Soaking in water for days

[bads15]

its actually a good preventive measure to treat any new snake for mites when getting them home. also if you have others already, keep the new ones quarantined for 3 to 6 months in a different room. usually when a ball is soaking for that long its because they have mites, the bowl against them gives them a false sense of security ( more so then their hide ), or the air in their enclosure is too dry. some balls like to soak a lot but don't usually spend days in their bowls.

as far as the RI thing goes i cant help you there as none of mine have ever had one so i have no experience there.

btw. cloudy eyes is not the only sine of shedding. also you will notice their skin feels dryer ( almost crisp ) compared to normal and their bellies will turn a pinkish red hue. occasionally they can be pretty grumpy during this stage.

[singingtothewheat]

I agree, provent-a-mite is a GREAT product.
I also agree that you may have mites even though you think you don't. They can be sneaky little devils.
You can often see them in the water bowl and they look like little tiny specks of pepper. They like to lay their eggs in the upper corners of cages so you have to clean really well.

I have had mites. Most people who have snakes deal with them at one point or another. This is why you should always quarantine new animals. On top of everything else my little A.T.B. rescue had wrong with her due to horrible care, she also had mites. They are a pain in the A__ but you can get rid of them.

[bads15]

http://www.vpi.com/publications/the_...of_snake_mites
read this about mites. i found it to be very informative.
edit: also this
http://www.reptilescanada.com/forums...ad.php?t=36068

[PolkaDotPenguin]

Thanks guys/gals!

So we ended up drilling some more holes into his container and everything seems to be alright. I really think it was just a little to hot in there for him, and he was in his bowl to cool off. I also added a bigger stack of paper towels between the pad and between the 2 snake cages since they are stacked on top of each other. I thought that maybe the heating pad from the upper cage was all warming his cage to so he was getting double heat.
After making new holes he hasnt touched the water bowl again.
Everything seems totally fine now

[revxus]

Does microwaving enclosure furniture work?

[snakesRkewl]

Thanks guys/gals!

So we ended up drilling some more holes into his container and everything seems to be alright. I really think it was just a little to hot in there for him, and he was in his bowl to cool off.

"Thinking" the temperature is too hot tells me you might not be using a thermometer?
A thermometer is a must, and so is knowing the temperature the snake is living in.
Yes snakes will soak to hide from the heat, and also from mites, and also to shed(I have several that soak every time during shed) but you have got to know your temperatures not just think you know

And to the poster who said 105 degree water to soak in a closed tub
That is 20 degrees hotter than necessary.
85 degrees of 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water in a closed tub with a towel at the bottom for the snake to rub against.

[OfficialSavage]

It could be mites, but I have had balls do this without a mite problem. Sometimes they just do this kind of stuff because they want to.

[Joey'D]

im not saying its not mites, but when i go to a few of my buddies houses whom have a carpet and some balls, most always the carpet is always fully submerged aside from his nose.
the balls usually take a dip as well.
i wouldnt freak, may be about to shed ?
but i would for sure switch to paper towel just to see what may pop up so you can have a better time trying to feel out what your dealing with here.


i can only hope you didnt buy him from a pet store, ive seen some horrible things on balls and snakes in pet stores, even some of the best ive been too.