Sick girl? Mites, maybe?

I first noticed that something was wrong when she started stargazing. A few nights ago I noticed her stretching her jaw and I figured she might just be yawning. This morning she did it again, and there is no doubt in my mind she was stargazing.

She squirms a lot when I hold her, so I can't get a good view, but after ten minutes of careful inspection, she seems to have a mucous buildup around her mouth.

I saw black dots around her face. Could be mites, but they weren't moving and they were black, not brownish red like I've heard. When my babies are concerned, I have been known to see things or overreact, so this may be nothing.

Her enclosure is clean, the humidity around a constant 50%. Her heat pad is under the warm hide, and is on a rheostat. It's usually 90-95*, but someone turned it up last night without me knowing, and she spent the night in the cold hide, which is at 75-80*. She usually has a bowl of clean water available, but I recently took it out, if she really does have mites.



I am no doubt going to take her to a vet, but I may not be able to until this weekend or next week. In the meanwhile, is there anything I can do?

[QUOTE=Crazy4Herps;1006535]She squirms a lot when I hold her, so I can't get a good view, but after ten minutes of careful inspection, she seems to have a mucous buildup around her mouth.QUOTE]

Cheesy looking stuff?

I've never had RI but always heard it looks like a cheesy drainage.

I have delt with mites before and the best advice I can give is to clean out the cage completely and use paper towel or newspaper for substrate. Allow the animal a water bowl so that if she wants to soak she can. If she has mites you will see them moving on her and she will soak to try and get rid of them. Also what I did to fight the mites was to every 3 days clean the cage and the bowl with a bleach solution and redo the paper.

As for the animal I got a Ivermectin solution from the vet. You spray it all over the animal once every two weeks. The solution was of such a low concentration that it woul not harm the snake. If you can get this I suggest soaking the animal in a bath of warm water with some olive oil. Keep this up and in about 2-3 months they should be gone.

As for the stargazing if it is that I would be worried about IBD, Inclusion Body Disease. This is fatal 100% of the time. Really the only way to test if with a blood test. I really hope that is not what she has.

I hope this helps :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jorshaw

As for the stargazing if it is that I would be worried about IBD, Inclusion Body Disease. This is fatal 100% of the time. Really the only way to test if with a blood test. I really hope that is not what she has.

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Thats like the a.i.d.s. of the reptile world but it's only passed on with contact from infected animals. Have you gotten any new animals or been somewhere in contact with them? Thats why shows always have germ-x gel. As far as mites......just PAM the hell out of them, works everytime. The star gazing is something one of my morphs has been doing since I've had him and he is fine. Just remember....When in doubt, take them to the vet.

Are you sure it is star gazing and not just lifting up its head to breathe better? Sounds like an RI. I would raise your hot side a few degrees and change substrate to paper towels. Then to the vet!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Are you sure it is star gazing and not just lifting up its head to breathe better? Sounds like an RI. I would raise your hot side a few degrees and change substrate to paper towels. Then to the vet!

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i agree, stargazing is a genetic defect. it doesn't just start one day.

Holding head up, yawning, and mucous are ALL classic signs of respiratory infection. Sounds rather advanced, and it WILL kill a snake. You need to get it to a vet as soon as possible. Make sure your temps are spot on if not a LITTLE bit high, and that your humidity is around 60-70% as well.

As far as the black spots, they could be mites. See if you can remove one with a q-tip and take a look under a magnifying glass. If its a bug, chances are its mites.

The symptoms you described, though, are from the RI and it needs to be treated NOW.

Steve

RI.

To the vet.

Be sure you use a paper towel or newsprint substrate. Clean up any spilled water. Keep you humidity and temps spot on. Temps being a little warmer could help.

Just keep a close eye on your snake and your snake should be fine, as long as you see a vet.

Mike

Thank you so much, everybody.

It very well might be an RI. I will definitely get her into the vet as soon as possible, probably this weekend.

