Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok we recscued a BP that has a very bad RI and it is being treated but he is also continuously rubbing his face on everything and will shed soon..this is the second time in three weeks... could that be a sign of mites? he has a vet appointment tomorrow for the RI to see why he's not getting better...can someone help?

A lot of times when snakes are sick, they'll continually go through sheds! I think you'll find, once you get That "RI" cleared up, shed cycles will return to normal!

thats kinda what i figured...so waht about the face rubbin cuz its all rought and scarred/scratched up

What kind of cage are you keeping him in? You shopuld keep him in something with no rough edges. Perhaps a rubbermaid plastic container or tub for this time while he is recovering from his URI infection. That way there are no rough edges or surfaces for him to further injure his nose. You must keep him warm as it is very important while recovering from URI.

Susan
SSNAKES Reptiles

hes in a big aquarium there are no rough edges on it....unless hes rubbing himself on the bark. but he just did it so much..its not scarred really just kinda hard. i guess its like when your lipps itch or something. i am keeping him warm. he has a heating pad and a heat lamp which are on all night and most of the day. but he was getting better and then all of a sudden it got worse. but i heard that the rubbing of the face is a sign of mites....i will ask my vet today what she thinks

I'm probably late on this, but: It may be mites, but, I know I have seen snakes with RI rub their face a lot. It is usually because of the mucus build up. They cannot cough or spit to get it out and it just builds up. This become irritating and they are just trying to get rid of it.

Hope everything goes/went well at the vet.
-----
Lead us not into temptation. We can find it on our own.

yeah thats what the vet said too. she didnt find any mites but she did say she doesnt know why the treatment didnt work..she will get back to me after she consults with another vet but she did say to up the humidity and the heat and the face thinkg could also be dry skin from where he didnt shed all the way. so she wants me to soak him alot and now he has a heat bulb instead of a regualr ligth bulb...i hope he likes water...my female hates water other then to drink and if you try to put her in anything with water in it she freaks out....we will see what happens.

Yes up the temp to 95-100 as glass is a pore insolater and heat Escapes very easy and you might try covering 75% -85% of the top to help keep the heat and humidity up . Good luck . PS. What antibiotic do you have it on ? Good luck David of DS Reptile Rescue , Removal & Rehabilitation

yah i have the cage mostly covered but im not sure what they out him on....he is on nothing right now as i am waiting for the doc to call me back. if i dont hear from her in a day or two im gonna call back.