Hoping I'm posting in the correct forum. This afternoon I impulse rescued a trio of snakes off of the free section of Craigslist. I'm told it's a 2.1 group. The ad stated clearly that the animals had mites. I was prepared for dealing with mites as I had an outbreak when I used to keep corns so many years ago. Well, guess what? Mites are really the least of my problems right now. So, I would like to state a few things very clearly. First, while I do love to look at BPs, they are not my favorite species of snake. I find them finicky and fragile. That being said, I wanted to make sure these particular animals were taken by someone who either knew what they were doing or could educate herself properly to care for them. I'd be in the latter group. Second, I have a vet appointment for Tuesday. It was the soonest I could get in. The next closest exotic vet is roughly four and a half hours away and I simply do not have the money to fill up my gas tank twice, especially right before payday. So, Tuesday is the soonest anything can be done vet-wise. Lastly, I am aware that the current setup is no ideal. Payday is Friday and I should have my check available by Saturday, so I'll be getting more appropriate setups then. Possibly on Monday.

Now, for the problems. These poor snakes are covered with hundreds, if not thousands of mites. I honestly didn't try to decide which black specks were mites and which were poo. The two larger snakes, one supposedly female, drank water in the tub for almost 30 minutes. I was half paranoid that they'd drowned themselves. The third, a little guy did not drink. I'll get to him in a minute. So, the snakes were dehydrated and covered in mites. I was also told these guys hadn't been fed in at least a month. They have been and are currently in a "15" gallon. It looks like a 10 to me, but I haven't measured. They've been kept on Sani-chips or similar. Now of the individual problems.

The claimed female is supposedly a yellow bellied spider. She's a good size but seems thin to me. Not skeletal, but like old man arms. You know there's muscle there but it's flabby. If that makes any sense. I'm going on the assumption that she has been mated. No proof. I did not check her for eggs. I'm just assuming because she is supposed to be a she and is housed with two males. I didn't check her over too closely beyond this but I did not immediately notice any other additional health problems.

The larger male is a normal. In addition to the mites and dehydration, there are some major problems. He is in the process of shedding. It's coming off in patches and pieces. I was able to rub some but not all of the shed off during the soak. I didn't try to force it. It looks like there may be a few layers of retained eye caps. I think. It's so difficult to tell at this point. The snake also has what looks like mouth rot. It could be a ton of retain shed in the mouth area. At this point in my check-over, he was getting really grumpy with me so I didn't check closer. I also noticed what sounds like an URI, from what I remember it sounding like years back with my corns. He's alert and moderately active, so I think he may recover just fine.

The third and smallest snake, a supposed spinner spider, is who's really worrying me. As I said, he did not drink. I didn't get as many mites off of him as the other two because... he seems to be suffering from neurological issues. He is doing the crocodile death roll. He is unable to completely keep his head level and I was really worried about him drowning during the soak. It's not quite star-gazer if I'm remembering correctly. The old owner said he just started this behavior. I'm not sure exactly what "just started" is. Could be today; could be this week. I did attempt to level the snake out by gently restraining him on his "neck" area and rotating him as needed to keep his head at the right angle. I was hoping he'd drink but it didn't happen. I'm hoping that better care will lead to this problem resolving itself. I'm really hoping that it's caused by the mites and he's anemic or something. I fully expect him to die, but I'm hoping it won't happen. He is also in the process of shedding. I didn't know until he was soaking. Hopefully it will all come off in just a piece or two. Otherwise, I have not noticed any other problems.

_________


So, what can I do to make these snakes more comfortable until Tuesday? I'm all ready working on getting the heat up a little warmer. I'm aiming for 90°F I think, based on research. I'd like to do daily soaks if it won't harm the snakes in order to kill off more of the mites. Because of the problems with URI, mouth rot, and the spinning, I'm not eager to try anything toxic to treat the mites until I get them to the vet. Can I safely soak them for 20-30 minutes a day to help control the mites? I've tossed the Sani-chips and have washed the tank with soap and hot water. I have switched to paper towels. I am planning on washing the tank every single day to help control the mite population. I'm picking up bleach tomorrow.

I'll be slowly attempting to get the retained sheds off of the normal. As it will let me, of course. I will also try to get a better look at his mouth. Other than the higher temperature, what can I do to make breathing easier for the poor guy? Is there anything I can do for my spinning guy to make his life a little easier? I assuming that feeding any of them at this point is not recommended. Is there anything else I should or shouldn't do?