I am kicking myself in the head for not noticing this sooner. She's been fasting so I've been minimizing handling.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jorshaw
As for the stargazing if it is that I would be worried about IBD, Inclusion Body Disease. This is fatal 100% of the time. Really the only way to test if with a blood test. I really hope that is not what she has.

Thats like the a.i.d.s. Of the reptile world but it's only passed on with contact from infected animals. Have you gotten any new animals or been somewhere in contact with them? Thats why shows always have germ-x gel. As far as mites......just PAM the hell out of them, works everytime. The star gazing is something one of my morphs has been doing since I've had him and he is fine. Just remember....When in doubt, take them to the vet.

I have heard of IBD. I really really really really hope she doesn't have it! But she hasn't been in contact with any other snakes in her life, as far as I know. I got my beardie a few months ago, but they never have direct contact and I make sure to wash my hands between handling the two of them.

Again, thank you all so much!

Make sure she has fresh water at all times.

Take her to the vet ASAP. You'll probably have to give her some shots. :]

Okay. Poor girl. I feel so so so so guilty.

Might I be given a perscription? Might I have to give her medicine orally?

As you stated earlier she's foaming at the mouth, which means it's advanced, so you will have to give antibiotic injections. check out you tube for videos that demonstrate this before you go to the vet, so that you can familiarize yourself with the procedure.

Yaaaay! I finally scheduled a vet appointment for next Tuesday. :)

you cant get her in sooner? RI is quite serious. its a cold yes, but unlike us snakes do not have diaphragms, so they cannot cough to clear there air passage. this is why they stargaze, which isnt a good sign, because this means the snake already feels its breathing is being impaired by congestion.

I can't. This is not a reptile vet, it is an animal clinic, and the only vet there that is certified to care for reptiles has limited openings... and then there's lots of stuff going on with my family, and we only have one driver for all 5 of us. (I can't drive)

keep a good eye on her and take the advice above for temp and humidity. if she starts to decline rapidly. get her in immediatly :)

I have put back the water bowl... I'm also disinfecting everything in the bin every few days to keep her clean... but she is really weird about temperatures. As soon as the temperature under her warm hide hits 92*, she moves to the cool hide. I turn it down a few degrees, and she goes back. It's at around 90* right now.



Does anybody have any ideas about how I should bring her? In a pillowcase? It's kinda chilly here and I don't want her to get cold.

When I had her out for a few moments to make sure she was ok, I heard a little wheeze.

I wish I had a way of making her feel better, even a little bit, until Tuesday, when I'll get some antibiotics and whatever else the vet thinks she should have.

I was thinking, could I put her in a small bin (with air holes) in the bathroom while I run the shower on hot? I was thinking the warm vapor air might help clear out her lungs.

I would try to up your ambient temp a bit since she is picky about the hot side.

I wouldn't do the shower thing, too much humidity can also cause a RI.

As for transporting her to the vet, I would put her in a pillowcase. If its cold you can put her under your shirt (I am cheap like that). Or you can get a couple hand warmers, put them at the bottom of a tub, fill the tub with crumpled newspaper, and put the pillowcased snake on top.

:D I took her in for the appointment today. It was all around great. First of all, the vet was great. I've never had to take either of my cold-blooded kids to the vet before. I've always known the place that does reptiles, but I haven't known if it's any good. Anyways, the vet there than specialized in reptiles really knows her stuff and is really nice and experianced.

The vet agreed in my hypothesis of a RI. She told me about a new type of antibiotic injection that lasts 2 weeks. Apparently it's only been around for a year or so. It is like $50, but I think it's worth it so I don't have to give her meds. So, just that one injection. I'm taking her in again in 2 weeks for another injection and a checkup. I'm just so glad that I don't have to give her any type of meds...

That was the first time I've ever seen her get mad enough to snap. Luckily, the vets holding her really knew what they were doing and didn't get tagged. Although I don't entirely blame her, having a needle poked in between her scales.

Anyways, I'm very pleased about how it all turned out. :D

thats great to hear.

and i dont know why but i think nippy BP's are so adorable lol