is she sick?

Ok heres the list of problems....
Shes been in shed for about a week and a half and alreay went through the cloudy stage. shes cleared up quite a bit but never actually started shedding. Shes refused last weeks meal. I just swapped her very old cedar bedding for some aspen bedding. For about 4 or 5 days shes been acting wierd and hasnt left her water bowl unless i pull her out. Yesterday i pulled her out and she sat there for about 5 mins stretching and realigning her jaws. No signs of mouth rot. i was thinking it was 1 of 2 things....
1. i had a small breakout of fleas (i believe they were fleas) in my tank but ive completely changed everything and scrubbed it out nice

2. the new bedding is upsetting her and shes not used to it (but she started acting wierd before the change).

Please advise...

Ps... I dont know the exact humidity but i do know it has went up do to the addition of a bigger water bowl and a wet towel over the top. temps are 84-90 as ive always had them

She's just having a slow shed, sounds like.

Check for mites, though. Fleas don't bother reptiles. Perhaps they were springtails, if they were jumping.

so she ate yesterday... but still sittin in the water. startin to peel a bit but i think the water is stopping her from drying up enough to shed. should i pull out the water dish and put in a smaller one?

As far I know, you should never keep bps on cedar, its toxic isn't it?

First of all I think that cedar as bedding is a no no:colbert: They say it can kill bp's. Second of all sounds like mites they don't get fleas. Also don't take the water bowl, it will come out of the bowl if and when it is ready to shed and it might be soaking to kill the mites!

She does not need to "dry out" to shed.
Sounds like you have mites.
Do some research, shedding does not happen in only a few days, it is a process that takes over a week from start to finish.
Snakes look like they go back to "normal" before they shed.
If she has cleared up and has not yet shed just wait a day or 2 and she will have.
Should be a one piece shed if she has been soaking that much.
*HINT* The reason she is soaking so much is because she has mites, NOT because she is shedding.
-Steven

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Izzys Keeper

Ok heres the list of problems....
Shes been in shed for about a week and a half and alreay went through the cloudy stage. shes cleared up quite a bit but never actually started shedding. Shes refused last weeks meal. I just swapped her very old cedar bedding for some aspen bedding. For about 4 or 5 days shes been acting wierd and hasnt left her water bowl unless i pull her out. Yesterday i pulled her out and she sat there for about 5 mins stretching and realigning her jaws. No signs of mouth rot. i was thinking it was 1 of 2 things....
1. i had a small breakout of fleas (i believe they were fleas) in my tank but ive completely changed everything and scrubbed it out nice

2. the new bedding is upsetting her and shes not used to it (but she started acting wierd before the change).

Please advise...
Ps... I dont know the exact humidity but i do know it has went up do to the
addition of a bigger water bowl and a wet towel over the top. temps are 84-90 as ive always had them

---

Hello:
You should have something to read the humidity in the tank, you can pull the snake out of the water and check in the water bowl for little black specs, if you see them, than the snake has mites. Your best bet is to google PAM. It can be ordered offline and is the most recommended around the site.

The reason I say you need to buy something to measure humidity, is because your snake will ned a constant 60% humidity. When the shed cycle starts, you should bump this up.. Few mists a day should do the trick.

Do you have the snake in an aquarium or a tub? And if you believe the snake may have mites, take out the bedding and put them on paper towel, this makes it easier to tell if the snake has mites.

Your ambient temps seem a bit high as well. I believe 82-84 is recommended.

Cheers,

Mike

Help with the ceder issue:

http://www.reptilecare.com/substrate.htm

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/guine...odshavings.htm

Quote:

---

2. the new bedding is upsetting her and shes not used to it (but she started acting wierd before the change).

---

Pine Shavings: Recently it has come to light that pine shavings can be toxic. They give off fumes that can be harmful. Not as bad as cedar but I won't use it. DO NOT EVER USE CEDAR BEDDING!!! Cedar bedding is very toxic to reptiles and will kill them! Actually it is toxic to the small mammals it is generally used for too.

This came right from the link that was posted here. This is the reason she may have been acting weird before changing here to aspen! She was being poisoned!

