Reptile & Amphibian Forums

today i fond my new baby albino burmese dead ....and i dont kno y i took perfect care of him, he recently had miotes and i used this mites and lice treatment that was for birds it sed on the bottle but the guy at the pet store told me i could use it for reptiles also...i let the cage air out for 3 days with a fan over it...could that b the cause of death maybe that stuff is not meant for reptiles????
thanx,
Frank
BTW HERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS. .. . . . .
Pytherthrins, and Piperonyl Butoxide Technical

Sorry about your loss, but I would have never trusted a treatment that was not meant specifically for reptiles. I know a lot of the small and larger pet stores have misinformed employees who will just try to sell something.

Well... It would be great to know what you actually used for mites - but even without KNOWING, I'd have to say your treatment killed the snake.

I think generally that pyrethrins would cause neurological symptoms before outright death... and if the stuff is for use on birds and you aired the cage out for THREE DAYS either it wasn't the stuff or someone somewhere needs to get their pants sued off. Birds are generally hypersenstitive to chemicals.
If he had mites he probably also had something else the whole time. Mites spread diseaeses. I hope you quarantined... If you really want to know, a vet could do a necropsy for you.

I think generally that pyrethrins would cause neurological symptoms before outright death... and if the stuff is for use on birds and you aired the cage out for THREE DAYS either it wasn't the stuff or someone somewhere needs to get their pants sued off. Birds are generally hypersenstitive to chemicals.
If he had mites he probably also had something else the whole time. Mites spread diseaeses. I hope you quarantined... If you really want to know, a vet could do a necropsy for you.

I don't know what to tell you, but this is unfortunate indeed and it pains me to read it. It may very well have been toxic poisoning due to the lice poison, but then again, when they are young and small many things could cause their deaths. If the mites came from some pet store they could have transmitted any number of viruses or diseases when they bit your little guy. Pet stores often keep imported specimens in the same areas as their captive produced stock, and while most imports may be treated for intestinal parasites, all too often they are not checked for blood diseases or blood parasites. Mites can EASILY transmit these things to a perfectly healthy snake. Then again, he also could have been born with an internal defect that simply caused him to die. It happens. But in all honesty my friend, the odds have it that it was the lice poison. If he touched the surface of his environment with his tongue where you applied the poison, then he would deliver it directly into his system via his olfactory/sensing equipment. Sorry, but it's most likely this.

>>today i fond my new baby albino burmese dead ....and i dont kno y i took perfect care of him, he recently had miotes and i used this mites and lice treatment that was for birds it sed on the bottle but the guy at the pet store told me i could use it for reptiles also...i let the cage air out for 3 days with a fan over it...could that b the cause of death maybe that stuff is not meant for reptiles????
>>thanx,
>>Frank
>>BTW HERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS. .. . . . .
>>Pytherthrins, and Piperonyl Butoxide Technical
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It isn't "Ideas" that fail or succeed,... it is the "Systems" which are instilled to launch and sustain the idea that either fail or succeed.>[Me.]

I too am sorry to hear about your loss. It happens but you can learn a lesson from it.

Now, at the risk of sounding like rubbing salt in the wound, I suggest you do your research and learn how to care for the animal BEFORE purchasing another one. The tone of most of your posts came off as someone who is young and really didnt take the time to learn how to properly care for your snake prior to purchase. Buy books, study this forum (and others, like Bob Clarks) and soak up all the knowledge you can. Once you have a complete grasp on proper care and maintenance of a burmese (as well as what snake NOT to buy....like one with mites), then look into getting another animal from a reputable source.

To be fair, I've purchased animals, namely a carpet python, which upon very close inspection didn't have mites, but ended up with a bunch of mites a few days later. I think the animals can carry the eggs on their bodies even if no adults are present. The moral of the story is to expect mites if you buy an animal from a pet store....

first looked at/bought him there was not 1 mite visible to my eye at least on his whole body..must ahve just been the eggs like you sed...

thanx,
Frank

Well, thats usually a problem that can be avoided by purchasing from a reputable breeder, in the first place. Not chastizing just making a suggestion. You may pay a little more (or you may not...some pet store prices are crazy) but you get a much better animal.

