Royal/Ball Python thread (Python regius)

Thanks! Yes, i'll post some to share once i can

Maybe she's aiming for some live ones from you ..

GS wrote:

Maybe she's aiming for some live ones from you ..

Maybe. She seems to have gotten her feeding response back, bit still not going through. Last time she just dragged the rat for 30 mins around the enclosure and then spit it out

lolz.. seriously..

So far, I can't get my hands on frozen, so it has all been live.

There's once i didn't have a proper check before i threw in the mice.. my BP's eyes were all whitish and pale (about to shed) but yet, he just went for the mice immediately.

All i could hear is a "thud" sound of him crashing into the enclosure's wall while he lunged at the mice.

Another incident was a funny one (at least to me.. haha), i put in a mice and it walked towards my BP. Once the mice saw my BP, he froze while my BP did a very slow head turn towards him..

The rat then jump (a distance of twice his body length) up across the air to the other side of my BP's head.

But still.. "thud" was the next sound i heard.. again

anyone have problems with snake mites? I have a case of them and got a mite remover but also keep arachnids ...im spraying it outside and letting it sit for a few hours before bringing it in. anyone else ever have a similar situation? how did it turn out?

Have you tried betadine (iodine-povidone) baths?
Afaik, that's the preferred method.

Melissa Kaplan wrote:

Treating Lizards
Place the lizard in a warm (80-85º F / 26-29º C), shoulder-deep bath of diluted Betadine (povidone-iodine): add enough Betadine to water to make it the color of medium tea. Pour the bath water over the lizard, being careful around the eyes. The water will flush most of the mites off and drown them while the Betadine, a topical antiseptic, helps treat all the mites' bites. You may wish to bathe the lizard in a plain water bath first to allow it to drink first, adding the Betadine after it has done so. If the lizard defecates in the water, drain the tub, clean it, and draw a fresh Betadine bath.

If the lizard is a small one, or a species that does not regularly swim, keep the lizard in a dry, warm area until the tank has been treated. Larger lizards can be left to soak for a half hour or so.

While the enclosure is being fumigated, remove the soaking lizards from the tub or holding area. Saturate a clean soft cloth in diluted Betadine and run it around the joints between their legs and body, through the folds of skin around the neck, jowls, and dewlap. Use a cotton-tipped swab to apply the dilute Betadine around the eyes and nose. If the lizard has a spiked dorsal crest, check between all of the spikes to see if any mites remain lodged in there. If you find them, you can remove them with a moistened cotton-tipped swab

Do not put oil into lizard eyes. Unlike snakes, they do not have a protective covering of skin over their eyes and putting oil in the eyes can cause severe irritation or inflammation.

Let the lizard soak again in a fresh, warm water, or rinse it off and keep it in a warm place until the tank is done. If the reptile is badly chewed up by the mites, more Betadine should be added to the water and these medicated baths should be repeated at least every couple of days while the bites heal. Non-soaking lizards should have undiluted Betadine applied by cotton-tipped swab to crusty areas after their wipe-down, then daily for several days.

Watch the lizard and check the tank carefully for the next month (average 2-6 weeks). If there is any reappearance of the mites or traces of mites (such as their ashy feces), repeat the above procedure. If you see no reappearance, you may wish to repeat the procedure in 6 weeks just to make sure that you have caught all the eggs, especially in a wooden tank.

Treating Snakes
Snakes should be soaked in a dilute Betadine bath as described above for lizards. If the snake persists in climbing out of the tub or is too small to put in a bathtub, place it in a plastic, lidded container into which air holes have been punched, filling it 3/4 full of the Betadine/water solution. You may wish to bathe the snake in a plain water bath first to allow it to drink first, adding the Betadine after it has done so. If the snake defecates in the water, drain the tub, clean it, and draw a fresh Betadine bath.

Whether or not the snake's head was under the water, dab the eyes and heat pits with mineral oil after removing it from the bath. Check the groove under the chin as well as under all the belly scutes and in the vent folds to make sure there are no mites, dead or alive, lodged in those areas. If you find mites in these areas, you can remove them by gently rubbing them from between the scales and folds with a cotton-tipped swab dipped in mineral oil.

Damn, that's a shame mate but the guy I got mine from did say I'd probably encounter them at some point so they might be pretty common in snakes.

There's some good info there Dolby.

Haven't experienced them with mine yet but a few years ago my 3 beardies all got a bad case of mites, the downfall of keeping them stacked above each other. I took them to the vets in the end and she gave me some stuff by Frontline that's actually for fleas on cats and dogs strangely. I had to rub this stuff right in, all over the beardies once a day. I had to let it soak in for 10mins then bath them to wash it off. Along with disinfecting the enclosure everyday as well as using some other flea spray in the enclosure and carpet in the room. Also had to use some sort of eye drop to protect their eyes while putting the flea stuff on. It worked well, after a couple of weeks all mites were gone, they're all fine now and not had any more since.

How different this is for snakes though, I really don't know.

Keep us updated on what you decide to do!

Not too strange about Frontline, as ticks and mites are both acarids.
The Frontline spray is pretty good for clearing the enclosure from mites too. It's probably the better from other brands for herp use as it's not as "aggressive" as some brands. While not the most efficient one for dogs and cats compared to some other brands in the market, it's commonly used for more sensitive dogs/cats.

Interesting. Best be extra careful around scorps and T's with that stuff.

Agreed.

Guys, Girls, got any good pictures of your BP setups?

Please share.

Mines still in a pretty basic RUB set-up, about due to up size now I reckon.

I can grab a pic in a bit.

Jay wrote:

Mines still in a pretty basic RUB set-up, about due to up size now I reckon.

Haha, +1
But I'm due for a couple of new enlosures soon, as I mentioned. Still undecided about the size though... maybe 36"x18"x18".

Not sure if I posted this , but this is what Im currently keeping my largest girl in. Shes just a normal wild type

40gallon with a soaking pool and hide/shelf