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  1. #1
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    Incredible allergic reaction to rats, please help!

    Ok so I’ve had snakes on and off for awhile.
    I bred rats years ago but stopped because I developed some mild allergies to them.
    Fast forward 5 or so years and here we are.
    I thawed and heated my rats in water, as I always have. Shortly after I’m wheezing, coughing, nose running. Couldn’t lay down or sleep or walk around, I was exhausted from breathing but still wasn’t getting enough air. Super scary.
    So 2 days ago fed my snakes, small rat medium rat, one for each.

    Used a special bowl, used elbow length rubber gloves, opened all the windows.
    Same reaction, slightly less worse, used broncaid an hour before but had to use it every 6 hours or so to keep the labored breathing away.

    So next week I’m going to try to thaw heat AND feed outside on the porch. I’ll bring the home water out there, bring the snakes outside to feed in feeding tubs (they eat in cage but they aren’t fussy)
    Honestly though I need to figure something out.
    If a ball python is eating a medium rat, could I just feed tons of mice? Is there another feeder I can use? I’m not allergic to mice, or anything else that I know of, just rats. Specifically I think it’s the urine from the rats.
    Maybe the hot water is vaporizing the allergens, perhaps using heat lamps?

    I’m supposed to be getting a baby bci soon, currently on mice.
    I’m freaking out that I have to cancel that snake and rehome my other 2.
    How the heck can I prevent this guys? I love my snakes and haven’t even started to look for re homes, but I also don’t wana go to the er over snake food.

  2. #2
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    Incredible allergic reaction to rats, please help!

    Digging through here I found people talking positively about layne labs.

    Their frozen chicks might be too small for my bigger snake, but are the right weight range for my smaller bp.
    That said guinea pigs.... I know I’m not allergic to them, have a range of sizes so no scent issue down the road, they seem like the logical option, as the rabbits are too big for my smallest.
    This might be the answer I needed.
    The problem is shipping sucks considering I wouldn’t be able to get more than 5 or 6 of each (space in freezer until I get a new freezer just for feeders)
    A local place says they can maybe get quail, layne labs also has those so maybe that’s a better option?
    Last edited by Solidsnek; 12-31-2019 at 07:58 PM.

  3. #3
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    You "can" (theoretically) feed a bunch of mice instead of a solo rat to a snake, but many BPs balk at eating more than one item per meal. All you can do is try & see. Mostly feeding one larger rat is convenient,
    not any sort of essential in terms of nutrition...rats & mice are quite similar. (though some try to insist otherwise...)

    You could try other prey items...maybe baby rabbits, or chicks, or guinea pigs or hamsters... Your BCI is going to be a larger problem to feed, just because it will grow much larger than a BP. So sorry you're having
    this problem...you definitely need to stay away from rats. Severe allergies are nothing to fool with...sure hope you don't become allergic to other rodents now too.

    There ARE plenty of wonderful snakes that eat only mice...like the various rat & corn snakes, gopher/bull/pine snakes, king & milk snakes, rosy boas, Australian spotted pythons (-if you aren't familiar, they stay small-
    about the size of an adult corn snake). Personally, I prefer the more active colubrids myself...& their care is easier too (most don't require the higher heat & temperatures of BPs & boas) & stay a manageable size.

    One problem is that BPs tend to be finicky eaters...whereas I can feed such various prey to a rat snake (& others) & they wouldn't bat an eyelash even if they had them. BCI tend to be easy to please too,
    but they do get bigger & harder to fill up. Good luck!
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 12-31-2019 at 08:06 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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  5. #4
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    Re: Incredible allergic reaction to rats, please help!

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    You "can" (theoretically) feed a bunch of mice instead of a solo rat to a snake, but many BPs balk at eating more than one item per meal. All you can do is try & see. Mostly feeding one larger rat is convenient,
    not any sort of essential in terms of nutrition...rats & mice are quite similar. (though some try to insist otherwise...)

    You could try other prey items...maybe baby rabbits, or chicks, or guinea pigs or hamsters... Your BCI is going to be a larger problem to feed, just because it will grow much larger than a BP. So sorry you're having
    this problem...you definitely need to stay away from rats. Severe allergies are nothing to fool with...sure hope you don't become allergic to other rodents now too.