>>Well, thats usually a problem that can be avoided by purchasing from a reputable breeder, in the first place. Not chastizing just making a suggestion. You may pay a little more (or you may not...some pet store prices are crazy) but you get a much better animal.
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It isn't "Ideas" that fail or succeed,... it is the "Systems" which are instilled to launch and sustain the idea that either fail or succeed.>[Me.]

Both of my current burms were purchased from reputable breeders with my albino het granite male being from Bob Clark. He was not cheap ($350 still not a bad price tho) but he is the most beautiful and healthy snake Ive ever owned. Even his scales are so smooth you can't even tell its scales instead of plain skin, no bumps or anything. In the end, if you buy from a reputable breeder you get a quality animal. No mites, no diseases, no nothing other than a healthy animal that you can raise into an adult.

And like yours everything is very healthy and they are also tame. I think this is very important to a lot of people too. Sure, I have gotten a few newborns (hatchlings) that were hissy and nippy the first week or two, but this is a normal "adjustment paranoia" that some hatchlings have and they always quickly get over it. The only snakes I ever got from Bob that were aggressive biters were snakes he had gotten from other breeders and then sold to me. I still managed to tame all but one, so it was more of a situation of not enough human interaction than outright aggression. Some breeders just ignore their animals and chuck them a food item each week. I think Bob actually holds his frequently. He certainly does when I am there buying snakes. He goes from cage to cage, taking the snakes out with an excitement about it and a sparkle in his eye as if he is 10 years old and it's his first snake. I admire this passion and love for what he does. I'll never forget when he dragged me outside with his black retic to show me the hightened iridesence due to the solid black color. We just stared at it and chuckled. I must admit, it was pretty incredible. I can't wait to go there again.

>>Both of my current burms were purchased from reputable breeders with my albino het granite male being from Bob Clark. He was not cheap ($350 still not a bad price tho) but he is the most beautiful and healthy snake Ive ever owned. Even his scales are so smooth you can't even tell its scales instead of plain skin, no bumps or anything. In the end, if you buy from a reputable breeder you get a quality animal. No mites, no diseases, no nothing other than a healthy animal that you can raise into an adult.
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It isn't "Ideas" that fail or succeed,... it is the "Systems" which are instilled to launch and sustain the idea that either fail or succeed.>[Me.]

I am sorry to hear about the death of your baby Burm- that is tragic and most likely the result of using something not tested on reptiles on him. Pyrethrins are toxic - they kill many external parasites including fleas, ticks, lice, and mites. Pyrethrins can also kill the host. You've been posting about the mites and I know you received a couple of good responses, I wish you would have taken someone's advice here.
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Marcia Pimentel
Tango River Reptiles
GiantFeeders

that he thoguht that the other p word can cause brain damadge but not death at least i dont remember it, which is y i fan aired out the cage for 3 stright days and now he is in there 1 day and he dies that pet store guy jeez..im never listening to a pet store again....unless it is one like proexoctics or a good pet store....im not saying that i was in a bad pet store but most ppl. in a normal pet store dont kno wut they are taling about, but then again sum do like wen that other guy from a different normal pet store told me to bath my snake in veggtible oil overnite to lossen up the mites...i dunnno im confussed lol..o well i am very upset but i guess there is nothing i can do eh? ? ? ? ?

I can show you a pic of a snake with suspected pyrethrin poisoning... it'll just be depressing though... It basically causes symptoms that mimic those of IBD, and somehow to me it doesn't sound like it would cause a snake to keel over immediately. That other stuff though... who knows with that. You'll never be sure without a necropsy though. It really could have been any number of things.
Never do what a pet store says without confirming it in a book or through some trusted people on the 'net. Or calling a vet, it's good to have a relationship with a vet if you're going to keep snakes.