gse- grapefruit seed extract

[jgoodrick]

Has anyone been successful in using grapefruit seed extract to
rehabilatate regurging corns?

thanks
jeff

[Jimmy C.]

How would this work?? I think that most snakes regurge because they are disturbed too soon or if the temp. is not high enough.
Force feeding it grapfruit extract I think would just stress it out even more.
IMHO Jimmy C.

[jgoodrick]

You don't force feed it, it is in liquid form and you put into the
snake's drinking water. It is mentioned in the Corn Snake
Manual by Bill and Kathy Love.

thanks

[Jimmy C.]

Oh, that is very interesting I have never heard of this. Anyone out there have any more info on this ??
Jimmy C.

[CowBoyWay]

Cattle, horses, hogs, fish, poultry, even reptiles can benefit greatly from use of GSE: it is an excellent remedy for skin diseases, external injuries, fungal infections, and internally, the diseases caused by parasitic, bacterial, viral or fungal infections.

Since animals can’t tell us what’s wrong, and since GSE is such a broad-spectrum solution, it is becoming the first-line of defense for many farmers and Veterinarians.

"Most disinfectants that are currently used in either animal or human environments have moderate to high toxicity and extreme care must be exercised when these products are used. The lack of any significant toxicological properties of (GSE) is also impressive when one views the efficacy data where extemely small concentrations of the product can be used with marked beneficial results."

"... the wide spectrum of activity that (GSE) offers(antiviral, antibacterial; Gram+ and Gram-, antimycotic, and antiprotozoan) will undoubtedly aid in its acceptability."
http://www.nutriteam.com/stock.htm
good site for info,theres better deals out there for G.S.E..

I raise handfed baby Parrotlets and use 3 drops of g.s.e. per gallon of h2o to hydrate there baby food.It elimates fungal/bacteria "souring"in my baby parrotlets crops. Many avian breeders are using with positive results.
Great for an effective organic method to sanitize euipment and enclosures, this stuff just can't be beat.
They use in some hospitals to disinfect the carpeting among other things.

I've heard suggestions of 2 drops to a baby food jar of h20
Very acidic stuff,G.S.E. is,using a aquarium PH tester would show that to be an acidic solution.

Perhaps the secret is to ADJUST THE PH
with CALCIUM CARBONATE
(Rolaids,,Reptical...Something similar)
to a neutral 7 or slightly acidic 6-6.5 ,but "Kids don't try this at home".

10 drops to gallon would be more like it for an immediate medical crisis and 1 drop per gallon as a prophylactic (preventitive)treatment.IMHO :)

[carol]

Originally posted by CowBoyWay
I've heard suggestions of 2 drops to a baby food jar of h20
Very acidic stuff,G.S.E. is,using a aquarium PH tester would show that to be an acidic solution.



Ya that was me, and I also stressed the stuff comes in different strengths and to test it yourself before you administer it. It is still pretty unregulated. One brand can be completely different from another.I admit some GSE concentrations can be very potent and glad you gave the warning. And a PH tester may be wiser that a taste test, I have had no ill effects to trying it myself but who knows...someone could end up testing a super strong solution and have some problems. I dilute it so it is just a little bitterness in the aftertaste.

[CowBoyWay]

I haven't encountered the super duper concentrated stuff yet,but something to remember when cracking a new bottle open,to always read the label.

I put one drop on my toothpaste and brush,gives a most excellent,very sanitised,clean feeling.

two drops and you can tell that you "burned" your mouth with the acidity .

I also do a quick dip into baking soda and
brush rinse with that to neutralise the acidity of the G.S.E. as a rinse procedure.

It tastes just like you would think grapefuit peel would.:D

http://www.nutriteam.com/index2.html

Be aware there are huge differences in price's on this stuff. I pay $9.99 U.S. for 4 liquid oz.(about 1,200 drops), in the health food section of grocery store.
You can order it by the 55 gallon barrel if need be;)

[Lori]

I have used it sucessfully. We tried all the other suggestions with no success. So we tried the extract. I guess it doesn't really matter on how many drops as long as you can barely taste it in the water. I used 2 drops per 1/2 cup and she drank it and poo-pood within 2 hours. I think she may have been obstructed, but it came out and she ate and kept food down after that.
I never had any problem with her eating...it just regurgitated within 48 hours, no matter how small the food was. I don't know about others experience, but it worked for me. That was about two months ago and she is doing great still.


