Got Snakes??

[aself]

Cornsnake owner

I have a 3-yr-old cornsnake named Josey (Josephine). She is black, gray and white. I got her when she was about 6 inches long and now she is a little over 4 ft. She is a wonderfully sweet thing, but 9 mos. ago my husband and I adopted two kitties (Ike and Tina). They are great, but are very human-oriented and demand LOTS of attention. I feel bad because I haven't been able to show Josey as much attention. How often do you get your snakes out? I am afraid that she feels neglected or sad in her cage (it is a big cage, though).

Also, I have never taken her to a vet. She has always eaten well, always sheds regularly and never shows any other sickly signs. Do you think she still needs a check-up?

I also feed her live mice - what are your feelings on that? I hear both sides of the argument, that live mice can hurt them, but I also think a captive animal should be able to be as close to a free animal as possible!

I registered for this board because we are considering adopting a 2yr-old boxer that wandered up to my husband's grandfather's farm and he can't find the owners. I worry about how the cats (a year old now) will take to the boxer. Any suggestions on that?

 

[grinders family]

hi greg! we have 2 ball pythons named seraphim and midguard and a boa named darger. darger is still very little and eats fuzzies,the pythons eat small rats and im not sure how old they are.so far our boxers,grinder and ly, have not noticed them at all butthey stare at the parakeets all the time with their heads cocked to the side. your balls sounde great,have you ever had any problems with mites? leeanne

 

[Greg]

Got Snakes

Hi aself, Glad to hear from you and Josie your Corn Snake. I'll try to answer your questions the best that I can. I don't know if my answers are correct, but I can tell you of my personel experiances. I try to handle my Gloria and Monte at least once maybe twice a week. I try to keep them used to be handled. So they don't become hand shy or spooky. They love coming out of thier tanks, which I house them in seperate 55 gallon glass tanks. They love crawling about the house, of course I put my dogs in a different room at the time only because I don't want one of the boxer boys to stomp on them while playing. The dogs are use to them and are just nosey, I doubt they would harm them.
I took Gloria to the vet one time when she got bit by a rat on the mouth and got an infection. At that time I ask the vet if they needed check up's and he told me not really. Snakes are pretty self mantained and are healthy, but if you thing they may be ill' take her in. Yes I feed large rats, they love em'. I tried that frozen dead rat thing after Gloria got bit, but they wouldn't eat . Then I got stuck with a thawed dead very smelly rat to despose off. That was a yuck. In the eight years I had snakes, I went to the vet once and that was when she got bit. They are very large a very strong and healthy. Getting your two year old boxer would be great. Boxers are the coolest dog out there. You will love him. Just remember every dog is different, depends how he was trained. To rescue a boxer is a beautiful thing. He's only two so he is still in his puppy brain. Boxers take a long time to mature, thats what's so cool about them. They are puppies in mind all thier lives. The cat is a year old and matured already. She can defend herself or will stay away from him. Lots of people have boxers and other pets that get along perfect. Boxers are open minded and love everything. I just hope he didn't run away or get lost from some cruel people. Boxers need a lot of love and a in home life. Good Luck Greg O

 

[Greg]

Got Snakes

Hi leeann, Great to hear from you and Seraphim, Midguard, and the big boy Darger. How big is Darger?? I have Balls because they don't get to big. I thought about getting a Boa but, they tend to grow bigger than I have room for. How do you house your snake kids?? I keep mine in seperate 55 gallon tanks with hot rock and water pan on a bed of cypress mulch. At full strech out they are about 6 ft. To answer your question about mites. The answer is no, I never had that problem, but I change their bedding weekly if that helps. I don't know. Do you or have you had mites and what can you do to correct that problem. I am at lost at this problem. I would like to know in case I ever run across that problem. Maybe someone else in the Boxer World has some imput on mites. My two Boxers (Bugsy and Oskar) lived with my snakes (Monte and Gloria) all thier lives. They all get along. Just a sniff and ok. I do keep them apart because I don't want Oskar by playing hard to stomp on em' by mistake while playing. Hope to hear from you again. Greg O

 

[Bxrlvr in KC]

In response to the question about mites...

My husband and I breed boas and have some mite experience. Are you having problems? I would be happy to answer any questions if I can.

Also wanted to drop my two cents in about live vs. prekilled feedings. We feed everything prekilled for the safety of the boas. Bites (from the prey) during live feedings have led us to this practice. It works well for us. I respect the various schools of thought on this issue, though.

