• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Attention People Who Know Things About Snakes

S

Spooner

Lifer
My girl owns a brazilian rainbow boa that is about 10 months old. She keeps it in a Forest Bed brand substrate with green moss for an environment with the lamp above and all that jazz.....

Apparently, the past few days she's noticed what looks like some very tiny gray bugs swimming in a small cluster in her snake's water dish.

She doesn't know what to do, whether they're harmful, or if they are even mites or not.

I know nothing about snakes whatsoever, so I figured I'd throw this question out there.
 
She cleaned the water dish I hope. And snakes can get mites, but for all I know (I don't know much about snakes) they're fruit flies, lol.
 
Any kind of natural floor material will eventually get some bugs in it. You just have to change it at regular intervals. Have the snake checked for mites at the vet. Little bugs in a water bowl don't sound like mites to me.
 
Originally posted by: Bluefront
Any kind of natural floor material will eventually get some bugs in it. You just have to change it at regular intervals. Have the snake checked for mites at the vet. Little bugs in a water bowl don't sound like mites to me.
Click to expand...

OK, sorry I couldn't reply earlier. Was working both jobs today...but hey; better late than never!

Snakes can most certainly get mites. My Brazilian has never had them, but my Royal Python has. Back in my beginning days of snake ownership I didn't know what to do or even how to identify them either.

Mites are the most evil things God ever created. If you think it's hard to get rid of a psycho ex-girlfriend, try having a mite infestation. The little fvkers just keep coming back

The reason I quoted Bluefront, above, is b/c he is correct; anytime you use a natural substrate like moss, you most probably will get little bugs...not necessarily mites, though. Which is the reason why I use newspaper.

NP is the best substrate, bar none. The ink will not harm your snake in any way, shape or form. I use it in all three of my cages. In the BRB's cage, I soak the NP with water every other day, so not even the wet ink hurts them. NP is ugly as sin, but cheap, doesn't harbor parasites and is the best thing out there. Period.

Now, has your snake been soaking in the water dish more than usual lately? That is a classic sign of mite infestation. The snake is trying to drown the mites. They can swim though...if you have 100 mites on the snake, 50 will drown and the rest will make it to the edge of the water bowl OR they will jsut climb higher on the snake. The snake must keep it's nostrils and mouth above water to breathe.

Coincidentally, the mouth, nostrils and eyes are the prime spots for mite infestation. Look CLOSELY at the snake's head. Mites are the size of the period at the end of this sentence. And those are the adults. Babies are smaller. Reptile mites are reddish-black in color. You will know it if you see them, b/c you will think you are seeing spots. Seriously. You'll do a "double take" and say "WTF was that?" Then you'll see them.

You need to determine if the bugs are indeed mites or not. The easiest way is this: Remove everything from the cage. Put down WHITE paper towels as substrate. Rinse the water bowl and put the snake back int here w/nothing but the water bowl and the towels. Within 24 hours, you'll know if you have mites.

I can help further, but we need to identify what the issue is.

The Kingsnake Forums is where I learned half of what I know, and where I go when I have a problem I can't solve. Check them out.

Kingsnake Boa Forum
 
I kept various snakes and lizards for years....all small varieties. My take on this is ....if you have a beautiful animal, why keep it in ugly surroundings? To that end I always kept my animals in large thickly-planted terriariams. (don't get animals that dig holes). I had a prairie king snake in one. One time I caught a small green tree frog, put him in with the king snake. The snake never caught him. That frog grew to full size...I guess he was eating small bugs in the cage which I never saw at all.
 
I keep geckos 🙂

I got a Giant day Gecko and a couple of leopard geckos.

I think that you use vermaculite (sp?) .. I think that's what it's called. I think you need to have your vet perscribe it, and then you mix it with water and spray the snake and cage a couple times a day and that should do the trick. But by no means am I a snake expert. I like emerald tree pythons, those are sweet!!!
 
Originally posted by: smp
I keep geckos 🙂

I got a <a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge target=blank href="http://www.disobey.ca/~stevan/images/rikki.jpg">Giant day Gecko</A> and a <a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge target=blank href="http://www.disobey.ca/~stevan/images/Video%201.avi">couple of leopard geckos.</A>

I think that you use vermaculite (sp?) .. I think that's what it's called. I think you need to have your vet perscribe it, and then you mix it with water and spray the snake and cage a couple times a day and that should do the trick. But by no means am I a snake expert. I like emerald tree pythons, those are sweet!!!
Click to expand...

Hey sweet geckos! Personally, someday I want a Gracile's (sp?) Chameleon. They are the "Budweiser" chameleons. I just love those things with the independently rotating eyes...and they way they slowly climb around and grasp branches with their two-toed feet is cool too. However, I HATE bugs...the thought of having a cricket get loose in my house and crawling into my bed to suck my blood at night gives me the willies, big-time. I have no problem smashing rats' skulls against the floor to feed my snakes, but bugs make me get up on a chair like a sissy-woman. Go figure.
rolleye.gif
Bugs are the reason why I don't have a lizard yet.

BTW, really cool video!!!
 
