My snake has parasites

[mike korn]

I called petco yesterday for the second time and asked
if the had any medication for parasites. They didnt have any, but the lady that answered the call gave me advice to get rid of them. First she told me clean her house with bleach. Then she told me to take the a bath with warm water. So i did and found parasites, then she told me to put olive oil on a cotton ball and let the snakes breath it in and that would kill the parasites inside of her. So i did.

Do any of you guys know if this will work, if it would how would i be able to tell? I am guessing she will start eatiting again. She hasnt eattin in about 3 weeks.

[Wizer69er]

this is my first atempt to post a reply so sorry if it does not work.First off is it a internal or external parasite?I think it would be a good idea to get it to a vet.If it is mites or something i here diluted nix works.

[CornCrazy]

What kind of suggestion is that???

Apparently your snake had mites or some other kind of external parasites if you could see them floating in the water. She may also have internal parasites. I personally would take her in to the vet (or at least take a fecal if you have gotten rid of the external parasites). You have to know what kind of internal parasites she has before you can effectively treat them. There are several different anthelmintics (dewormers) out there, but none of them get rid of ALL parasites.

I wouldn't let my snake breathe olive oil into her nose. That may just be asking for a respiratory infection...or worse.

Would you want to breathe oil into your nose and/or lungs?

[Wizer69er]

i would stay away from letting your snake breath in oil because for one snakes can drown if they get oil in there nose.good luck.

[h0mersimps0n]

IF, you have MITES, an external virtually harmless (unless left untreated) parasite, stop panicking.

My first snake I bought was a ball python and the half-log I bought with her came packed with mites (black bugs the size of a period at the end of a sentence). The greatest danger to snakes is them getting stressed over the bugs and refusing food.

Follow these steps to rid MITES (works with MITES and ONLY MITES):

1.) find source of mites (check substrate, logs, hides)
2.) Remove snake from environment

STEPS FOR TANK:
3.) remove all tank substrate and hides.
4.) use .25bleech to 1 part water mixture and clean tank thoroughly
5.) re-line tank with PAPER TOWEL ONLY.
6.) dishwash water dish
7.) add recently expired toilet paper roll for clean new hide
8.) DO NOT REINTRODUCE SNAKE UNTIL YOU HAVE FOLLOWED STEPS BELOW

STEPS FOR SNAKE:
1.) using a very mild hand or dishwashing soap, mix with water at temperature of 75-80ish using a thermometer to assure temperature correctness

2.) Bathe snake thoroughly, gently and keep him/her as calm as possible

3.) Remove and dry snake (visually inspect to make sure all mites are removed)

4.) Get bottle of EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL- rub on hands and oil down the snakes skin from head to tail. USE A VERY THIN COAT!

5.) Work in oil

6.) Put snake back into freshly and thoroughly cleaned tank



IF MITES RETURN FOLLOW THESE STEPS AGAIN FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, IT MAY TAKE TWO OR THREE TIMES FOR THE MITES TO GO AWAY.

If the source of the mites have been found and tank is cleaned then the remaining mites should be gone with the next shed.

Extra virgin olive oil when applied conservatively is not dangerous, if I have a troubled shedder I will apply some oil pre-shed and things go better (haven't had to do this since I switched to repti-bark). Also I've found leaving a snake in a small container with warm-wet soaked paper towel will finish a bad shed as well.

GOOD LUCK, keep me posted. If you find the source this is guarenteed to work.

P.S. DO NOT SHOVE OIL IN THE SNAKES NOSE OR FACE, just a gentle coat of oil.

[drizzt_19]

Originally posted by h0mersimps0n
IF, you have MITES, an external virtually harmless (unless left untreated) parasite, stop panicking.

The greatest danger to snakes is them getting stressed over the bugs and refusing food.

Homer,

I doubt I would consider mites harmless...Mites are blood-suckers...Don't forget that reptiles become anemic rather quickly, this would worry me more, rather then them not eating right away...

Good Advice though on how to get rid of the mites...:cool:


Originally posted by mike korn
she told me to put olive oil on a cotton ball and let the snakes breath it in

Mike,

Are you sure she said let the snakes breathe it in and not let the mites breathe it in...Olive oil has been known to clog the nostrils of mites thus suffocating them...Doing this to a corn may cause upper respiratory problems...

