Help!

[Miranda Jane]

My snake's head looks really bumpy and dry and I think it has something to do with shedding. He is always rubbing his head on things in his terrarium but nothing changes. Here are some pictures.

[adamanteus]

It's difficult to tell from the picture, Miranda, but if you think he is having trouble sloughing I would recommend "wet-bagging" him. Why his head would appear "lumpy" is a mystery to me. Is it possible he has mites? If you wipe a dampened tissue over his head and face, particularly around his eyes, you will see the mites on the tissue, if they are present.

[Elliot]

It probably does have something to do with shedding, does it have a big water bowl in its cage?

[Miranda Jane]

Thanks for the response :) . What is "wet-bagging"? Also his water bowl is pretty large, you can see it in my gallery.

[Stefan-A]

Throwing him in a wet bag. :D

[adamanteus]

Take a cloth bag, wet it through with tepid water, place him in it then put him (in the bag) back into his tank overnight, by morning his skin will have shed.

[Miranda Jane]

Thanks, I'll try that tonight.

[adamanteus]

You're welcome.;) Don't forget to check for those mites too. The "bumpy" issue needs looking at!:)

[Miranda Jane]

wet bagging didn't work :( . here is a better pic

[KITKAT]

wet bagging didn't work :( . here is a better pic

Ah... I think I have seen this. It is an area of the head that did not shed properly. Try a qtip with a very thin coating of vaseline. Coat just the rough area, but avoid the nostrils. Make sure the coating on the snake is very thin. The next morning, take a warm wet washrag and gently rub the area that you coated. See if you get anything to slough off. If you do, then that indicates that this is your problem.

And as someone else suggested, you do need to check for mites. You can do this also with a wet washrag. Use a white one. Gently pass the snake through the rag, then check the rag for mites.

[Lulu Bennett]

good idea kitkat. miranda let us know how this works.

[Miranda Jane]

I'll go check for mites now and then in like thirty minutes ill do the vasaline thing. Thank you so much, I'll give you the status report tomarrow

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Miranda Jane :)

[Miranda Jane]

The vasaline didn't work either :confused: . He doesn't have mites and he hasn't shed in like 7 months. this is so upsetting :(

[adamanteus]

Have you had him for the whole seven months, Miranda?

[Elliot]

The vasaline didn't work either :confused: . He doesn't have mites and he hasn't shed in like 7 months. this is so upsetting :(

How much do you feed him? 7 months is a long time without a shed.:confused:

[Miranda Jane]

I have had him the whole 7 months and I have been giving him 3 rosy minnows from Petco, sometimes 4, once a week but just the other day I bought frozen Pacific Cod fillets because I guess it doesn't have thiaminase and it doesn't have parasites. I was planning on giving him that today

[Elliot]

well I am giving him 3 rosy minnows from Petco, sometimes 4, once a week but just the other day I bought frozen Pacific Cod fillets because I guess it doesn't have thiaminase and it doesn't have parasites. I was planning on giving him that today

3 or 4 minnows a week is definatley not enough. How big is he?

[Miranda Jane]

he is 21 inches

[adamanteus]

Miranda, have you tried to switch him onto pinkies yet?

[Elliot]

he is 21 inches

I would feed him 3 or 4 minnows every 3 days probably. I would definatley try to get him on mice.

[Miranda Jane]

I don't like feeding rodents because I had a pet hampster and you can see their little faces and its so sad. can I feed him the fish fillets?

[Elliot]

You can get frozen mice and thaw them out, I don't know if that'd help any though.

[adamanteus]

Fish fillets are fine up to a point, but they lack many nutrients simply because they are fillets. Whole animals are your snake's natural prey.

[Stefan-A]

I had pet hamsters once (twice). Bred them a dozen or so times. ;)

Feeding snakes f/t mice isn't that bad. It felt a bit weird the first time, but there's really nothing to it.

[Miranda Jane]

say I fed him the fish fillet and added some sort of suppliment, how much should I give him?

[adamanteus]

Just a light dusting of a multi-vitamin especially prepared for reptiles and mixed with a little calcium powder should suffice. Don't overdo it, it's not necessary every meal. I still feel you would be better using whole animals....if your snake hasn't shed for seven months this would suggest he hasn't grown for seven months either.

[Miranda Jane]

okay, so if I fed him pinkies, how often should I feed him and how much?

[adamanteus]

At 21 inches, he'll take quite a few! Start him off on four or five, and see how that goes. It's a still a good idea to dust with supplements occasionally too.

[Miranda Jane]

4 or 5 a week?

[adamanteus]

4 or 5 a week?

Yes, at first, but you may need to upgrade to fuzzies if he wants more than you're offering.

[Elliot]

4 or 5 a week?

Yup, they're pretty small.

[Miranda Jane]

okay I guess I'll do that... so today is his day to eat, should I just automatically start feeding him pinkies or should I gradually switch his diet by giving him like 2 pinkies and a couple minnows?

[adamanteus]

Your choice, Miranda. You may find you have to "scent" the pinkies first...that is, rub them with fish to fool him into taking them. I think the important thing at this stage is to give him as much as he'll take.

[Miranda Jane]

He won't eat the pinkies :( . I scented them with salmon and tried dangling them in front of him but he just won't eat.

[Elliot]

He won't eat the pinkies :( . I scented them with salmon and tried dangling them in front of him but he just won't eat.

Try wrapping up a piece of salmon in the pinky's arms.

[Miranda Jane]

Okay, I just did. I guess I'll just wait a few minutes? I guess if he doesn't eat soon I'll put them back in the freezer and give them to him tomarrow.

[Elliot]

Does he usually eat salmon?

[Miranda Jane]

no, he usually eats minnows. but I don't know if I can scent pinkies with live minnows

[drache]

just freeze a few minnows
then you can use thawed ones for scenting

[Lulu Bennett]

if the pinkie has already defrosted then dont refreeze it.

[Elliot]

I've been guilty of doing that once or twice. :rolleyes:

[Stefan-A]

I admit I refreeze mice sometimes, but almost immediately after it has been thawed and rejected by my snakes. And I only refreeze it once.

Fish, never.

[Lulu Bennett]

i honestly dont know what efect it will have on snakes but i never refreeze thawed meat. i know how much it upsets my tummy so i can emagin what it does to them lol the only difference is that we ave painkillers lol

[Stefan-A]

Could be psychosomatic. ;)

No, but you're of course right. Meat shouldn't be refrozen. As long as it's thawed, bacteria etc. will reproduce and it will continue to decompose.

[drache]

As long as it's thawed, bacteria etc. will reproduce and it will continue to decompose.

once you refreeze, it doesn't continue to decompose, but just the process changes the cell structure
what I do if the rodent is still in reasonably good shape (it didn't get dropped onto crud), I refrigerate it and try again later
I limit refrigeration of a thawed rodent to about 8 hrs - not sure why