Lori:)

[13mur 6]

Yep, GSE is some awesome stuff. Though you have to use it carefully and balance it well enough so the snake doesn't know you spiked it's water. pH balance seems key for the GSE to work. GSE seems highly acidic and having a snake drink the solution with no pH balancing seems more damaging than helpful (causes diarrhea in some cases, refusal to drink leading to dehydration, regurgitation, "green" poop). Adjusting the pH with something like repticalc to near neutral (~6.5-7.5) should do the trick, try to get as close to 7 as possible (if you have a pH meter lying around), or just make sure the pH strips you use are semi-accurate. Dosaging could be complicated, since no normal dose really exists. A human dose would be roughly 300mg/fl. oz. of PURE GSE. This of course would be way to strong for a snake. I think around 20mg/fl. oz. would be a normal dose for a snake (translates to around 1-2 drops per 2 cups or 16 oz of water ). Don't take these dosages as by the book, since these are just my experimental dosages, measuring how willing the snake drinks the stuff and how effective that dose has been. Some snakes are more fickle than others, so just experiment to see what works best (start on the low end of dosage and move up).

-13mur 6

[CowBoyWay]

I think we need to pin this dosage down here, before somebody does a mad scientist thing here and kills a Corn.

The above recomendation of 20 mg. per fl. oz. is pretty dang strong, even PH corrected,
and the dose of 1 or 2 drops per pint of water ( 1 pint = 473 + ml ) is not even remotely close to 20 mg. per fluid ounce concentration, I have to say :)

1 drop per pint equals 8 drops per gallon.

When in doubt proceed cautiously.

I use three drops per gallon
(1 U.S. gallon = 3.7854 Liters) .
and my menagerie of critters (birds,dogs,cats,chickens & pot bellied pigs) will all readily drink it.

Although I only use one drop per gallon for "everday use" with my reptile water to control biological growths in there water Dish.

Water is changed everyday but,
my house is pretty warm most of the year and warm room temp. tap water will breed bacteria's in it very quickly, I'm sure.

We have "hard" water here with a naturaly high calcium content which naturally lowers G.S.E.'s acidity to an acceptable level.

I use a PH test kit with a liquid regeant agent called
"Bromothymol Blue" ,
obtained from the aquarium section of your favorite store, and it works well for me. A couple drops in to a small sample will show you the PH level by changing colors ,correct your PH until the desired Blue, neutral PH color is obtained, very simple and easy.
Water hardness tends to fluctuate season to season, at least here in Arizona.

10 drops per gallon is recommended to human beings to purify natural sourced drinking water ,
( back country hikers love this stuff,
they commonly add a little powdered gatorade to mask G.S.E. natural bitterness )

It has been tested and found effective in lab studies against hundreds of pathogens at 10 drop per gallon concentrations.
1 drop = 10 mg , 10 drops = 100 mg per gallon :) 1 drop per 12.8 oz.water is the same as ten drops per gallon.

At those concentrations it will kill most, if not all of the micro biological critters (amoeba's ,bacteria's , etc.) living in that water.

Hospitals use concentrations of 30 drops per gallon to sanitize carpeting, it kills hard to kill "staph" Germs, etc at those concentrations.
I disinfect caging/enclosures, bowls and even parrotlets water bottles with 30 drops per gal. concentrations.

This is not written in stone, this is not gospel ,and your mileage may very well vary.
Proceed with caution and attention to detail
if you do choose to "treat " your snake with Grapefruit Seed Extract.
;)
Following up a g.s.e. treatment with pro biotics is a good thing too, but that will be another thread.
When in doubt, theres always your friendly local reptile specialist vet to consult about ones sick snake :)