Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A few days back somebody posted a link to a Kingsnake.com classified offering a large striped female Sumatran for a mere $200. I chimed in saying I had purchased the snake already. Well, she arrived. She is in the midst of an awful looking shed, she was dehydrated, a bit thin and carrying about a kazillion mites. She is also wheezing slightly when she breathes. Other than that she is a great snake. She doesnt mind being handled and through the gray it looks like there might be a gorgeous snake just waiting to appear. I'll post some pix when I get her into shape.

Now for the real reason I posted -- She doesnt have any obvious nasal discharge but the wheezing worries me a bit. Besides the obligatory trip to the vet, rehydration, mite genocide and lots of food and rest, what can I do at home to help her convalesce to a state of robust vitality? Humidity? temp? ventilation? I have several other bloods but never had a sick one before. My other bloods have rather robust constitutions and attitudes to match- arent they great! Thanks in advance for you suggestions.

Make sure you get her rehydrated before trying any type of chemical mite killer. After giving her a good long soak in clean fresh water, try soaking her in soapy water overnight to drown as many mites as possible.

The wheezing COULD be due to the dehydration shed, but keep a close eye on her to see if it persists afterwards. If so, a vet visit may be in order, to be on the safe side.

How do you have her set up?

Good luck getting her back on track!

K

>>A few days back somebody posted a link to a Kingsnake.com classified offering a large striped female Sumatran for a mere $200. I chimed in saying I had purchased the snake already. Well, she arrived. She is in the midst of an awful looking shed, she was dehydrated, a bit thin and carrying about a kazillion mites. She is also wheezing slightly when she breathes. Other than that she is a great snake. She doesnt mind being handled and through the gray it looks like there might be a gorgeous snake just waiting to appear. I'll post some pix when I get her into shape.
>>
>>Now for the real reason I posted -- She doesnt have any obvious nasal discharge but the wheezing worries me a bit. Besides the obligatory trip to the vet, rehydration, mite genocide and lots of food and rest, what can I do at home to help her convalesce to a state of robust vitality? Humidity? temp? ventilation? I have several other bloods but never had a sick one before. My other bloods have rather robust constitutions and attitudes to match- arent they great! Thanks in advance for you suggestions.
-----
Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean

>>Make sure you get her rehydrated before trying any type of chemical mite killer. After giving her a good long soak in clean fresh water, try soaking her in soapy water overnight to drown as many mites as possible.
>>
>>The wheezing COULD be due to the dehydration shed, but keep a close eye on her to see if it persists afterwards. If so, a vet visit may be in order, to be on the safe side.
>>
>>How do you have her set up?
>>
>>Good luck getting her back on track!
>>
>>K
>>
>>>>A few days back somebody posted a link to a Kingsnake.com classified offering a large striped female Sumatran for a mere $200. I chimed in saying I had purchased the snake already. Well, she arrived. She is in the midst of an awful looking shed, she was dehydrated, a bit thin and carrying about a kazillion mites. She is also wheezing slightly when she breathes. Other than that she is a great snake. She doesnt mind being handled and through the gray it looks like there might be a gorgeous snake just waiting to appear. I'll post some pix when I get her into shape.
>>>>
>>>>Now for the real reason I posted -- She doesnt have any obvious nasal discharge but the wheezing worries me a bit. Besides the obligatory trip to the vet, rehydration, mite genocide and lots of food and rest, what can I do at home to help her convalesce to a state of robust vitality? Humidity? temp? ventilation? I have several other bloods but never had a sick one before. My other bloods have rather robust constitutions and attitudes to match- arent they great! Thanks in advance for you suggestions.
>>-----
>>Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean
-----
Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean

sorry to hear that. what a pretty animal she is. hope her the best. greenman

Hey,
I agree with Kara, prior to using any chemical treatments get her rehydrated, and soak her either over night, or by lathering her in the shower with good old soap and water and hose her down. Repeat the treatment several times till there are no noticeable mites in the rinse water. I have been treating two bloods that came in with very similar problems the other day. One black blood, the other a red. The black blood had a mild case of mites, but was compounded by a noticeable RI, with the usual wheezing and some salivary discharge and nasal drip. He's made a remarkeable turn around, however, the work was not easy and did take some effort.

He's been placed on a warm heat pad with a temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, give or take one degree plus or minus. Initially, a small piece of No pest strip was placed in his cage, however, a day later, I noticed that this particular animal was super sensitive to the Vapona, and was dribbling and had the nasal discharge that had after some high heat treatment subsided, but reappeared once the NPS, was placed in the cage, after several hours (I attribute the dribbling and discharge to the NPS). (The NPS was removed after the condition returned on a second occasion). The red blood was treated in the exact same manner, however, he did not exhibit the nasal discharge or dribbling like the black blood and was treated successfully using the No Pest Strip. One inch pieces were used in both cases that were placed into paper coffee cups with lids on, and several holes were punched into the cups to allow vapors to emanate. The cups were left in the cages over night, and checked for efficacy several times a day.

The red blood was bathed once a day with Jergens bath bar and warm water, using a shower hose to soak and rinse. The bath was repeated twice each time with each treatment. A good lather is the trick to ridding as many of the mites as possible. The animals were then returned to their cages after they were blotted dry with paper towel and their cage substrate (newspaper) changed out. The rubbermaids were also, washed out thoroughly using a good brush and soap with plenty of hot water and a small amount of bleach.

The mites appear to have been eradicated, and all substrate is now being treated using Provent-A-Mite.

-Angel
-----
"Until we lose our self, there is no way of finding our self."
-Henry Miller.