By the way, another easier way to get rid of the mites is using some Black Knight Roach Spray...This stuff works wonders on those little buggers...Just make sure you follow the directions for usage...Also as Corncrazy said a vet visit is in need, to have your corn checked out for internal parasites...A fecal at your local vet should be rather cheap...:D

[13mur 6]

Where did you get the snake? If you got it from petco, I'd return the snake and get a refund, and in the future not buy any animals or supplies from them.

-Lemur 6

[mike korn]

No i got it from a snake convention. She is cb. I Dont know how she got them. They are really small parasites, I didnt even think it was a parasite when i saw it until it started moving. Do you guys know if its external/internal or maybe both?

[CornCrazy]

Does it just look like little black specks? If so then those are mites and they are external parasites. I would also have a vet do a fecal to make sure your snake doesn't have internal parasites as well.

[mike korn]

o yea and one more thing, did i keep the oil away from her eyes cause i have seen them craling across her eye every now and them.

I tried to feed her again today but she didnt eat. She came close though she stays in front of the mouse for a few seconds like if shes going to eat it but then shows no interest

[CornCrazy]

They have scales over their eyes, so you can rub the oil over them, too.

I was given a very helpful tip today from a VERY good exotics veterinarian. When a person is having trouble with mites...after the snake and the enclosure has been treated, rub a thin layer of vaseline about 1" below the top of the enclosure (underneath the holes and all of the way around). If there are any mites left on the snakes and they try to leave that snake's container, then they get stuck in the vaseline and smother. They can not crawl through the vaseline. It also helps to keep mites from spreading to other snake enclosures if you go ahead and put the vaseline in ALL of the enclosures until the problem is under control.

[taleen]

I also have a pest problem. I bought my cornsnake abt thrtee weeks ago. She (?) is abt one month adn is eating good. My problem is I have a mild infestation of roachs in the cage. I need a way to get rid of and prevent them without harming the snake. None of the local vets in my are have been able to help me. ANY advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

[Rachel]

Roaches?? As in cockroaches, like about an inch or so long? If so then I'd be worried about how they got in! If they can get in then your snake can get out.

So I'm assuming (hoping) that your reference to roaches is something different to what I'm imagining! ;) Give us a bit more detail on what the pests are like.

:)

[h0mersimps0n]

man where do some of these people come from? Cockroaches in a snake tank, they have to be gradually eating it alive!

disturbing

want a way to get rid of them? CLEAN THE TANK!!! unreal.

remove everything, clean with water/bleach solution, use paper towel as substrate and make sure the tank is well ventilated and SEALED. There is no way, no how cockroaches should be in your tank.

[taleen]

Unfortunatly I do mean cockroachs. I think the got in before I put the new lid on the cage. I have tried cleaning the cage but somehow they are still getting in. I need to know if there is a cleaner I can use to get rid of them or keep them away that will not hurt my snake. I have thoroughly ckecked the cage and am confident that Jinx cannot get out. But she is not willing to move around the cage much becuase the bugs keep getting in there.

[Rachel]

Ok, unless there are eggs (my mum is telling me that they look like little square casings about the size of your little fingers nail- we know that cos we lived in Pakistan :rolleyes: ) then you have a serious problem that your snake *could* escape. There must be a breach somewhere in your set-up that allows them in, if not then check thoroughly for eggs. This is only the start of a number of problems though: the roaches can eat you snake!! They are EXTREMELY unsanitary and have most definately passed all sorts of parasites and germs to your snake and it's environment.

You should move your snake out of there IMMEDIATELY into a temp home and then take everything out of it tank and give it a thorough cleaning. What did you use to clean before? Try a bleach solution with hot water. Clean everything in the viv with this (allow it to soak for a couple hours even) then rinse well till the smell of bleach has gone. Personally I would be looking to buy a new tank.

A cheap rubbermaid is probably your best alternative and reasonably cheap.

[EtherRex]

I have to agree with Homer on this one. Jesus Christ! Bleach the entire tank, throw the logs away, take your snake to a vet, and call the pest control man. If you have roaches in your snake tank then you sure as **** have them in your house!

BTW roaches come in all sorts of sizes from the huge 4" ones you get in the tropics to tiny 'micro-roaches' that live inside stereo's and toasters. Nasty, nasty things.

I wont say I hate them but I woke up once in Malaysia with a huge mother on my hand. Not pleasant at all.