We don't take our snakes for check-ups. As Greg stated, they are self-maintaining. The only thing to be aware of is that snakes hide their illnesses quite well. By the time you know something's wrong, it might be too late to take action. This is especially true of respiratory problems. You just need to be observant.

 

[Greg]

Got Snakes

Thanks Bxrlver in KC, Yes you are right about bites from prey being a problem. One time my Gloria got bit on the mouth and was infected, which caused great expense at the vet. She had to have a series of antibonics, which total about $300.00. Alot of my friends said I was nuts to spend that much on a snake. Once you commit to the care of an amimal you have to be prepared for all problems. I tried to switch to prekill after her bad bite, but they had no interest at all. So I was forced to back to live so they would eat. The vet said he could force feed if they would not eat. That was only a last resort if needed. Snakes get into mood swings, if they any little problem they tend to stop eating for a period of time. One time Monte refused to eat for almost 3 months, I was concerned, but he snapped out of depression and began to eat again. I had to check his weight all the time to make sure he wasn't dropping to fast. I don't have a mite problem, but leeann, a couple of treads before this one mentioned mites and I couldn't help her because I never had a problem. I know from talking to you in the past that you are alot more experianced with snake problems than me. It's great to get your input on these things. Thank You very much Greg O.

 

[grinders family]

hi no i dont have mite problems,but i gave a family member a 6ft boa and it was fine when i gave it to him but now it has mites and hes having a hard time getting rid of them.i think it possibly could be from a snake he bought a petco,they have been known to have mites on their snakes in my area.i do know that using listerene and water to soak them usually works but with a 6ft? thats alot of listerene.my snakes are in seperate tanks(55gal) with an under the tank heat pad and over head lights.i cant wait til my pythons get 6 ft! right now i would say they are around 4 and a half.darger is maybe 2 ft and as big around as my pinkie,he has been a real experience,its alot differant then caring for the balls.we just moved up here to spokane from iowa and brought the snakes from there,it was quite a drive..3 snakes,4 kids,2 cats,and a guinea pig! but we made it FINALLY .i try to always feed frozen.occasionally we will have to get live because they are out of frozen and my husband will stun them for me,now thats a whole other experience! a lady at reptile gardens told me it was good to do that occasionallyfor nutritional value,i dont know how true that is but they seem very healthy. would love to hear more about the snakes!! bxrlvr in kc,how big are the babies when they are born? i noticed my boa doesnt grow nearly as fast as the balls which just seems odd to me since they get so much bigger....thanks for your input all. leeanne

 

[Greg]

Got Snakes

Hi leeann, I'm sorry I thought you had the mite problem, forgive me. Yes bxrlver is the snake expert here, she has more experiance with Boa's. I never had one, just because they get bigger than I can handle. She knows a site of a gentleman that raises Boa and other snakes. It's a wonderful site for snake lovers, plenty of pictures. I know if I back up a few pages in this forum the site is listed. I do that every so often just to see what he might have updated. Maybe if bxrlvr reads this entry maybe she would be kind enough to re-list it. Yes I mentioned before I tried prekill it just don't work for me. Stunning the bait sounds like a idea. I think that if you feed live most of thier lives they expect to get bit, maybe that makes them more agressive. I don't really have a problem with bites, they usally strike pretty fast. If they are not hungry, I watch and after a few mintues or rat makes a move on snake I take bait right away. Give it back next day. That's why I keep a couple of 10 gallon tanks on hand for overnight ray motels. Sleeping quarters only, no showers or cable. LOL Thanks for your imput hope to see ya again GregOwormicon

 

[Greg]

Boa site

Yep I found it on page 2 of this tread, the Boa site. After my last post it bugged me what the site address was so I looked back and located it. Here it is, hope it works. http://boaphile.com/. Good Luck. I thing you will like it. Greg Owormicon

 

[Bxrlvr in KC]

Mites on snakes are comparable to fleas on dogs. They are a common problem. The key is to not let things get out of hand. Mites are a parasite and can quickly cause dehydration and anemia.

The Listerine method is one I have head of, but never personally used. Please ask your family member to do some research before using this method. There are other important elements (like water temperature) to consider during this procedure, so doing a quick Internet search on “snake mite Listerine” should return some decent results and instructions.

Here is a web page that seems to have some good information about mites and some common treatments:

http://www.vidapreciosa.net/TipsAndTechniques/thewaragainstsnakemites/Mites-KnowTheEnemy.htm

There is some controversy over using the “pest strips” for mite treatment. It can have negative effects on humans and reptiles. Again, some research should be done before this method is chosen.

Our babies are about 12” long when born. I’ll try to find some pictures and post them.

Happy to answer any other questions I can.
:D