problematic pied

[python35]

Hey all this is my first post of many to come in the future, unfortunately this is a rather worrying first post. I need some advice please for my pied as she's really taken a bad turn ��

Situation right now is she stopped eating about 2 months ago, she's eaten 1 small weaner rat in that time (she's nearly 2yrs and I've had her for 8 months). Here in England it's winter and the weather has made humidity drop, i thought this was the reason why she stopped eating as humidity had been around 43% for quite some time despite misting everyday. (Her hot side is 88 and her cold side 82.5 degrees.) So I bought some damp sphagnum moss sealed from the manufacturer at the exotics shop, and put it straight in her viv, low and behold the damn stuff must have contained mites and I noticed she had mites only 2 weeks later.

Then, last weekend I treated her and my other ball python (who also caught mites from the moss but was eating up until then) with Callington mite spray, then this is when I really start to worry badly. After boiling their furniture and putting them on paper towels I sprayed both pythons and then they seemed to change their behaviour dramatically. They just laid there lethargic and listless for hours, my other one looked tense in his muscles but eventually started to move about 4 hours later, and yawned a bit and rubbing his head on everything. After she came back around she has been pacing her viv relentlessly and is really grumpy. I thought this was due to hunger but she still won't eat and gets frightened when I offer her food,now she is just lying in the open again with her head and neck down, she looks really unwell and is losing significant weight.

I feel so terrible and upset that I've done something wrong as they were both healthy before and now they're both off their food. I'm due to respray them with Callington on Friday but I fear maybe they are having a bad time with the treatment? There was quite a bit of condensation after I sprayed their vivs and I really hope they didn't ingest any when they put their noses up to the window. I feel like a terrible person if anyone could please help advise what I should do to help them get back to health I would appreciate it so much or else I feel I'm not doing what's right for them and I don't want them to suffer anymore.

This is the second time I've had a mite infestation from sphagnum moss although I thought seeing as this bag was vacuum sealed I'd be safe but never again. Does anyone else have problems in the UK with winter humidity problem?

Thank you all and God bless

[ReptiMoto]

When I spray my snakes for mites I spray them, leave it on for like 10 min (with then not in their tubs) then wipe it off so that they don't digest any of it. When you say your snake has been loosing weight rapidly are you saying in the 2 months or just in the 2 weeks it's had mites?

[python35]

I would do that next time but hoping this is the last time. She's been losing the most weight in the last month because she hasn't eaten. She's more active the longer she goes without food but she can't even recognise the food either she can't see it or she gets frightened, even with smaller rats

[bcr229]

Since both of your snakes have had adverse reactions to the spray, in the future I would use it only on the enclosure and hides (not the water bowl either), and everything should be dry before you put the snake back into its home.

[Aztec4mia]

http://www.callingtonhaven.com/_asse...tMiteSpray.pdf

If this is what you have, I would not spray your reptiles with the spray, per the instructions. Do you have a picture of the mites? I have never heard of catching mites from sphagnum moss and it has me curious. Not sure if it is the norm today but from what I remember, Pieds are notorious for being bad feeders. best of luck.

[python35]

I actually can't get a clear photo of the mites but they are standard snake mites quite bigger than last episode but same looking. It seems more drop off her as the week progresses not just after spraying, so I imagine the residue from the spray is doing something.

I remember reading somewhere that with several mites falling off at the same time a kind of toxic shock can happen to the snake as the mite releases a toxin as it releases it's hold on the snake?! Not sure if it's true! But could explain something...heard of bad neurological reactions in other breeds of snakes too, but after reading the snake can be sprayed directly, which I did, I wouldn't have thought it would be that toxic...

She has always been a problem feeder but the recent weight loss (from 680g down to 550 in 2 months) has never happened before, she used to always be on the up. I worry as she is still a juvenile and wouldn't be like this fasting.

I gather the mites came from the sphagnum moss as it's the only thing I didn't freeze or treat before putting it in their vivs and I have no other reptiles. Will spray just the vivs tomorrow and let you know how it goes. I wonder if most snakes don't eat during treatment too?

[bcr229]

I wonder if most snakes don't eat during treatment too?

I imagine it depends on the treatment being used. If you're soaking the snake daily to drown the mites then that could stress the snake out enough to stop eating. If it had a bad reaction to the chemical that could also throw it off food.
In the future you need to avoid that pet store completely; if it has a bad enough mite infestation that eggs are getting laid in the various substrates then you could inadvertently bring a mite home on you even if you don't purchase anything.

[python35]

I agree its the same pet shop that infested my snake the first time when I bought him as a baby, he was riddled and they treated him for me so they must have been guilty.

Whilst I treat both snakes I put them in separate baths whilst I clean and disinfect their vivs, hoping that the soak will drown the mites, but the ones on their bodies are still there in the same place when I take them out and you can't get the damn things off when you rub them. How come they aren't drowning? Am I supposed to add something to the water? And I've heard olive oil works, do I massage it into their bodies?

Thanks as always for the advice it's very valuable to me. I hope to get them back to their former glory!

[python35]

As she's so skinny now I'm going to try and feed her tomorrow. Is it safe the next day after spraying?