I'm glad you caught onto cedar being toxic before it was too late.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by stevenkeogh

She does not need to "dry out" to shed.
Sounds like you have mites.
Do some research, shedding does not happen in only a few days, it is a process that takes over a week from start to finish.
Snakes look like they go back to "normal" before they shed.
If she has cleared up and has not yet shed just wait a day or 2 and she will have.
Should be a one piece shed if she has been soaking that much.
*HINT* The reason she is soaking so much is because she has mites, NOT because she is shedding.
-Steven

---

she doesnt have mites... there WAS fleas in the tank. must have came from a rat i brought in. the bedding might not have been cedar idk it just sounds familliar. i know it was a bedding for snakes and i bought it at a pet store. she was soaking for about a week when i posted this. I have done tons of research and have had this snake for a full yr now. i took her out and just by holding her most of the skin came off. like a tube sock:gj:. shes up and about now and all seems well. sorry if i confused anyone with my decription. and thanks a ton to all who helped !

i just checked in with petsmart and it was in fact Zilla "Douglass fir bark" and NOT cedar. Sorry bout the lack of info on my part. But i did make sure in the first place to get a suitable bedding for her so all is well. i guess i just got the names confused.

If she was on cedar for a year I recommend seeing a vet to make sure she isn't suffering from an early RI or skin problems.

Just to make sure that it wasn't mites, I suggest treating the cage with a can of prevent-a-mite.
http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59
Ball pythons don't usually soak before a shed.. maybe after if they had shedding problems. If she was soaking and you saw bugs in the cage I'm guessing she has mites. They almost always soak when they have mites.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

If she was on cedar for a year I recommend seeing a vet to make sure she isn't suffering from an early RI or skin problems.

Just to make sure that it wasn't mites, I suggest treating the cage with a can of prevent-a-mite.
http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59
Ball pythons don't usually soak before a shed.. maybe after if they had shedding problems. If she was soaking and you saw bugs in the cage I'm guessing she has mites. They almost always soak when they have mites.

---

she finished shedding and she doesnt have the "black spots" that indicate mites. water is clean with no mites. i put her in her cage after pulling her shed off and she went in her hide for the first time in a week. shes fine. but by the looks of it now a bigger hide may be in her future lol. shes getting so big. thanks guys

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Izzys Keeper

she finished shedding and she doesnt have the "black spots" that indicate mites. water is clean with no mites. i put her in her cage after pulling her shed off and she went in her hide for the first time in a week. shes fine. but by the looks of it now a bigger hide may be in her future lol. shes getting so big. thanks guys

---

I still recommend getting the PAM.
I use it even without the indication of mites, let alone any sort of bugs in the enclosure.

I don't think any animal that was on cedar is fine, but you don't seem to be hearing me about that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

I still recommend getting the PAM.
I use it even without the indication of mites, let alone any sort of bugs in the enclosure.

I don't think any animal that was on cedar is fine, but you don't seem to be hearing me about that.

---

I already corrected myself a few times that it was fir bark and not cedar that she was in but you dont seem to be hearing me about that

sorry for the sarcasm, but honestly i really do appreciate everyones concern for my snake. thanks alot guys. you have wonderfully answered all of my questions and im sure izzy and i are going to benefit from your help. again sorry for the attitude im just a bit stressed out here from a bunch of stuff irrelevant to the topic.

maybe mites go to lllreptile.com there u can get mite off of reptile relief they both work good and kill mites :banana:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by thekid93

maybe mites go to lllreptile.com there u can get mite off of reptile relief they both work good and kill mites :banana:

---

they do? since when

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nixer

they do? Since when

---

lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Izzys Keeper

I just swapped her very old cedar bedding for some aspen bedding. For about 4 or 5 days shes been acting wierd and hasnt left her water bowl unless i pull her out. Yesterday i pulled her out and she sat there for about 5 mins stretching and realigning her jaws.

2. the new bedding is upsetting her and shes not used to it (but she started acting wierd before the change).

Please advise...

---

I have a BP that strongly dislikes Aspen. She will stay on top of her hide or on her branches and not touch or get close to the ground if i have Aspen as her substrate mixed in with it. She is also my only BP with these signs. Change the bedding and see if it helps. If not, it could be a humidity or pest issue.