cycles to get rid of it completely.

Please don't spray them with any air fresheners or FeBreeze...

BUT, you can spray the febreeze on the floor and in the air of the room until the shedding cycles have eliminated the odor.

Now, as for the snake, yes, let it chill out for a week at minimum before handling and especially give it time before feeding. It needs time to build up its stomach flora, especially since it regurged AND drank soapy water.
For now though, just use a wet (warm) wash cloth and wipe any remaining stomache fluids of before it develops problems from that.

Would these snakes have any relation to the trade/deal etc earlier this week, where yours were delivered to the other person, dead?