Recommend herp treatments/supplies to have on hand?

Hey all!
I'm getting my first snakes soonish, and I'm also taking in a few more rescue reptiles, and a scoprion, and another frog, and it looks like another cat this month:O So I think it's about time I started stocking up on some treatments/supplies (I'm not even sure if they'd be called medicines?)
I keep hearing good things about Prevent-a-mite, but I can't find anywhere that'll ship it to Canada because it's flammable. I've seen various reptile mite treatments at pet stores, but to my knowledge, most of the stuff they sell is bogus. Are there any good brands? I've seen Zillas mite-off, Zoo meds Repti-mite, and a few others. And if they're all bogus, what kind of mite brands do you Canadians use? :confusd::confusd::confusd:
I've also seen different opinions about a shedding aid. Some say it's useless and a reptile sauna is the way to go, some say it really helps. I've only found zoo med's shedding aid so far.
I've also heard things about products to scent food with to encourage feeding, multi vitamins, and all sorts of odd treatments and concoctions. And I'm sure there's dozens I haven't even heard about. I found a couple things on Exclusive Snakes that look interesting, but I'm not sure if they'd be worth it? :confusd: http://www.exclusivesnakes.com/HealthCare.html
And I'm investing in a PE-2 temp gun, a nice scale and a snake hook, and maybe some other odds and ends if I find some cool stuff at the WCRE
So what kind of treatments/medicines do you always keep handy? Anything sold in a pet store that's actually useful? Or an awesome site (that ships to Canada) you'd recommend? Something general or something species specific? (I haven't had a need for any of these things yet so I'm a bit lost in the sea of information)
I see myself filling up the reptile room pretty quickly with rescues considering how many I've been contacted about already. So I'm hoping to keep myself well stocked.
Thanks a ton! :gj:

^^^^^ This is a great question; can't believe I haven't thought about it before....definitely subscribing for updates

Thing I have on hand

Scale
Probe kit
Chlorhexidine
PAM
Betadine
Dental floss
Elmer Glue
Temp Gun

shedding aid? lol this is the only shedding aid you need:
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/09/e7ahu9y7.jpg

mist with water once or twice a day when you notice they're going into shed. perfect sheds every time.

the pe2 temp gun is AWESOME. i was gonna suggest just that before i read you already had one. best $30 ive spent when it comes to my reptile tools.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Thing I have on hand

Scale
Probe kit
Chlorhexidine
PAM
Betadine
Dental floss
Elmer Glue

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The elmer glue stumped me.

not sure if reptilebasics ships to canada, but this stuff too. awesome
http://www.reptilebasics.com/F10SC-200ml

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Originally Posted by DestinyLynette

The elmer glue stumped me.

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It's used in case of moldy eggs ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheSnakeGeek

not sure if reptilebasics ships to canada, but this stuff too. awesome
http://www.reptilebasics.com/F10SC-200ml

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They don't :( I contacted the guy and he sent me to exclusive snakes instead.
I can skip out on the glue :P Haha. No eggs here! The number one rule in my reptile room is no hanky panky.
What about treatments for mites? I'm expecting I'll see them sooner or later, right?

Dont forget:
Tongs
Tweezers
Paper towels
...and for mites, i hear Reptile Relief from Natural Chemistry isnt bad, if you cant get PAM.

sent from my incubator

Any flea and mite spray for either humans or dogs works.

Also baby oil works too, for the snake not the bedding...


0.1.0 Normal Ball Python
0.1.0 Columbian B.C.I. 2013
1.0.0 EBV Red Group Pastel Hypo Jungle B.C.I. 2013

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Originally Posted by RockyGurly

They don't :( I contacted the guy and he sent me to exclusive snakes instead.
I can skip out on the glue :P Haha. No eggs here! The number one rule in my reptile room is no hanky panky.
What about treatments for mites? I'm expecting I'll see them sooner or later, right?

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PAM and F10 are available here in Toronto through All Reptiles, but I'm not sure if they will ship to the west coast or not.

Lucky! They look amazing!
I'm firing her an email right now :) Fingers crossed!

Cleaning

Disinfectant wipes
Dawn soap
New sponge
F10

Incase of a respiratory infection

Spare tub
Cool mist humidifier or a reptifogger.
F10 again (lol)
If no access to f10, a steam inhalant will work.

