Reptile & Amphibian Forums

yesterday i got two 3 month old ball pythons from a local exotic pet rescue. i had been told that they were both in good health before i came to pick them up. anyways once i got them home and looked at them well... the male is dehydrated and looks like hes starting to starve and the female has scales missing all along her spine. this morning i got a better look and noticed they both have mites! now i just read in another post on here about a snake loosing its scales probably related to a previous mite problem so i do wonder if that explains the scales.. the male started to shed this morning and he was having an extremely difficult time .. long story short i gave him alittle soak and he was able to shed much better... but he also lost a few scales with the shed. hes not missing nearly as many as the female but still.. ive never had to deal with these kinds of problems since im fairly new to snakes, but i want to get them healthy again (i could spit nails at the previous owers right about now for letting the poor things get this bad). anyways im trying to figure out what the best method will be for me to use to remove the mites. also what can i do for the dehydrated male other then soak him plenty?

First, I'm sure you've already done this, but learn and relearn all there is to know about ball python husbandry so you are certain they have everything they need (you mentioned you were fairly novice with snakes). In short, optimal husbandry is one of the best ways to rejuvinate a sick snake.

On that note, many times "rescued" snakes are far enough gone where veterinary intervention is needed. I would recommend this for your male at least; parental fluid therapy might be necessary.

Now for the mites. I honestly havn't ever really dealt with them in my collection so I'm going to refer you to the many times it's been discussed previously for your best help. You might have to go a page or two back. Hopefully someone else will pitch in to this thread too.

Good luck!

Ian

Thanks..
the Male is actually looking much better today.. he shed yesterday and i soaked him a bit since he was having a very very had time getting the shed to come off.. he seems to have more energy now and 98% of the wrinkles are now gone.. of course there still is the mite problem and im not sure if he shed over his eyes properly or not since it was just coming off in tiny pieces.. ive been talking to some people and doing some research as far as the mites are concerned so i think i have a decent idea how to tackle that.. id still like for both of them to be seen by a vet since i dont know if the mite were carrying any dissease or what not.
also it looks as though the female may have an RI.. i saw some fluids coming out of her vents this afternoon so yeah deffinately need a vet!!

im a big fan of provent-a-mite, i havent seen it at the big chain pet shops but ive bought it at some smaller shops. i know the big chain stores often sell zoo med stuff and they have a mite off spray, but ive never used it. giving baths will be very helpful in getting rid of a bunch of the mites, but id get perovent a mite if you can find it, just follow the directions carefully, like removing water dishes and stuff. ive heard of some vets giving injections of anti parasidic meds to rid snakes of mites, and if they are in poor shape a vet visit is the best thing for them. go to http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ if you dont already know of a herp vet in your area. get the husbandry to the best you can, this will help your new "kids" get back in shape, and keep us posted!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

yeah the more i read i think proventamite is the best route so i hope the petstore closest to my house (35 miles from here) has it if not i may have to see about ordering it online! i do know a very good herp vet, actually had one of my corns seen by her today (couldnt take the pythons to my stepdads with mites.. hed KILL me if i gave his red tails mites!).. and im working on getting some donations to get the poor things seen. day by day the male seems to be doing better, but of course the mites have to go! i also worry that the female may have an RI because yesterday i saw some drainage coming out of one of her vents... ill deffinately keep everyone updated as to how they do (with a little luck ill get them seen by the vet in the next 2 weeks!)

I had a problem similar to that and I found out that regular PAm the cooking spray works great just apply 2 or 3 times and the should all be gone.

Mike

PAM cooking spray.. really? i guess it would suffocate them though so yeah.. i did pick up some Reptile Relief today (they didnt have proventamite) and it did take quite a few mites off just running the snakes through a towel that was dampened with it, though the smell is really strong so i kind of worry about the fumes... anyways if all else fails i can try the PAM, thanks much for your input

ive never heard of using pam, but i have heard of using a mineral oil rub down, but be careful, i had a boa injest it when trying to get an eye cap off, and her next poop was HORRRRRRRABLE!! stunk and stuck to everythin!!!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

PAM is like the dish soap bath method. It works well for greatly reducing numbers, but unless you're really lucky, the problem will persist.

Ian