    There ARE plenty of wonderful snakes that eat only mice...like the various rat & corn snakes, gopher/bull/pine snakes, king & milk snakes, rosy boas, Australian spotted pythons (-if you aren't familiar, they stay small-
    about the size of an adult corn snake). Personally, I prefer the more active colubrids myself...& their care is easier too (most don't require the higher heat & temperatures of BPs & boas) & stay a manageable size.
    I really have to try to find something before getting different snakes. And I’ve already totally fallen for this new bci.
    The local store sells the quail and seems like layne has them fairly cheap. I’ve tried the mice and my snakes won’t eat the required amount in a single feed, and the few days after they don’t seem interested as well so it’s a constant feed/catchup to the needed weight issue.

    Luckily with my two current they seem to eat anything on feeding day,
    So maybe this will work. Worst case back to corn snakes I guess

  6. #5
    bcr229's Avatar
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    The BI will actually be easier to deal with, as it will happily chow down on a variety of feeders, including chicks, mice, rabbit kits, etc. They don't have to ever eat rats.

    Unfortunately you may have to rehome your BP's as it sounds like your allergies are worsening with time and repeated exposures. My only suggestion there is to go to the doctor, get tested for the exact allergen, and see if there is a course of treatment to mitigate your reactions. If not you could ask for a prescription for an epi-pen, just in case the inhaler doesn't work.

    Also have you tried oral OTC antihistamines, taken an hour before you start warming the rats? Benadryl is usually the go-to but since it causes drowsiness I would try something different.

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  8. #6
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    Incredible allergic reaction to rats, please help!

    Quote Originally Posted by bcr229 View Post
    The BI will actually be easier to deal with, as it will happily chow down on a variety of feeders, including chicks, mice, rabbit kits, etc. They don't have to ever eat rats.

    Unfortunately you may have to rehome your BP's as it sounds like your allergies are worsening with time and repeated exposures. My only suggestion there is to go to the doctor, get tested for the exact allergen, and see if there is a course of treatment to mitigate your reactions. If not you could ask for a prescription for an epi-pen, just in case the inhaler doesn't work.

    Also have you tried oral OTC antihistamines, taken an hour before you start warming the rats? Benadryl is usually the go-to but since it causes drowsiness I would try something different.
    Yeah I take a broncaid 1hr before and it helps. Broncaid is basically ephedrine tablets and super bad to take regularly, but does an amazing job fairly quickly and doesn’t make me sleepy, but it does keep me from sleeping.

    but the last few times it’s been a several day recovery with the most recent making me very ill and tired, to the point of interfering with my work. That’s a huge no.
    I’m going to try the quail if I can’t get them soon enough I’ll take the snakes to a friends and have them care for them until they come in. If they won’t eat those, I guess I’ll rehome them :/
    I’m not super worried about the bci, it’s fairly small still, and yeah they seem to eat whatever lol.
    Totally sucks, but I do understand my health > my snakes, but that absolutely sucks.
    Last edited by Solidsnek; 12-31-2019 at 10:33 PM.

  9. #7
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    Truly wish you the best outcome, but you have to take care of yourself first. I agree, the BCI should be easy...but BPs, not so much.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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  11. #8
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    Re: Incredible allergic reaction to rats, please help!

    Man that sucks, I’ve never heard of such an allergy. Do you live alone? If not maybe you can have someone else prepare the food and feed the snakes. Otherwise you could get a respirator. Probably sounds dumb but it might work.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  13. #9
    BPnet Veteran Caitlin's Avatar
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    I hope this isn't too off-the-wall, but what about ASF? I'd suspect their dander and hair is significantly different from the domestic strain of Norway rat commonly sold as feeders - perhaps the difference is significant enough that you can handle being around them.

    If it does come down to looking at other types of snakes, I'd like to cosign the recommendation that you consider the Antaresia pythons - they are hardy, active, curious little snakes with big personalities.
    1.0 Jungle Carpet Python 'Ziggy'
    1.0 Bredl's Python 'Calcifer'
    0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa 'Mara'
    1.1 Tarahumara Mountain Boas 'Paco' and 'Frida'
    2.0 Dumeril's Boas 'Gyre' and 'Titan'
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    1.0 Green Tree Python (Aru) 'Jade'

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  15. #10
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    Re: Incredible allergic reaction to rats, please help!

    Quote Originally Posted by Caitlin View Post
    If it does come down to looking at other types of snakes, I'd like to cosign the recommendation that you consider the Antaresia pythons - they are hardy, active, curious little snakes with big personalities.
    Exactly! There are a ton of snakes out there that don't need to eat rats. My BP's are the only picky eaters. Everything else - if it smells even remotely like food, they'll hit it.

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