Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Looking for the safest method to clean up a young 2' black rat snake that was brought in stuck in a glue trap. I got him off the trap no problem, but don't want to use any harsh chemcials trying to get the glue off his body. Any suggestions?
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PHWyvern

most glue traps use a polyurethane based glue, and unfortunately there really is no solvent for that type of glue thats even safe to use on human skin....unfortunately the only way I know to get rid of polyurethane based glue is to just let it wear off with time.....
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

Bad news about this...I just found a MSDS on 3 different brands of glue traps, 2 use petroilum based glue one uses a polyurethane based glue. both are toxic via skin contact if there's enough, and there is no solvent that wont harm any animal, humans included. If someone else has a way of doing it, please let me know for my own reference.

-Chris
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

Here are some excerpts i've found from mineral spirits MSDS....

it seems from my research in the past few minutes that mineral spirits and xylene are the two that will dissolve about 75% of the glue traps, however xylene is very strong and very toxic, I would not use it. This is what I found out on mineral spirits. Maybe dilute it 50/50 with water and try it...(or just buy paint thinner thats all it is, lol)

MSDS:
Caution: Do not place traps where children or pets will come in contact with the adhesive. The adhesive is non-poisonous if ingested. In case of accidental contact with adhesive, clean off with mineral spirits or other appropriate cleaner (take precautions to eliminate all sources of ignition when using mineral spirits). Store in original container in secure area inaccessible to children and household pets. Keep out of reach of children and pets.

everything is saying use a mineral spirit cleanup....although they are harmless to humans via skin contact i'm unsure of reptile contact....

MINERAL SPIRITS has been known to cause CONJUNCTIVITIS, CORNEAL DAMAGE, NAUSEA, VOMITING, DIARRHEA, HEADACHE and DIZZINESS. MINERAL SPIRITS has been known to cause EYE IRRITANT, NOSE IRRITANT, THROAT IRRITANT, DIZZINESS and DERMATITIS

4. FIRST AID MEASURES
Ingestion:
If quantities greater than 15 cc are swallowed, induce vomiting immediately as directed by medical personnel. Never
give anything by mouth to an unconscious person.

Skin Contact:
Wash immediately with plenty of water and soap.

Eye Contact:
Rinse immediately with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes. Obtain medical advice if there are persistent
symptoms.

Inhalation:
Material is not expected to be harmful if inhaled. Remove to fresh air.
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

>>most glue traps use a polyurethane based glue, and unfortunately there really is no solvent for that type of glue thats even safe to use on human skin....unfortunately the only way I know to get rid of polyurethane based glue is to just let it wear off with time.....
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>>The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

yeah I was kind of afraid that that would be the case. As a temporary solution I greased the snake up on a safe vit. e cream made for using on horse hoofs (I like to use it for box turtle's when their shells are really dry looking in the winter). Early results seem that maybe the cream may have loosened up some of the glue clumps... I know afterwards the residual stickiness of my own hands from having removed the snake from the trap disappeared. I figure either the cream will keep the snake slippery enough that he doesn't get seriously stuck to anything until he can shed his skin or the process of rubbing the cream on him will continue to loosen and remove the glue. win-win situation?
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PHWyvern

The glue trap itself should have instructions printed on it as folks like me tend get ourselves stuck to them. I have used these traps myself and if I remember the brand I used said use simple mineral oil as a solvent. A friend of mine used rubbing alcohol to free a Banded Gecko once but he said it took awhile.

Randy

Good advice. If the glue is still sticky, use calcium or gypsum (plaster of paris to blot it till it is no longer so. the snake will shed soon and you can help the process by hand shedding when you see he is doing it himself. make sure of the eye caps and tail tip.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

>>Good advice. If the glue is still sticky, use calcium or gypsum (plaster of paris to blot it till it is no longer so.

I have easy access to plaster of paris (we use it for making casts of animal tracks)... but if the snake is dusted with the powder and decides to take a cruise through the water dish wouldn't he turn into a statue?
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PHWyvern

That would take a lot more powder than what he will have on him.

The only snake I ever ran into with this problem shedded off the glue after a couple of weeks.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

I used to work for an animal control company and we always used plain vegetable oil. Works great just rub onto the snake. Good luck.

Sounds good. I only hit that prob once so I did the shed thing. Won't say I am in a hurry to try your technique, but I will give it the shot if the situation ever comes up again.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

>>Looking for the safest method to clean up a young 2' black rat snake that was brought in stuck in a glue trap. I got him off the trap no problem, but don't want to use any harsh chemcials trying to get the glue off his body. Any suggestions?
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>>PHWyvern

Try mineral oil.
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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>>Try mineral oil.
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I'll probably try that next after seeing how the hoof cream works. At the very least this snake is going to have nicely conditioned, soft silky skin when he gets around to shedding.

BTW... we named the little tyke "Elmer"
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PHWyvern

Mineral oil will remove any animal from a glue trap as long as they are found right away. The more the animal struggles the harder it is to remove it. I had some voles in my garage over the winter that were TEARING the place apart. They chewed through plastic containers where I kept ferret food and dog food,ripped apart boxes and crapped everywhere including my snow boots,which I threw away of course!

Anyway I used some glue traps with dog food as bait and caught the suckers in one day. There were only two of them. I used mineral oil to remove the one vole because it was only 20 mins since I threw the trap down and caught it. It came off pretty easy and I took it about a mile away from my house and came home. The 2nd vole must have gotten on the trap after I went to bed and was SO stuck on the thing I couldn't remove it no matter how hard I tried. Needless to say I put the thing out of it's misery. I am not a big fan of glue traps but atleast if you get to the animal right away you can save it. Snap traps are messy and kill the animal and live traps are so expensive!