Originally posted by: MichaelD
Originally posted by: smp I keep geckos 🙂 I got a Giant day Gecko and a couple of leopard geckos. I think that you use vermaculite (sp?) .. I think that's what it's called. I think you need to have your vet perscribe it, and then you mix it with water and spray the snake and cage a couple times a day and that should do the trick. But by no means am I a snake expert. I like emerald tree pythons, those are sweet!!!
Click to expand...
Hey sweet geckos! Personally, someday I want a Gracile's (sp?) Chameleon. They are the "Budweiser" chameleons. I just love those things with the independently rotating eyes...and they way they slowly climb around and grasp branches with their two-toed feet is cool too. However, I HATE bugs...the thought of having a cricket get loose in my house and crawling into my bed to suck my blood at night gives me the willies, big-time. I have no problem smashing rats' skulls against the floor to feed my snakes, but bugs make me get up on a chair like a sissy-woman. Go figure.
rolleye.gif
Bugs are the reason why I don't have a lizard yet. BTW, really cool video!!!
Click to expand...

Heh .. thanks.
Crickets don't suck your blood!!! ?? Do they? 😕
I like Chameleons too .. I would get one right now except that if I keep getting animals I'm never gonna be able to travel. I wanna do a north american bike tour next summer but I don't know who will take care of my lizards when I do so .. none of my family members want to touch crickets. They ain't that bad really, I keep em on the back porch in little plastic bug aquarium .. but that little plastic deal is inside one of those styrafoam coolers (the cheap kind) to keep the smell in and you wouldn't even know there was crickets in there. Mealworms are the worst though, I never get those.
Chameleons are sweet cause you don't need a cage for them, they like a lot of ventilation and I've seen setups where people just keep em in ficus trees and they pretty much never come out of the tree, they are very docile and not afraid of people (which apparently is why their numbers are dwindling in the wild).. they're beautiful though yeah 🙂
 
Nah, AFAIK, crickets don't suck blood...but they do bite as I have been bitten before. I just abhor insects of any kind. I do want one of those chamelons someday...they are sweet...clean up bugs in your house too!
 
As far as lizards go, chameleons are the most beautiful, as well as the most difficult to keep. I had Jackson's chameleons for several years. The males have horns on their heads...look like little dinosaurs. One male I had grew to 13"...almost a world record. No matter what you do, these animals will sometimes stop eating. Vets don't know a thing about them, since they are different from other lizards. Once they get sick or stop eating, they usually die. Rewardingly beautiful, but frustrating animals.

Once you start keeping chameleons, you become a bug expert. Crickets, mealworms, giant mealworms, cockroachs, grasshoppers,all kinds of other bugs..soon you're raising them also for your lizards. Heh.

Oh yeah...wingless(flightless) fruit-flies. Kept a strain going for several years for the baby lizards. What a trip. If you don't cull out the ones with wings, soon the whole colony is flying. Ever heard of hissing-cockroaches? Yeah had them also.

One more thing about Jackson's chameleons....They give birth live..no eggs. The males actually have two (can't say the word) of what human males have one of. I saw a mating in one of my cages once. This chameleon was a lefty.
 
Originally posted by: Bluefront
As far as lizards go, chameleons are the most beautiful, as well as the most difficult to keep. I had Jackson's chameleons for several years. The males have horns on their heads...look like little dinosaurs. One male I had grew to 13"...almost a world record. No matter what you do, these animals will sometimes stop eating. Vets don't know a thing about them, since they are different from other lizards. Once they get sick or stop eating, they usually die. Rewardingly beautiful, but frustrating animals.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's what I hear too .. hard to keep. That's another thing that keeps me from getting one, I don't want it dying on me, cause of me.
 
He was lefty, huh? 😉 Heheheheh, good one. 😀

I know what you're talking about with regard to fasting. My male Royal Python (aka "Ball" Python) fasts once a year for about 4-5 months. First time he did this, I about lost my mind worrying that he was starving to death. At about the five month point, I force-fed him, which was not a pleasant experience. However, he had already lost 1/2 his body weight.

There was nothing physically wrong w/him Proper temps, fresh water, hide boxes, no mites, no respiratory infection...he just wouldn't eat. I found out later that it is normal for male BPs to fast. Something to do with the breeding cycle.

Now when he doesn't want to eat for months at a time, I don't worry about it. He'll eat when he's hungry. My other two, the BRB and the BCI (Columbian Red Tail Boa) are another story completely. They will eat anything at any time for any reason. Two monsters, those two.
 
MichaelD

Thank you so much for all the help! I'm going to let her read all this when she comes by later today. See what she thinks.

we'll post later with further info

thanks again



edit: spelling
 
You're very welcome, Spooner. Anytime I can help out a fellow Herper, I'm happy to do so.

For those of you wondering what a Brazilian Rainbow Boa looks like, here are some pics. Easy to see why they are called "Rainbows"

linky
 
Now this is a nice pic. For those who think all snakes are ugly, when was the last time you saw a purplish-red snake with orange spots, hmmm?

HERE
 
Thats very good advice Michael. About the cham... keeping live bugs on hand is a real chore. I love my leopard gecko, but after she dies, I think I'll replace her with a rosy boa. I love the fact that I can order snake food on-line, have it shipped to me frozen, and feed my snakes for 4 months on one order.

My blue tongue is a different story, but fortunately the staple of her diet is bearded dragon pellets by Rep-Cal, so I don't have to go hunt down night crawlers too often. Its kinda strange to ask for night crawlers at a fishing store in the dead of winter.

Ryan
 
Very nice! ETPs are gorgeous! Hard to care for though...more difficult than BRBs, actually. ETPs and ETBs are known for being nasty-tempered as well...but they are arguably the most beautiful of all snakes. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: MichaelD
Very nice! ETPs are gorgeous! Hard to care for though...more difficult than BRBs, actually. ETPs and ETBs are known for being nasty-tempered as well...but they are arguably the most beautiful of all snakes. 🙂
Click to expand...

Yeah ... like women and cars, the pretty ones are a b!tch to take care of.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top