Everyday use

Hand sanitizer
Temp gun
Mister
Scale
Wipes
Extra substrate
Working table

That's pretty much much just my basics.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RockyGurly

Lucky! They look amazing!
I'm firing her an email right now :) Fingers crossed!

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Good Stuff! I'm sure Karen can work something out for you...

EDIT: Just spoke with her and they'll ship both products to the west coast.

I use RID to treat mites, and have used it for about 6 or 7 different snakes now (my rescues always seem to come with mites!) and have had great success each time. I don't know if you have it in Canada though, :( I get it from Walmart.

Some things I don't keep on hand because I work for an exotics vet, and so can easily get some of it, like betadine and chlorhexadine, but it's something that one should have available. "Shed-aids" are a waste of money; all you need is good humidity or a soak after a bad shed.

I don't mean to sound snotty when I ask this, but why are you taking in rescues when you've not even had a snake before? Even though I had a snake almost my entire life, I didn't start my rescue work until after I started working at the clinic I'm at now, got more experience, and realized how badly some snakes needed to be taken away from their stupid owners! :D If you don't have experience caring for sick ones, you'll need to make sure you have a lot of money on hand to take them to an exotics vet who actually knows what they are doing.

Some things I have specifically for rescue work, that the average owner doesn't need:

Repta-boost for carnivores/insectivores (I either inject it into whole prey or tube-feed)
Calcium and multi-vitamin powders (used for bearded dragons/tortoises)
spare UTH and thermostat for quarantine
feeding tubes
syringes


I know I'm forgetting things, though!

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Also baby oil works too, for the snake not the bedding.

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You don't want to use any type of oils on a snake, as even just a few minutes of it can cause their scales to slough off. I've taken in 2 rescues that were "treated" with oil, one was baby oil and the other was mineral oil. Both snakes' scales shed continuously but each scale just flaking off by itself, and didn't resolve til the next normal shed. Oh, and both still were loaded with mites!

I'm not planning on my first snakes to be rescues just because I've never had one (I have a friend who's been keeping hers in good health for years who doesn't want them anymore, so that's more of an adoption) But I do end up rescuing a lot of animals. 15 of my hermit crabs were rescues/adoptions, my gecko and frog and cat was, and I already have new rescues coming in soon.
Thanks for all the suggestions! :D I've got a nice shopping list going :)
But I have to ask, what's F10? A mite treatment or just a disinfectant?
And I'm guessing that Dawn is safe to use with reptiles? (it's been my understanding that soap is a no no in general, so I've been using really hot water for minor things and a 10:1 bleach solution for sanitizing)
And another quick question, since I'm already here, can I use certain things with multiple animals if I sanitize it before each use? I'm thinking about this for things like snake hooks, tweezers, tongs, bowls, that kind of thing.

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Originally Posted by Sita

I use RID to treat mites, and have used it for about 6 or 7 different snakes now (my rescues always seem to come with mites!) and have had great success each time. I don't know if you have it in Canada though, :( I get it from Walmart.

Some things I don't keep on hand because I work for an exotics vet, and so can easily get some of it, like betadine and chlorhexadine, but it's something that one should have available. "Shed-aids" are a waste of money; all you need is good humidity or a soak after a bad shed.

I don't mean to sound snotty when I ask this, but why are you taking in rescues when you've not even had a snake before? Even though I had a snake almost my entire life, I didn't start my rescue work until after I started working at the clinic I'm at now, got more experience, and realized how badly some snakes needed to be taken away from their stupid owners! :D If you don't have experience caring for sick ones, you'll need to make sure you have a lot of money on hand to take them to an exotics vet who actually knows what they are doing.

Some things I have specifically for rescue work, that the average owner doesn't need:

Repta-boost for carnivores/insectivores (I either inject it into whole prey or tube-feed)
Calcium and multi-vitamin powders (used for bearded dragons/tortoises)
spare UTH and thermostat for quarantine
feeding tubes
syringes


I know I'm forgetting things, though!



You don't want to use any type of oils on a snake, as even just a few minutes of it can cause their scales to slough off. I've taken in 2 rescues that were "treated" with oil, one was baby oil and the other was mineral oil. Both snakes' scales shed continuously but each scale just flaking off by itself, and didn't resolve til the next normal shed. Oh, and both still were loaded with mites!

