BP Soaking

[april34]

For the last 2 days Sarah has been curled up in her water bowl out in open if i take her bow out of the cage she comes out and acts
normali am concerned about her soaking so much she is about 4 yrs old very mellow i got her 2mos ago she was a domestic rescue no problems eating from first week we got her never hisses very curious we hold her daily ,let her roam around bed daily she has an out door wire cage for hot days weput her out for a couple of hours in the sun and she just hangs on the tree and basks so why is she now soaking she eats 1 medium rat/week never missed a meal

[xdeus]

Welcome to the forum, April!

You might want to take a look in the water bowl and see if you notice any tiny specks. Balls will often soak if they have mites in order to seek relief, but you should be able to spot them in the water bowl or around your snakes head. If you line her cage with white paper towels, you should be able to spot them clearly as well.

Another common reason for soaking would be if you kept her enclosure too warm. How are you measuring and regulating temps?

[Sadie]

Could also be scale rot- look for pink areas on her belly.

[lillyorchid]

The first two things that pop in to my head right away is
1.) mites
2.) may be getting ready to shed.

Mites look like little black pin head dots that well move. If you do see little black dots on her, in her water dish, or around in her tank... I'd recommend getting some Provent a Mite and just follow the directions on the can word by word and she should be mite free very soon.

Here is a picture of a mite on one of my snakes:



You can get PAM here: http://www.absolutereptile.com/supplies.asp




Also as for shedding goes, I'd highly recommend checking this thread out on the shedding process: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28794



Welcome and good luck!
Keep us posted.

[Kilo]

Hmm... this is making me think. My girl Riley has been soaking constantly for the past week or so... Her cage has been treated twice with PAM, her belly is pearly white and her temp/hum are perfect. I have had her for about a month and she has yet to shed. How long should I let this soaking continue before I worry?

[april34]

First let me say thank you to all of you who responded so quickly.
when i looked at her belly with a flashlight she looked like she had a slightly pink belly but w/o light it looked pretty normal i will have my son check when he gets home in a couple of hours ,i didn't really see the water i poured it out before i put it on the bed to see what she would do.and she shed about 3-5weeks ago i don't see anything moving on her but i am going to clean her tank which was custom made with wood a waterproof bottom and glass doors
the temp runs between 76-80 and she seems comfortable she has a 2.5 ft 3 branch sanded tree that she lays in for a few hours a day

i'm not sure i would know a mite if i saw it shes so many colors ,scale rot?????? her cage is dry always if it is mites what do i do???????????

[lillyorchid]

Okay well her temps are to low for one. You want a warm and a cool side. The warm side should be 90-92 and the cool side should be in the low 80's. Anything below 75 is not good.

As for if she does have mites, I'd put white paper towels down in her tank and just look for any little black dots like would look like a grain of peper. If you see them, then like I wrote above, you should get some Provent a Mite and just follow the directions. That stuff works GREAT on getting drid of the little buggies!

[april34]

P.S I am very attached to her she has the greatest temperment ,seems well adjusted for being an adult when we got her i would be devastated if something happened to her

[daniel1983]

What type of hides do you have in the enclosure? If there are improper hides in an enclosure, the snake may seek refuge in its water bowl because it does not feel secure in the hide.

[april34]

can mites be treated by a iodine bath??? ive also been told mineral oil to treat heat sensors around eyes???...