Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my snake was really healthy till it got mites,,,it was acting normally but after a week,(while i was still trying to find a cure),,it got a respiratorty infection,,,,its nostrils seemed sealed,,,i dont know why,,,could it be from the mites or something

the snake died ,,,but im just wondering,,,,,could it be from the mites,,maybe crawled in his nostrils or something,,,,

thanks

Mites can cause all sorts of problems. They suck blood, so they can transmit blood borne diseases. They can also cause anemia. You didn't really say what species of snake and how old, but in an adult, healthy snake I would not expect the scenario you describe to run it's course in a week. That would indicate to me that the mites and the RI were coincindental and that the snake was already developing RI before. All of this is, of course, assuming that what your snake had was truly RI.

Couple of questions:

1. what species was the snake?

2. How old was the snake (baby, juvenile, adult)

3. How long did you have the snake?

4. How long were the mites present?

5. What symptoms was the snake presenting? (wheezing, nasal discharge, mucous discharge from mouth, "gaping"

6. How long was it presenting symptoms before it died?

7. How was the snake treated (what medical care/medications were given?)

8. What was done to kill the mites?

1.well it was a corn snake

2.it was one year,give or take a month

3.ive had it for about 11 months

4.the mites were present for about a week,,,,funny thing is that when i aquired some sick chameleons i used this snake's tank to put them in,since they were really really sick and needed good care,,,while feeding crickets i just let them free in the tank for a while,,then after like 4 days i put my snake back,,thats when i realized my snake had mites,,could there be a 1% chance the mites came from the crickets or anything,,(i know its dumb)

5.well it stopped eating for a month(which is usually common),during that time it was getting really scared/stressed out,if i get close to the tank itd start moving really fast so what i did is i handle it,i was told to decrease temp. ,so i did,it calmed down. when it was dying,,it was sort of opening its mouth ,thats how i assumed its an respiratory infection ,,,you see the thing is ,the last week the snake wasnt with me,,it was in a reptile exibition so i didnt get to see the snake,,,but one day the man who works there gave it back to me and said its so sick,it was late at night,,i took him out and i noticed his mouth and nose were sort of like gray.,,sort of sealed maybe,,i wasnt sure wat it was at all.i was trying to make an appointment at a vet but all of them were closed.after a while he started dying.

6.how long it was presenting sympotms i mean,,the stressed out thing was only for a week,,,since i decreased temp(damn heating pads)and it wasnt eating for a month,once again its normal for a snake to go off-feed for a month

7.no medical treatments since i had no idea the snake was actually sick,,like i said he gave me the snake one day,,it was about 2:00 am so i couldnt do much about it

8.i was going to treat the mites with ivomec,,just liek you said but none of the pharmacies had it,,,one guy in a pharmacy gave me directions to a place that sells chemicals,,it was sorta far and usually mites arent that big of a problem so i wasnt in a real hurry,,,after that day,,is when i got my snake back

9. sorry for the long post

OK, I don't think the mites caused this death. They didn't help, but I don't think they were the cause. The most likey source of the mites is the lizards, or some cage furnishings you provided for them. The thing I would be most concerned with now regarding the mites is the possibility that they can migrate to other cages and vector whatever killed this snake to other animals in your collection.

It's possible that the snake picked up something from the sick lizards that you temporarily housed in his cage. It's also possible that he picked up something from another animal in the reptile exibition. It's probably not going to be possible to pin down how he got sick, because too many things were changed.

By the way, lowering the temperature on a sick animal is incorrect. For a Corn Snake you need normal ambient temps averaging 84 or so degrees F. That should be accomplished with a thermal gradient in his cage, the cold end being approximately 78 degrees F. and the warm end approximately 90 degrees F. That way he can go back and forth from the cool end to the warm end or somewhere in the middle to accomplish the body temp he needs. If you notice that he's always at the cool end, then you lower the temp on the warm end by a degree or two. If you notice that he's always on the warm end, then you can raise the warm end a degree or two.

With a sick animal, you should raise the temps by a few degrees (do not exceed 98 degrees F. on the warm end) to stimulate his immune system. If he had the beginnings of RI and you lowered the temps, that likely only made things worse.

When you put an animal in a cage that has been previously occupied by another animal (especially a sick one), you have to thoroughly disinfect the cage. That means letting it soak for at least 2 or 3 hours in a strong Chlorine Bleach /Water solution (at least 10% and as much as 50%), rinse it thoroughly with clean water and let it dry in the sun completely. Bacteria and viruses can hide in the tiny cracks and crevices such as where the sides of the cage join the bottom and top, glass tracks, pores of wood, under glass sealant, etc. The bleach solution has to have time to soak into all of these places and kill whatever is there. Just spraying disinfectant in the cage and wiping it out is insufficient.

I never loan animals out for exibitions or shows. The stress on the animals and the possibility of being in contact with another infected animal is just too great. I only send animals out for breeding loans if I know the conditions where they are going and the husbandry techniques of the person who will have them.