good news bad news

Ok I have had my baby boy for a week and fed him for the first time today.
I got him a pinkey rat because they did not have hopper (is this ok?)
So I got home put the rat on top of his cage so he could get a whiff of dinner I took a shower and went right for the tong to feed him
I put it down in there with him and i dropped it.
the little pinkey makes a bline for my snakes hide and was trying to burrow under Snuggles ( BTW my baby boy is named Snuggles)
I retrieved the rat with the tongs and held him up so Snuggles could hit him.
I was holding him there and my phone rings and so my wife answered it i turned around to look at her and I felt the tongs slip!
That sneaky little Snugglerz took him when my back was turned :(
so i watch from a distance so as not to upset him
after he eats and starts moving around again i put his furniture back in and I changed his water.

Here is the bad news...
I saw two black specks in his water. I think that it might be mites.
From my hours of scouring BP.net and 8ballpythons.com I believe he has mites. So i guess it is time to get him plastic hides line it with newspaper and a plain metal water bowl so i can treat with PAM.

Does anyone have advice on what I should do besides that????

sounds like you have the right idea and dont go thinking having mites with one (i assume) snake as being bad its good you get to learn now then when you have many believe me i know

Sounds like you are on track. Just treat the enclosure and hopefully it will be dealt with.

Just take your necessary precautions in the process.

Was the snake a breeder sale or a pet store, how long have you had him for?

Good luck... MITES SUCK!

Bruce

I got him from petsmart :( yuck !!!
I am sooooo sorrrryyyyyyy i didnt know what the heck i was doing i would have gotten a good captive bred one from the states not one who was stolen from the wild
all petsmart bps are captive hatched
I thought i saw one in his water but decided it was just junk in there but today i noticed two so i am getting PAM and treating his cage.
Will the PAM hurt my baby?

If you use it according to directions you'll be fine.

But if you have concerns... take a paper towel and give the snake a wipe from chin to vent... that should clear up any doubt.

And mite feces is ashy colored, so you should be able to see it on him.

I hate to say it, OK, I love to say it... but PS is the absolute worst in IMHO.

But hey, you have a snake that you'll enjoy for the next few decades, so it is ALL GOOD! And the snake has an attentive keepers.. so even better!

Good luck with him,
Bruce

Addendum:

CH is not a bad thing. At least he ended up as a pet as not as an aphrodisiac or Kylie Minogue's botoxed purse.

Africa breeds (despite the competition) some of the nicest snakes in the world.

It is up to those the distribute them to put the work into them.

Bruce

I have given alot of thought...
I returned my baby boy to the store. I found out after i bought him that he was taken from the wild. It put a really bad taste in my mouth knowing that I had done something that I am VERY against. I do not belive in impacting the enviroment for a pet or recreation. I also enjoy going off roading in my 4x4 and I do not like to tear up the trails and landscape while I am out there. Then I found mites in his water. On top of that the guy at the store mislead me on what I needed to home him correctly. he just gave me what i needed to keep him alive. To me this is not what I wanted it just made me sad. I am sorry if this disagrees with some people. I hope that the people around here understand. But I am going to buy all the stuff that I need to give my next baby a good home and then I am calling Adam over at 8ballpyhtons.com

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hoax

then I am calling Adam over at 8ballpyhtons.com

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Good choice.... Adam has quality animals.... :gj:

If everyone who bought an unhealthy animal that had been taken from the wild from a pet store that sold them unnecessary and/or incorrect equipment to take care of it, turned around and returned that animal to the pet store and then gave their money to a reputable breeder (who will charge you less for a normal anyway), then the bad pet stores would not be able to continue selling animals in this way.

In other words, I think you made an excellent choice. I haven't gotten a snake from Adam, but from everything I've heard, I'm sure you'll be pleased with anything you get from him.

Clarification - I don't think taking animals from the wild is all evil. I do think it is wrong that the stores often misrepresent them as captive bred and don't warn their customers that WC or CH animals can sometimes be harder to keep alive and healthy.

OMG I just realized what I really did. They don't care about the babies they will just sell it to some one who has NO CLUE and will not care to take care of him....
I can not believe I did that.