Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sorry this is in the BP section, I also posted in the feeder section, but I fean no one looks in there much.

I just got these tonight. I got 15, and 2 of them looked like this. They where all male simi-adults.

Thanks,
Ben

that isn't worms, at least I don't think so. It looks to me like something commonly called wet-tail, from what I understand it comes from unsanitary conditions and polluted drinking water. It shouldn't pose any serious health risks to your reptile however, I would look for a better source of food. The only sure way to find out if they have worms is to take a fecal to a vet.

can the worms from a mouse spread to a snake?
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jake

my addiction:
2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
1 amelenistic corn snake (mazy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)

They are sick............I remember reading this oneline and also seeing it on t.v. ( and itas not a good sick either....... )

Anyone else know of this? I think my father read more on it than me...........I'll ask him to respond if he knows...

Jared Horenstein

A drastic change in their diet.

It happened to almost all of my adults when I had to change sources of food. It cleared up within a week I would guess.

Other than that, I don't think it can be a sign of something good.

If I freeze them, do you think it will kill any poss parasites? I hate to wase them, when I have BPs that will gladly make them dinner live or dead.

Ben

if you can flash freeze them at low enough temperatures, go for it. just dont try sticking them in a regular freezer. bad things will happen

Do they seem to be in pain? If not I think I'd just keep em clean and continue to feed. Wait a week and see if there is any change, or any more get like this. It may very well clear up.

Quig

Hi there,

When my rodents get wet tail, the adults usually survive but look scrappy. However, most of the young tend to die at the "fuzzy" stage.

I've also found this to be pretty contageous!

If you only have a few rodents, you can go to the pet store and pick up some medicine for wet tail to put in their water. If you have quite a few animals, I'd recommend treating all of them - this can go through your colony fast! What I did was get the active ingredient (neomycin sulfate I believe) from the bottle at the pet store then go online and order it in powder form online (much, much cheaper!). I then mixed the powder into my colony's drinking water at a rate of a TBS/gallon. It cleared up the problem in about ten days.

Good luck!

Christy

.

I also dont believe that mammal parasites can spread to ectothermic animals. I may be mistaken, but i am fairly sure that the parasite cannot survive in the systems of animals that keep their body temps at a lower range than mammals. I know for sure that tapeworms that cats have do not survive in humans, and that they also cannot be spread by injestion...they must be spread through flea bite..(just for an example). I do not think you have a problem, but if you are worried i am sure you can freeze them. I would snap thier little necks first before popping them in the freezer tho. It is much quicker and less painfull (supposedly for the mouse...severing the spinal cord should be painless). Like i said tho, i am pretty sure you have no problem. It does look like wet tail and that definately is caused by stress, temp change, food change or all of the above more often than not. -jen
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"Brains for dinner, brains for lunch. Brains for breakfast, brains for brunch. Brains for every single meal; why can't we have some GUTS?"-Misfits

1.0 ball python- Azazel
1.0 red blood python-Hiss
1.0 peach phase thayeri-Sancho......MIA
0.1 creamsicle corn- Pandora
0.1 partial stripe ghost corn- Raven
1.0 Sunglow motley corn-Ernie
1.1 hognose- Pricilla and Odd
0.2 leos- Boji and Kodama
0.1 beardie- Indie
1.0 BTS- Griffon
0.1 Iggy- Sunny
0.0.1 crested gecko- Jubeh
0.1 leucistic texas ratsnake-Ojo
1.0 mentally retarted whites tree frog- Sifaka
0.1 pacific parrolet- Mishka
1.1 cats- Cairo and Oberon
2.0 bettas
0.0.1 goldfish-fishwad
1.0 Husband (hes my favorite, but i dont let the 'kids' know that. )

I am not sure if this would be wet tail. I haven't heard it to affect mice or rats, though it does affect hamsters. It can be fatal to hamsters, sometimes within 24 hours. It appears to be stress related and caused by E-Coli (or this bacteria grows out of control due to the stress). Here is a link for more info about wet tail in hamsters: www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniversity/HamstersWetTail.html

Causes of diarrhea in mice could be too much fresh greens, change of diet, stress, parasites/worms etc. The only real way to know the cause is a fecal by a vet.

Not sure if you bought the mice already having diarrhea or if they developed it a day or two after you brought them home. If they already head it, I would bring them back to the petstore you bought them at for a full refund. Some have health guarentees for some period fo time (24 hours to a week). If they won't give your money back, y ou can ask to replace them with healthy mice (just make sure they are not from the same cage these mice came from, as they could also have it but may not show symptoms of it). If they developed diarrhea after your brought them home, it could very well be due to change in diet, in which case, either change to what the store was feeding them, or wait a week for it to clear up, making sure they are well hydrated. If feeding greens or wet food, stop completely, offering normal mice foods (ie mixed seeds and grains).
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PHLdyPayne

Here's what the Rat and Mouse Club of America say to look for when you think you might have sick mice or rats.

'Unwillingness to move, hunched posture, weight loss, and a coat which is not sleek and smooth are all very strong indications that your mouse is ill. Save for the occasional sharp squeak to voice displeasure, healthy mice do not chatter, talk, chirp, brux, or make any sounds which are audible. Body and appendages should be examined for wounds and abnormal masses. Eyes, nose, ears, and the rear end should be examined for inflammation and abnormal discharge. '

Yah, that just about describes these mice. I just got them home from what we will call a middle man... I was sexing them in to different cages so I could "bulk" them up for thanksgiving (harhar). Thats when I noticed this on two of them. Today I noticed a few more had it, and one of them was rather 'hunched over' and half dead. Enough bulking up for them... they hit the CO2 chamber and are off to the freezer. My wife asked her immunology teacher for me if freezing them will kill the parasites, and he said some it will right away and some it can take about 20 days in the deep freeze. So 20 days it is.

Thanks for all the advise, I wish things where different and I had more time to investigate, but if they all go down hill tomarrow, I will lose out on the feeder value of them.

Ben