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That's weird. My buddy bought a Petsmart normal and it had mites. Local breeder said use a VERY thin film of baby oil on the snake. So we did, and she is mite free and scales have never looked better.

Oh btw she had a nice shed about 2 weeks after and no sloughing scales.

Not saying its right or wrong but it worked very well for us.

Just my $0.02


0.1.0 Normal Ball Python
0.1.0 Columbian B.C.I. 2013
1.0.0 EBV Red Group Pastel Hypo Jungle B.C.I. 2013

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she had a nice shed about 2 weeks after

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This is probably why. It likely didn't do the same amount of damage because she shed so soon afterward, and shedding itself gets rid of most of the mites if you get the skin out of the cage quickly.

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I'm guessing that Dawn is safe to use with reptiles?

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I use Dawn in conjunction with the RID treatment to get rid of mites. Generally speaking, I scrub the cage in hot water and dish soap, rinse well, then spray lightly with RID. While washing the cage, the snake soaks in a little water, then while the cage drys after the RID spray, I wash the snake with Dawn. I just pour some in my hands, suds a little, and rub down every inch of the snake, then rinse VERY well. Snake goes into clean, treated enclosure. I will wash the snake once a day for a week, then clean and retreat the cage. For all but one of my snakes, this is all I did to completely get rid of the mites. That one snake I went another week of baths, and another retreat of the cage, and that was it.

Whoop whoop, she can order PAM and F10 for me 8) but I think I'll skip out on the F10 since I use a bleach solution

This is turning out to be a decent list, though I am curious about what the dental floss is for.

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Originally Posted by Virus

This is turning out to be a decent list, though I am curious about what the dental floss is for.

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For this http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...y-Graphic-Pics :gj:

I was wondering if it would have to do with something like that. Thank you for the link, I believe I've read it before, though I had forgotten about it.

So Deb, I can't help but to ask. Do your hatchlings prefer mint or cinnamon flavored floss? :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RockyGurly

Hey all!
I'm getting my first snakes soonish, and I'm also taking in a few more rescue reptiles, and a scoprion, and another frog, and it looks like another cat this month:O So I think it's about time I started stocking up on some treatments/supplies (I'm not even sure if they'd be called medicines?)
I keep hearing good things about Prevent-a-mite, but I can't find anywhere that'll ship it to Canada because it's flammable. I've seen various reptile mite treatments at pet stores, but to my knowledge, most of the stuff they sell is bogus. Are there any good brands? I've seen Zillas mite-off, Zoo meds Repti-mite, and a few others. And if they're all bogus, what kind of mite brands do you Canadians use? :confusd::confusd::confusd:
I've also seen different opinions about a shedding aid. Some say it's useless and a reptile sauna is the way to go, some say it really helps. I've only found zoo med's shedding aid so far.
I've also heard things about products to scent food with to encourage feeding, multi vitamins, and all sorts of odd treatments and concoctions. And I'm sure there's dozens I haven't even heard about. I found a couple things on Exclusive Snakes that look interesting, but I'm not sure if they'd be worth it? :confusd: http://www.exclusivesnakes.com/HealthCare.html
And I'm investing in a PE-2 temp gun, a nice scale and a snake hook, and maybe some other odds and ends if I find some cool stuff at the WCRE
So what kind of treatments/medicines do you always keep handy? Anything sold in a pet store that's actually useful? Or an awesome site (that ships to Canada) you'd recommend? Something general or something species specific? (I haven't had a need for any of these things yet so I'm a bit lost in the sea of information)
I see myself filling up the reptile room pretty quickly with rescues considering how many I've been contacted about already. So I'm hoping to keep myself well stocked.
Thanks a ton! :gj:

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Provent-a-mite is available at the reptile expos here in Ontario and I think a few people sell it online here. Original Listerine I have heard used for mites as well, never used it myself so cannot comment on safety or effectiveness.
Chlorhexidine gluconate if you can't locate F10 SC (There is a guy on reptilescanada.com that imports some and sells some off from time to time.) is another great pick-up.

Personal preference again but, nitrile gloves beat latex hands down and you can never have enough of those.

The one essential thing that I do not see listed here is the phone number of a good herp vet in your area. They are not as easy to find as you would think. It is better to do your research and find one before you need one.

Oh yea, that's a must for sure :P (I guess I thought it was obvious :oops: )