snake I am looking after acting strangely

Hi there, I am looking after a 7 month old ball python for a friend while he works away for a few months. I have had him for 3 and half weeks. All was going well and as he was quite timid when he arrived, he soon got really used to me. Then he got mites, infested with them about a week ago. Went to local reptile shop, where i bought "mite off" The snake was really tollerant with being bathed/ moved while cleaning his tank etc.

As i was spraying him he jumped at a noise and some of the mite off spray went over his head and eyes by accident. Anyway he seemed fine and as there was still mites 3 days later i took him out of the tank and put him in a clean water shallow bath and sprayed the tank again. As i brought him out of bath on snake hook, he recoiled and acted like he had never seen me before and just didnt want to be handled, so i put him straight back in the tank. Since then he has been very defensive when approaching the tank. I know he is due to shed as he just shed before he arrived at mine, but his eyes are not cloudy,( i know that their behaviour changes and eyesight worsens at this time) just hoping i haven't damaged his eyesight!!! any help please...ps- sorry for long winded first post !!

Regards Scott

Welcome to the site!

I'm sorry to hear about your snake, but it sounds like he's just a little stressed and needs time to get used to his new environment and the mite treatment. I wouldn't worry too much about his eyes. If the mite treatment is intended to be used on him, getting a little on his eyes shouldn't be a problem as they are protected by a clear scale like the rest of his body.

However, I would be concerned that you haven't completely eliminated the mite problem. If they come back you might want to try and locate a product called provent-a-mite and follow the directions on the can (you spray the enclosure and let it dry before placing your snake back inside). This treatment usually works much better than the topical mite treatments.

Good luck!

Thanks Lawrence, nice to find this site. Thanks for reassuring me about his eyes, didnt know they had a scale there. The snake sitting was dropped on me at the last minute, so still learning( he gave me the kevin mc Curley book)

Well I am not getting too excited, but it's been 2 days now and no sign of any mites. Think they came in on some aspen subtrate so have him on paper. Like you say he may be stressed with all the treatment and all.

Thanks Scott

Hi, I am still worried. It's been 5 weeks since he last shed and no signs of shedding,eyes clear etc, but he is still appears to be blind. fed normally yesterday though. Just hoping that he goes back to normal when he does shed

He is stressed out. Unless you sorely misused the mite-off (meaning your not supposed to use it on the animal, I have no idea the directions on the can) then I dont see why he would be blind. I would invest in some prevent-a-mite and treat the enclosure. Leave him alone for a week so he can settle.

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Originally Posted by scotty99

Hi there, I am looking after a 7 month old ball python for a friend while he works away for a few months. I have had him for 3 and half weeks. All was going well and as he was quite timid when he arrived, he soon got really used to me. Then he got mites, infested with them about a week ago. Went to local reptile shop, where i bought "mite off" The snake was really tollerant with being bathed/ moved while cleaning his tank etc.

As i was spraying him he jumped at a noise and some of the mite off spray went over his head and eyes by accident. Anyway he seemed fine and as there was still mites 3 days later i took him out of the tank and put him in a clean water shallow bath and sprayed the tank again. As i brought him out of bath on snake hook, he recoiled and acted like he had never seen me before and just didnt want to be handled, so i put him straight back in the tank. Since then he has been very defensive when approaching the tank. I know he is due to shed as he just shed before he arrived at mine, but his eyes are not cloudy,( i know that their behaviour changes and eyesight worsens at this time) just hoping i haven't damaged his eyesight!!! any help please...ps- sorry for long winded first post !!

Regards Scott

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Were you spraying him with the mite off? That's kind of what it looks like by your wording.

Thanks, yes sprayed him with mite off- directions say "spray evenly over entire body, legs and tail, make sure to spray skin folds. Throughly spray entire enclosure including substrate, rock heaters, cage furniture etc" for snakes lizards and land tortoises only.

Regards Scott

Scott,

You were correct to spray the animal with Mite-Off. It's the same thing I use for my reptiles. It may take a time or two to completely get rid of the mites but it works well and is safe to spray directly on the snake.

He sounds real stressed. Try darkening his living space for a week, checking on him daily. He should settle down for you and act "curious" again. I wouldn't worry about his eyes too much unless you see swelling or puss...

good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scotty99

Thanks, yes sprayed him with mite off- directions say "spray evenly over entire body, legs and tail, make sure to spray skin folds. Throughly spray entire enclosure including substrate, rock heaters, cage furniture etc" for snakes lizards and land tortoises only.

Regards Scott

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Cool, I'll have to get some of that stuff. If you can spray on them directly I doubt it has anything to do with his condition currently unless he ingested a bunch of it which it doesn't sound like he did. Like everyone else has said he's probably getting stressed out from it all.

Thank You for the advice. He has been through a bit the last few weeks getting moved and bathed etc .Will try the darking enclosure see if that helps.

The mite off is vey good from my experience. Two treatments got rid of all mites. Looking after a baby corn who got them as well who is back to his speedy self now!! Just got to get Patrick the python back to normal before his owner comes back for him. Thanks again for the help

Scott