Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Thank you all for your suggestions to my last post about the mites. As I have only had him a couple of days I was hoping to give him a week or so before handling him to let him settle in. With this in mind am I OK to leave him for a little while and treat my BP and the cage for the mites in a week or so or should I do it immediately (he is the only reptile I own so it will not spread). I know that it can effect his shed cycle but he did shed a couple of days before I picked him up so it will be a while before he will be doing it again (he is about 18 months old).

I have been keeping the temp at about 88 degrees during the day and about 78 at night but I was wondering at what time you guys adjust the temperature. Do you raise it when the sun comes up and lower it when it gets dark or should you do it at a set time each day.

Finally I have not seen my BP for the past day. He has been in his hide for about 18 hours. He may have wondered around whilst I was in bed but he seems to knock his thermometer down when he does this and it was still standing this morning so I don't think he was out in the night. Just wondered if this was normal. I don't really want to disturb his hide if I can avoid it as I suppose he feels pretty safe in there. As he has been in there so long could it mean that the cage is too hot or something like that or will he just be nervous.

Thanks in advance for your help and sorry to go on a bit. I had ordered "The BP Manual" off Amazon and was hoping it would come before I got the snake but it has not yet arrived.

Ben

Once when I was a child we took our two dogs, closed up the house, and went on vacation. When we returned, the place was THICK with fleas. I mean gross and awful. Talk about itching! Have you ever had fleas?? Not to anthropomorphize too much, but I figure there’s a reason snakes with mites soak in their water bowls. They must feel uncomfortable. More importantly, mites are a known vector of various diseases. So start to work getting rid of those mites RIGHT NOW! There is some controversy on the best method for treating snakes with mites, but if you do a search on this forum or the old forum you’ll find plenty of advice and can make up your own mind. And tell the person you got your snake (and mites) from that he needs to clean up his act.

Good Luck,
-Joan

>>Thank you all for your suggestions to my last post about the mites. As I have only had him a couple of days I was hoping to give him a week or so before handling him to let him settle in. With this in mind am I OK to leave him for a little while and treat my BP and the cage for the mites in a week or so or should I do it immediately (he is the only reptile I own so it will not spread). I know that it can effect his shed cycle but he did shed a couple of days before I picked him up so it will be a while before he will be doing it again (he is about 18 months old).
>>
>>I have been keeping the temp at about 88 degrees during the day and about 78 at night but I was wondering at what time you guys adjust the temperature. Do you raise it when the sun comes up and lower it when it gets dark or should you do it at a set time each day.
>>
>>Finally I have not seen my BP for the past day. He has been in his hide for about 18 hours. He may have wondered around whilst I was in bed but he seems to knock his thermometer down when he does this and it was still standing this morning so I don't think he was out in the night. Just wondered if this was normal. I don't really want to disturb his hide if I can avoid it as I suppose he feels pretty safe in there. As he has been in there so long could it mean that the cage is too hot or something like that or will he just be nervous.
>>
>>Thanks in advance for your help and sorry to go on a bit. I had ordered "The BP Manual" off Amazon and was hoping it would come before I got the snake but it has not yet arrived.
>>
>>Ben