Help! Mites

[Bogertophis]

Ugh okay, sorry for no updates in a bit! Feeling a bit discouraged lately, I'm not sure how to help her. On Thursday it'll have been three weeks since she ate. I'm gonna be honest, she's looking pretty skinny and it's really freaking me out. She's been out and about a lot, it looks like she's searching for food but I'm not sure now because she's not eating. I'm going to attempt to feed her tomorrow night, I'm FINALLY getting some fuzzies for her tonight. If you have any more ideas on how to get her to eat they would be really greatly appreciated!!

I've been wondering how it's going...so sorry to hear "not so good". She sounds hungry, I'll keep my fingers crossed...gosh, I've never had this much trouble feeding
TPs, though admittedly I've never had to treat any for mites either. That was a huge setback...

How do you thaw the pinks/fuzzies? In cold water (only) until soft (by feel) I hope?

[Ditto]

I've been wondering how it's going...so sorry to hear "not so good". She sounds hungry, I'll keep my fingers crossed...gosh, I've never had this much trouble feeding
TPs, though admittedly I've never had to treat any for mites either. That was a huge setback...

How do you thaw the pinks/fuzzies? In cold water (only) until soft (by feel) I hope?

I've been just putting them in warm water until they feel squishy like I do with my bp's food, I had no idea the water should be cold! I hope that's not what's been causing this..

[Bogertophis]

I dunno, but try thawing in cold from now on, ok? Warmth causes spoilage & snakes have way better noses than we do.
And then pinch-damage the nose slightly right before you offer it, to release a bit of scent.

Gosh I wish you lived next door...it would be so much easier to help.

TPs don't need their food warmed up prior to offering...they don't have heat sensing pits like BPs do. But IMO, even prey for BPs
should be fully thawed in cold water first, before warming briefly to entice them to grab. The thing is, since you thawed in warm
water, & then had to leave the pinkies overnight in hopes she'd eat, they spoiled faster & that might have made the difference.

You could also try a live pinky or fuzzy, but you shouldn't have to if she's been raised on f/t.

[Ditto]

I dunno, but try thawing in cold from now on, ok? Warmth causes spoilage & snakes have way better noses than we do.
And then pinch-damage the nose slightly right before you offer it, to release a bit of scent.

Gosh I wish you lived next door...it would be so much easier to help.

TPs don't need their food warmed up prior to offering...they don't have heat sensing pits like BPs do. But IMO, even prey for BPs
should be fully thawed in cold water first, before warming briefly to entice them to grab. The thing is, since you thawed in warm
water, & then had to leave the pinkies overnight in hopes she'd eat, they spoiled faster & that might have made the difference.

You could also try a live pinky or fuzzy, but you shouldn't have to if she's been raised on f/t.

Okay, definitely gonna be thawing in cold water from now on, thank you! I really had no idea that would have an effect.
Man, that'd be so great, I'd love to know someone like you irl. Where I am right now I don't know anyone else with even the slightest interest in herps. I'm extremely grateful for all you've done to help me with through this forum, though

[Ditto]

This will be the last real update on little Orla
Last night I was getting her fuzzy mouse ready, thawed in cold water, pinch damaged the nose, I was feeling really hopeful until I walked into the room where she was & smelled something really awful. I opened up her tank & she was just laying in the middle of the tank wrapped around her water dish and not moving, I touched her to see if she was okay & there was no response. I picked her up & it was very clear she had been gone for at least several hours. She looked deflated, her eyes were conpletely glazed over & her face was almost shriveled.
I am completely heartbroken, I was her sole caretaker & I failed her. I feel like I could have done more, I wish I would have taken her to the vet & done more to get her to eat & checked on her more often.. The last time I checked on her before I found her was Tuesday afternoon & she looked thin enough that I was concerned but I never thought that she was so malnourished that she would die..
I just feel like I've completely failed as a keeper & I'm so so sorry that she had to go through all this. Thank you for all of your help, I'm sorry that it was apparently wasted on me

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[Bogertophis]

Oh no! I'm SO sorry to hear this. I have a feeling that the mites (or the mite treatments) were just too much for your little Orla. You did your best, but sometimes
it's just not enough. I hope you don't give up...we've all lost snakes, and we'll never know if there was any more that we could have done, or if it was just out of our
hands. I'm a little heartbroken too, to be honest...I looked forward to your having a great experience with her. Don't give up, you're a caring owner.

Rest in peace, little Orla. See you over the Rainbow Bridge.

[WhompingWillow]

I'm so sorry. Please don't beat yourself up too much, as hard as that might be. It sounds like you were doing everything you could to both get rid of the mites and get her feeding.

[tttaylorrr]

This will be the last real update on little Orla
Last night I was getting her fuzzy mouse ready, thawed in cold water, pinch damaged the nose, I was feeling really hopeful until I walked into the room where she was & smelled something really awful. I opened up her tank & she was just laying in the middle of the tank wrapped around her water dish and not moving, I touched her to see if she was okay & there was no response. I picked her up & it was very clear she had been gone for at least several hours. She looked deflated, her eyes were conpletely glazed over & her face was almost shriveled.
I am completely heartbroken, I was her sole caretaker & I failed her. I feel like I could have done more, I wish I would have taken her to the vet & done more to get her to eat & checked on her more often.. The last time I checked on her before I found her was Tuesday afternoon & she looked thin enough that I was concerned but I never thought that she was so malnourished that she would die..
I just feel like I've completely failed as a keeper & I'm so so sorry that she had to go through all this. Thank you for all of your help, I'm sorry that it was apparently wasted on me

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oh you poor thing...

i went through a mite issue with two babies this past winter. we were not successful. it crushed me.

please don't beat yourself up. use this time to grieve, reflect, learn, and move forward.

PM if you need to; im here.