problems and more problems

Question
QUESTION: My boys begged me to get them snakes........so I did.  We bought everything they told us we needed at the pet store.  However,  nothing worked as we were told,  we took them to the vet,  found out they had parasites.  We treated them. But are still not having much success with them eating.  We have tried Fuzzies,  pinkies,  we finally bought live mice and have had a little more success feeding the same only live. (babies)  Now we are fighting mites.  The mites I think we can handle,  but the eating problem has me worried.  what would you suggest.  These snakes go weeks without eating.  any info you could give us would be great.  thanks.

ANSWER: Hello Butch,

Sounds like you have your hands full. I wish you had read my blog on reasons why you should not buy from the pet stores. I explain it in great detail and even tell you about the problems you are having.

As for feeding. I am not sure what kind of snakes you had bought for your boys. I feed my snakes nothing but live prey. I feel that feeding a frozen thawed mouse is cheating the snake out of its natural instinct. I know people say you should on feed frozen thawed and its OK, but not something I would do. Snakes can go for weeks without eating, there are cases of snakes going as long as two years. One of my Ball Pythons has not eaten since August, and is still healthy as the day I got him. As long as your snakes do not look triangular shape throughout the body, you should not worry. I feed my snakes every seven days. Their prey item needs to be the same girth as the mid section of the snakes.

As for your problem with mites, if left untreated they can be life threatening to your snakes. They should have some mite ridding stuff at your local pet store. I found that Pet Smart has a really good mite treating oil. You should remove the snakes from the enclosure,and rub them down with the oil. At this point and mix one part bleach to ten parts water. Then spray the tank and wipe everything down with this solution. Let it dry and then go ahead and rinse with soap and water, making sure you got in all the cracks and crevices in the tank and whatever you have in it.

I hope this has helped you with your question and if you have any other questions please feel free to contact me again. If you have not done so already you should check out my website and become a member of the Ball Python Forum. I look forward to seeing you there.

Thanks, and good luck.
Eric Rovegno
www.ballpythonplanet.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We were really worried about my idea of breeding our own live feed.  All the pet stores advised us not to feed anything but frozen rodents.  However I felt the same as you when it comes to nature. Let nature handle it. The snakes would not touch the frozen rodents no matter what we did first to prepare them,  but they went right at the live baby mice.   The mite problem is really a nasty one.  But we will surely try what you have advised us on.

I also want to comment on alot of sites on the internet. Most of the ones we looked into advised us to go to a pet store.  I have found you are right on this one too.  I spent a fortune at the vet (with no reimbursement from the pet store) and found the snakes we purchased were not healthy.  
We would also like to know your thoughts on using vegetable oil on mites..........does this really work? And will it effect the snakes?  Thanks again
Oh and you mentioned we forgot to tell you what kind of snakes.........ball pythons

Answer
Hello Butch,

Yeah its a shame that someone would not reinburse you for the vet costs considering they are the ones selling unhealthy snakes.

As for the vegetable oil, I have read that myself, but have not tried it. You are best going to petsmart and buying the mite ridding oil they sell. When you start the treatment you may want to consider replacing your hide shelters, substrate and anything else you have that might have crevices. You can look online and find some nice plastic hide boxes. I will look the site up and let you know where to get it from. The price is less than $10.

Let me know if I can help you with anything else. Good luck Butch.

Eric Rovegno
www.ballpythonplanet.com