ball soaking way too much help!!

[landofthelost]

here's the run down something is up with my snake and i am very worried. i recently brought home this baby ball python. he had his neck broken and i adopted him from our local herp society. he has not eaten in about four or five weeks, which i understand is encroaching on critical. the tank is set up with a uth on the cool end. there are tiles, newspaper and coconut bark on top of that so that he will not burn himself. there is a moist hide box on that end. then i have a pyrex bowl with a lid. on the hot end i have a fake rock hide, which has extra rocks in it so it is snug for his baby size. the humidity has been just about 50-60...pretty good. i use wet towels on top and mist the coconut bark in the am. the temp is hovering between mid eighty to low ninety. the little guy keeps soaking in the water dish. it has to be too much. his eyes are not milky. i cleaned the bowl last night and no black flakes so i do not think he has mites. so what's wrong. i am really worried i am going to loose the guy if something doesn't change soon. thanks

[unimom]

Mites can also be red, were there red flakes or dots?

[Shelby]

Ok first.. take a deep breath. I don't think it's so bad as you're worried about.

Not eating for 4-5 weeks is actually.. fairly normal for ball pythons! As long as your snake is not losing weight, it's not something to get a hernia over.

Some snakes just love to soak. Did you check for little white dots around the head area? That's what mites look like.. But.. your snake may just be a water baby!

[landofthelost]

okay thanks for telling me to take a breath. i have not seen red flakes or black dots. i could look closer at him to look for you say white dots?? i will peek. i have not really handled him because i am trying to get him use to his new home. when i took the water out last night there were some floaty bit in there that were colorless and i took them to be normal animal dish floaties..dust and what not. i know that balls sometimes go a while with out eating i am mostly worried that he is a baby and had a traumatic injury. this is my first ball and i do not know there behaviors very well, but i thought that they were not so into the water. this may sound awefully niave, but can they get scale rot from soaking too much? i half wondered if it was just more comfortable to sit in there with no pressure on the broken neck area. well any more advice or thoughts surely are welcomed. i am a terribly nervous new dad.

[frankykeno]

Welcome to the forum Lost. I have to commend you for taking on a snake with an injury. I know you'll find lots of support and good solid advice here that will help alleviate that anxiety (but that's a great sign of a caring owner).

Just take it one step at a time, get help here to prioritize what the snake needs first, second, third and so on and work the program as they say. Has the snake been for a vet check yet so you know the actual extent of the damage.


~~Jo~~

[tigerlily]

What are the temps in the cage and how are you measuring them. Sometimes snakes will use the water bowl if the cage is too hot or if the hides aren't nice dark and tight.

[frankykeno]

Lost, do you know if the snake ever ate for anyone from your local herp group? Also any information on how it was hurt or was it born this way, really anything you know or even pics might help the experienced people here give you some advice though nothing replaces the services of an experienced vet.


~~Jo~~

[Shelby]

As long as the water is kept clean, you don't have to worry about scale rot.

[unimom]

Okay the reason I asked about the mites being red was because I first discovered DD had mites when I looked in his water bowl after he had been soaking for a while. I was nervous because before I had even began to post here and was only spying (LOL) I read about the soaking. I saw nothing that looked like mites, but I did see little pieces of dust floating in the water and some that had gone down to the bottom of the bowl. I pulled out Cody's microscope kit (you know the type you get from toys-r-us) and found out that what I thought was only dust or dirt was actually tiny little red mites. They were barely visible with the naked eye.



At the time I went to the pet store I got him from and they told me to cover a paper towel in corn/olive/vegetable oil, rub it on DD and that would smother the mites. I then had to disinfect the cage and have been coating DD with vegetable once a week since to smother any mites that may have hatched from eggs and have not began laying yet.

How long should I do this? I forgot to ask the vet

[Shelby]

For mites.. it's hard to beat Provent-a-mite. The spray kills the mites, and the eggs, and keeps working for a long time. You can buy it from Matt (justcage).

I believe the mites are red because of the blood they suck?