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I've had my male ball for about a year. I bought a female from a pet shop and brought her in sick. I thought she was healthy, but she had a minor case of mouthrot that became major. I traded her in for a different female because I got her sick. This one had a resperatory infection. I took her in, but the doc didn't check her until it was too late.

The problem is, I introduced my male to both of them before I knew they were sick. He didn't catch mouth rot, but he-as of today, has a certain resperatory infection. I'm buying a male 100% het for albino off the net, and my parents don't think I should because they think that he'll catch it and the money would be down the drain.

I don't want him to get it, and I think I can get this done by keeping them in completely separate rooms, and get this cage cleaned. I usually just take it outside and hose it down just to get it fairly clean. I want to completely kill the bacteria without harming my snake...any suggestions? Maybe just plain old soap...but I don't know.

Thanks!

Ryan

Hot soapy water will only clean (which you need to do), then you must disinfect with either a bleach/water solution or with Nolvasan (aka Virosan)

Read for more info:
http://www.anapsid.org/cleaning.html
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VIROSAN KILLS EVERYTHING .. I have it available at Helodermas@comcast.net or you can buy it from Pro Exotics also , its on there website. Good Luck L

I posted a a post on the forum a while back on the major importance of quarantining new animals, as you can see the relativity of this topic with your current situation. i would recommend quarantining ALL new boids for an absolute minimum of 3 months in a seperate room if possible a seperate floor or even at a friends house

sorry went on a quarantine rampage again just cant stress it enough hahahaha and went off the actual ? i use diluted bleach to disinfect my tubs then rinse thoroughly to remove any bleach residue

Is rubbing alcohol okay? I usually dilute it with water and scrub the tub. Then I wipe the tub down with water to remove any excess alcohol smell. Seems to work. Is this okay?

Chris
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"I don't know about you...but I find comfort in that." -- Cowboy

Yes it is what I was told to use by some Large breeders and also my vet. I was told not to use bleach.

I also use the bleach method of disinfecting. I use about 1/4 – ½ cup per a 5 gallon bucket of hot water. I'm not sure it's a very scientific formula but I'm thinking/hoping it's enough to hopefully kill nasties but not leave a strong smell behind for the snake. Also I once heard that you should mix it cold but the hot water seems to clean better and I use it quickly after mixing.

While quarantine is very important I would also check your temperatures around the cage with an actual thermometer. It seems to me that both mouth rot and respiratory infection can be caused by apparently fairly common organisms whenever temperatures are kept too low for their immune systems to work properly. Maybe your male didn't so much catch something from the females as succumb to the same environmental problems. Are you sure your snakes are being kept at 85 deg F or more (up to about 90) for at least several hours a day so that their immune systems can do their job to protect them from the common organisms that you can't fully protect against?

I'm aware of the heating issue. The thermometer on inner side of the glass says it's about 87 degrees, and this is everyday. I rarely turn the lamp off. My dad persuaded me to put a big thermometer in his basking spot to get the radiant heat. It stayed about 95, while on the otherside I did the same, with an 80 degree result. The hidebox (shoebox) is under the heat lamp on the heated side of the cage. I think that the resperatory infection on the girl that died WAS due to lack of heat. She was in a 40 and I thought it was well heated, but looking back I realize it wasn't. The female that had mouth-rot was also in the 40 gallon when I had her. She was well heated though. I figured since she wasn't eating, I should raise the temp a little bit, so I did. It wasn't anything outrageous, but she was nice and warm, while having the other side of the cage to cool off. She mainly stayed in her hide box though...

No, I think he caught it from the girl that had a resperatory infection, because he was in with her for quite a few hours, until I decided to bring him back to his cage.

I think I'm going to try the bleaching...on the 40 gal (haven't cleaned since she died)and the one he's in now. Should I wait until after he's treated, or clean it ASAP? The guy I'm buying is a baby, and he's going into a 10. The resperatory girl was in there for about 5 minutes when I first got her, while I was preparing the 40 for her. I cleaned it a couple days ago...but just to be safe, I'll clean it again.

I don't think it's such a big deal to send it to a friends house...that's extreme. I might put him (after he's treated) into my sister's room for a couple days until the baby settles in. She likes him, he should be fine.

One last thing, I've got a 40, a 15, and a 10 gallon aquaruim. My males in the 15, the one coming from the nets going into the 10...and since the girl died, the pet-shop has owed me a baby ball. The batch is coming in on tuesday, and I can't put a baby in the 40 gallon. What should I do? I could buy another aquarium, but I'd rather not until I really need to. Possibly (and of course this is after he's treated) put them all in the 40?

I don't know...

Ryan

yes sending a new snake to friends house might very well be extreme ,but when your dealing with multi-thousand dollar animals and the limited knowledge we have about certain viruses like IBD, and its spreading from animal to animal through mites or ticks or even airborne molecules. it might comfort a larger breeder or any breeder for that matter to have a place to bring there animals in case of a bad delivery or a sudden onset of sickness amongst the delivery.I just recently learned on the forum how far a mite can travel it was incredible i had no idea, and mites can very well spread disease

Bleach is the best thing that I've found so far. It is inexpensive, and once completly dry it is gone. Leaving nothing behind to harm the animal. However, I am still concerned that you are wanting to house all of these snakes together in a 40gal., even after your unfortunate event. Ball pythons are solitary by nature and pretty much like to be left alone. I won't get into it, but do a forum search here on multiple snakes in an enclosure. (I'm still reeling over the five snakes that were competing for one space that smuthered the bottom one.) If your low on cash, go to the dollar store and pick yourself up some sterilites. Shoe boxes for the little guys, and sweater boxes for the bigger ones.

I hope this helps, Quinton

I use a human heat pad set on low for new arrivals too.Which is just cost effective.
I also use sevin dust(5%)as if it were a carpet freshener in my quarantine room.Which reduces the chance that any mites escape the room during this time.
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Charles Glaspie