A little worried

[Kalitta]

Ok, heres how it goes. A few years ago I got bobo, never had a single problem with him and totally in love with him. I've always been wanting more but we lived on base and it was already illegal for us to have one. Well, we moved and now own a house. Since we were stable, I decided I wanted another snake so with our income tax money, I bought a w/c gravid girl. When she first got here I inspected her, set her up in a tank where all sides were covered, gave her hides and water bowls. She hates the hides, pushes them out of her way. loves the corner of the tank but not to be in a hide.

Here comes my problems, She had two good eggs, which we lost due to my kid thinking she was being helpful and turning the incubator up, but that's ok because now i have a male and a female and can try again another year. But the day after Hadiya had her eggs I went to inspect her and make sure she was ok. She hadn't shed and looks very glossy and dry to me. My husband helped me and we found her covered in ticks. i don't mean one or two but over the week after she laid her eggs we have pulled off over 35 ticks. I couldn't believe it. the few weeks before she laid her eggs I checked on her every day and never saw one. We treated her with tick and mite stuff, cleaned her cage. scrubbed her, soaked her.. everything everyone suggested. I try to wait a few days between treat ments and handling because it stresses her, but I feel so bad when I pick her up again and find more ticks. The seller just told me to use flea and tick stuff from wal mart and that the ticks were probably from my house. This upset me because I have cats, rabbits, another snake, and us humans in the house and none of us have ticks.

To top everything off, Hadiya won't eat, hasn't shed, and just yesterday i picked her up and found another tick.... I'm at my wits end with this. please let me know if you have any ideas that will help.

[spix14]

Well first off it sounds like you got a shady dealer. DO NOT use the flea stuff from wal mart, it is made for cats and dogs, not snakes. The ticks were from her being wild caught. Most wild caught snakes will have ticks, mites, and/or parasites when they come to you, especially if you don't get them from a reputable dealer. I would say take her into a vet, she needs to be checked for internal parasites anyway.

Did she lay any slugs? Or just the two eggs? What kind of cage do you have her in? What are the temps/humidity?

You can get some stuff called Prevent-a-mite, I'm fairly certain that it will kill ticks as well. Spray her enclosure down with it and keep her on newspaper for the time being so the creepy crawlies don't have anywhere to hide.

[frankykeno]

WC gravid females....not for the faint of heart or the newcomer to this hobby as you are now finding out. Where to start...

First, I hope you have this snake absolutely quarantined from your other snakes. Different room, different husbandry tools, no sharing of refused prey, etc.

Second, here's a link for Provent-A-Mite. It's worth every cent and whatever that "seller" told you about using dog and cats stuff that's totally untested as safe on reptiles is a load of doo doo. He can do what he likes with his snakes based on whatever his experience is....you're a person with not a great lot of experience and should stick with what is safe and for sure will work. Telling you the ticks came from you is that seller's way of being a jerk and moving blame away from him. WC's come often with ticks, mites, internal parasites and are often hard to get set up and eating for the inexperienced. I'd love to know this seller's name if you wish to share it publically or privately.

So get the snake quarantined if she isn't already. Do everything for your other snakes first, her always last, do not go back to the other snakes after you work with her. Order some Provent-A-Mite (you'll see it referred here as PAM). Use it EXACTLY as directed on the can. It does NOT go on the snake. If you have any questions about it's application, ask here first. I would say you'll probably be safest to treat all the reptile enclosures if you haven't been QT'ing this female.

Check our caresheets and threads on setting up a snake. Make sure she's set up correctly. WC adults often don't settle in well or easily. If you need help on that, please ask for help as they often take more specialized care than a captive born or captive hatched youngster.

I'd remove all loose bedding from her enclosure, basically just the snake, her water dish and two hides. Replace the bedding with layers of plain white paper towel. I like the Viva brand as it's cloth soft. Keep her on that until you are absolutely sure she's healthy, there are no mites, etc. and you've gotten a fecal sample to take to the vet.

Last step, find a vet to do a fecal float for you when she poops. You don't have to take the snake in, just collect the poop, put it in a ziploc baggie, keep it refridgerated (not frozen) and take to the vet as soon as possible. Most can do the tests while you wait and it usually costs around $30.00.

[dr del]

Hi,

I think these are the links Jo was talking about to buy provent-a-mite;

http://www.pro-products.com
http://www.entirelypets.com

Make sure to follow the instructions and ask if you are unsure about anything.


dr del

[Kalitta]

i did quarentine her. She has her own glass encloser, three sides covered. top has plexi glass except where the light is. Ambient temps of 75 cold side, 85 in the day. Humidity is around 60%. I have two hides, and a water dish big enough for her to soak. She hates the hides. I have the bottom part of plastic garbage pails and she pushes them out of the way and curls up in the corner. She is on aspen bedding, but I will change that to paper towels tomorrow morning.

She layed four slugs, but I was told after being jostled around in travel and than adjusting to a new enviroment that she may have just been stressed.

I'm looking for a local vet, The guy at the pet store that gendered my male knows a lot, so I'm going to stop in and ask if he knows a good vet. He even knew the guy i was talking about and knew he was bad news... man i wish I had asked him before buying from this guy.

[joepythons]

i did quarentine her. She has her own glass encloser, three sides covered. top has plexi glass except where the light is. Ambient temps of 75 cold side, 85 in the day. Humidity is around 60%. I have two hides, and a water dish big enough for her to soak. She hates the hides. I have the bottom part of plastic garbage pails and she pushes them out of the way and curls up in the corner. She is on aspen bedding, but I will change that to paper towels tomorrow morning.

She layed four slugs, but I was told after being jostled around in travel and than adjusting to a new enviroment that she may have just been stressed.

I'm looking for a local vet, The guy at the pet store that gendered my male knows a lot, so I'm going to stop in and ask if he knows a good vet. He even knew the guy i was talking about and knew he was bad news... man i wish I had asked him before buying from this guy.

Is it possible to share that rude persons name with us so we can add him to our who not to buy from list?

[Texas Dan]

P-A-M!!!

It's what you need. Get it. Be happy. No ticks.