Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone...

I'm having a couple of problems with my blood. Today, I noticed RI symptoms AND to make things worse, mites.

My blood just shed yesterday, she ate and everything seemed ok. Today I saw her breathing with her mouth open, making weird noses when breathing,and although I haven't noticed any discharge coming from her mouth or nostrils, nor anything weird inside her mouth, I'm a bit worried.

So, what should I do? I've read previous posts, but I didn't get everything clear. What should I do with humidity, raise it or lower it?

And concerning the mites, how can I get rid of them? Consider that I'm not from the US so stuff like Provent-a-Mite are almost impossible to obtain.

So, what should I do? I'd really appreciate every bit of advice you can give me. Thanks!

I would say that the ri is the most critical issue to clear up first. The problem is, you will probably have to take them one at a time. I would suggest raising the daytime temps to 91-93 degrees, and keep the nighttime temps at 85 degrees. Keep humidity at 60%, but not wet if you can manage. The high temps and humidity should help the snake beat the ri if it just started getting sick. If it doesn't start to improve in a couple days I'd get it to a vet. As far as the mites are concerned, you're going to have to wash the snake in luke warm water every day. Get rid of everything in the cage, like the substrate, furniture, etc. You can bake anything wood in the oven for an hour at 170 degrees which should kill the mites and eggs, and disinfect the cage daily. I usually put the snake on paper towels for a couple weeks so that you can see the mites, and they don't have a substrate to lay their eggs in. Change the paper towels every day. Again, keep washing the snake, let it soak if it will. The one problem is that if you use paper towels you may have a problem keeping the humidity up, which is why I said you might have to take this one at a time. Good luck, Eric-

I agree with the previous poster...the R.I.-like condition comes first. The reason you are unclear on the humidity rec is due doubtlessly to conflicting thoughts in that regard in recent posts reference the same subject. Sorry 'bout that. I'd crank up the heat and humidity. If the effect is not desireable, you can always try reducing humidity and of course, a trip to the Vet remains an option. Just my thinking...

Hey,
Some good points raised, but instead of just soaking your blood in plain water, I would add a few drops of dish detergent to the water. The soap has the effect of reducing the surface tension of the water. Cause and effect, suffocated mites. You can soak the blood in the soapy water for 24 hours in a very warm place albeit. There is the likelihood that you will need a good plastic container to put it in to, but that should be easy. Also, what is the size and age of the critter in question? To repeat what was said, you can scrub down every inch of the enclosure with some hot water and bleach, and soak any cage items, completely submerged over night in water with bleach and a splash of detergent. Not too much detergent as the bleach and detergent don't mix. Just a dash with the bleach and dish detergent, as it can be a toxic mix if over done.

Any other items like bedding should be completely tossed out. Moth balls should be placed into the bag with the mites tightly sealed and discarded straight away. The blood should be checked around the eyes for mites that might have burrowed in or around the eye scales. Any mites should be swabbed off with some vasiline. Repeat the bath if necessary, but for a couple of hours instead of the over night period for first treatment. Some keepers have reported using Nix, which is a treatment used for treating humans with head lice. You can use this, but I would not use it directly on the snake, but instead, treat the newspaper with it and allow the paper to air dry completely before placing the snake on it. If it comes in a bottle, I would get a spray bottle and pour the mix in to it, and spray the news paper that way. Hope this helps. Where are you in the world?
-Angel
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In life you can fall many times, but you're only a failure, if you don't try to get back up!
Evil Canevil

I'd be concerned my snake would ingest some of the soapy water. I have never soaked my blood without it drinking. Careful, and good luck.

well im sure that by "soaking" they mean to sit there and rub the snake down with the water and move the snake around if possible, not stick him in the tub, close the door, and go watch tv.
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1.1.0 Colombian Redtail Boas
2.1.0 Sumatran Blood Pythons
1.0 Black Blood Python
1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.1 Coastal Carpet Python
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Surinam Redtail Boa

in soapy water for 24 hours. Can't imagine he meant he would sit there the whole time.

mustve missed that part. i cant imagine sitting there either. of course, ive never had to deal with mites (knock on wood). i dont buy WC snakes, i use newspaper in most of my tanks, the tanks i use reptibark in get sprayed with proventomite and i use sterilites and glass tanks. hard for mine to get mites.
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1.1.0 Colombian Redtail Boas
2.1.0 Sumatran Blood Pythons
1.0 Black Blood Python
1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.1 Coastal Carpet Python
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Surinam Redtail Boa

Thier eggs last forever if not frozen or destroyed by heat or other pesticides. The only time I've ever had mites I got them from a very popular substrate that many people here use. I know because I took the remains of the bag, put it in a seperate aquarium with lots of moisture, high heat, and kept it out of my snake room. Within 36 hours I had mites crawling everywhere. The only reason I did that is because I couldn't figure out where they came from. The guy at the pet shop said that he would pay for all new substrate for all my snakes if it turned out to be true. I had accused the shop of selling contaminated substrate, but knew the guy real well so we made the bet. Anyway, he paid for all new substrate and I haven't had the problem again. I don't honestly remember the name of the brand, but it's the dry, bark looking substrate that you see everywhere. I now use the real damp shredded substrate that is equally popular and haven't had any problems. I had a such a problem getting rid of them that I took my JCP to the vet and she was given a shot that cleared them up within a week. Of course I still had to keep everything clean, but that is always an option.

Thank you very much! Everything seems better now, I guess I did everything on time.

Regarding the questions you asked, my girl is about 6 months old and around 18 inches. And I'm in Mexico city, where, unfortunately, I haven't yet found a good reptile vet.

Well, thanks everyone for your advice!