need some help here!!!

[brandon0133]

ok let me start by saying i have two rather large garter snakes,,,around 3ft being the smallest and 3 1/2 being the bigger one,,,well i have them in a 175 gallon tank,,,,and i also have a red eared slider turtle in there and everything is well,,all get along great,,,well i have a new addition to the family,,a ball python,,,hes only 1 /12 ft long,,,,can they be put in the sand tank without hurting each other?im only worried about the garters and python together,,,not the turtle,,,anyone?

[adamanteus]

I personally wouldn't keep two such diverse species together, especially as their environmental requirements are so different. But that's just my view.

[Snaky]

Same opinion as James, I would seperate them all. Watch out that the turtle doesn't hurt your snakes, they can do a lot of damage...

[Charlet_2007]

your python will eat everything thats in that tank... mine even tried to eat the heating pad that was in there.. so i took it out and put it under the tank.. this was when i was starting out with snakes and got some bad info...but they don't care as long as there hungry...

[brandon0133]

ok cool,,,man wish i could keep them all in my huge tank

[adamanteus]

Fill it up with a nice colony of Garters, Brandon!!!:D

[brandon0133]

also i just bought this boa and hes got little bugs on him,,,mites im guessing and i went out and bought mite spray stuff and soaked him in it,,,anyone know about mites? and do u think thats what this is? there tiny little bugs and they look like there under his scales,,,

[brandon0133]

heres some pics of my tank with the snakes and turtle in it together,,,lots of room and the snakes seem to keep there distance from the turtle,,,but sometimes the snakes crawl over the turtle,,never seen him try to hurt the snakes,,,
this is one of the snakes between the water tank i have in there and the big tank,,somehow he got in there and crawled out,,lol,,,yes i put a small tank in there with filter and water for the turtle,,he stays in there most the time,,i also keep feeder fish in there,,,
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_4832.jpg
and heres one with the two snakes playing around on a limb i put in there for them
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_4817.jpg
and heres me and my tank,,,it measures 6 1/2 ft long,,4 ft wide and 4 ft tall,,,,
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_4654.jpg
and heres a nice one to
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_4809.jpg
and heres the two turtles,,,,the big one pasted away not to long ago,,,unknown reason
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_4806.jpg

[adamanteus]

Brandon, on the question on mites.... have a read through this, plenty of useful stuff here.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/general-talk/341-mites.html?highlight=mites
Please make sure you keep the infected Boa well away from your other snakes.

[adamanteus]

Brandon, are you sure you typed the dimensions of your tank in correctly? If that tank's 4ft high and 4ft wide, that would make you about 10ft tall!:D

[drache]

Please make sure you keep the infected Boa well away from your other snakes.

not only that
make sure you wash your hands up to your elbows and change your shirt too after handling the boa and before getting near anything that's gonna come in contact with your other animals
mites spread really easily
I've had it happen, even when I thought I was being careful

[rancor_]

Where to start... Under NO circumstances should an African python be placed in with garters. Completely different environmental requirements. That tank is definitely not 4ft wide...maybe 2'. There reason that slider died was probably because there is FAR too little usable water in there for even one small turtle. that tank looks like its ideally set up for garters though.;) Either that, or gear it all for the turtles and set something else up for your snakes. The ball needs temps too hot for thamnophis and the water for the turtles should be enough to swim around in. like around 50-60 percent water and the rest land.
Snake mites life cycle is around 13-19 days(temp related). they can travel about 55 feet an hour (depending on development stage)!!!!!!!:eek:
If not dealt with quickly, they can be a real pain to get rid of.
The safest way to deal with them that i have heard of is an Ivory soap method. most importantly, Be Thorough.

[brandon0133]

i was taking a guess at the tank and i did measure it before but cant remember exsact numbers,,,anyways i know its 6 ft long and 175 gallons,,,,as for the mites i bought some spray stuff that said to spray the snake with it,,,which i did,,,and alot died and fell off,,,now hes in a different tank and which is a 20 gallon tank,,i have a heat light and bedding and a slim water bowl about 1 inch deep,,,hope this will be ok with him till i can section off the other tank to allow both kinds of snakes to be in the same tank,,i will seal it off so the garters and python cant get together,,,am i sopposed to use ivory soap and give the snake a bath? wont that hurt the snake?

[brandon0133]

ok well i used mite spray last night but theres still some on him that seem to refuse to come off,,there under his scales,,should i just continue to wait,,,or spray him again? i kinda gave him a bath last night in it and man a bunch came off,,,black ones,,,anyways he looks alot better,,,people at the petstore said he had not eaten in a week,,,he aint two fuzzies last night alone,,,,so he seems to eat just fine and looks really healthy and strong,,,but he does sit still alot,,i have him a heat light,,,20 gallon tank and water bowl and bedding,,and hes been fed,,anything else he really needs?

[GarterGirl]

Keep everything clean.

[rancor_]

ok well i used mite spray last night but theres still some on him that seem to refuse to come off,,there under his scales,,should i just continue to wait,,,or spray him again?
so he seems to eat just fine and looks really healthy and strong,,,but he does sit still alot,,i have him a heat light,,,20 gallon tank and water bowl and bedding,,and hes been fed,,anything else he really needs?
Details are important when asking specific questions. Mites First - what kind of "spray"?? what is it called?? You asked how to use the soap and would it hurt the snake. No as long as you pay attention and use plain old IVORY, not some other soap loaded with oils and purfume. this technique was explained to me by one of the most knowledegeable herpers I have ever met. Let me see if i can quote a post...hold on....

Common over-the-counter "Ivory" brand soap is 100% non-toxic, for starters. It certainly hasn't killed me yet.........what you do is segregate and WASH each new arrival with the soapy mixture you wash your hands with (don't worry, it doesn't burn their lil' eyes), then rinse them off. Then soap them up again, but leave it on this time. Segregate each snake in a threadbare enclosure, thoroughly sanitized (ALL cage decorations discarded .....Repeat this procedure every 2 days for about 2 weeks (the mite life cycle is what, 9 days? Let's say 10.......12........14).
Secondly... you NEED to adjust the tank for the turtle. That setup is not correct and you other turtle already showed you that.
Third...What are the temps in with the ball now? Hot side and cool side.

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

arent turtles supposed to have like the whole tank be filled with water then some gravel and a basking spot on one side?

[rancor_]

arent turtles supposed to have like the whole tank be filled with water then some gravel and a basking spot on one side?
Not all, but red ear sliders...lemme quote myself..
around 50-60 percent water and the rest land. they would do with even 25 percent land.

[brandon0133]

the name of the stuff is mite off and its made by zoo med says it controls mites in captive reptiles,, the old big turle was in a 20 gallon tank with only water and a spot to bask and he did ok till i moved him to the new big 175 tank,,i put a 10 gallon in there with nothing but water and a dock and the rest was land for the snakes and turtle to use,,,once he was moved to the new tank he never ate and he just sat still untill he died,,every once in awhile he moved around,,,i dont think he adapted at all,,the little turtle does awsome with his water and he stays in it 99% of the time,,eats live fish and mill worms and he just has a great time in there,,,i feed him vitimans also,,and he has a water heater sat at 78 degrees,,,the snakes are around 75 degrees inside the tank unless there in the heater light,,,snakes are doing great,,,i dont have a thermometer in the new tank yet,,just got the heat light today for him,,he seems to love to lay near the light not directly under it but alittle off to the side,,,i also put plants in there today and hes laying under the leaves and likes to climb all over the limbs,,,he just ate his 3rd fuzzy in the last two days,,,which i was not going to give him but the two garters hurt the mouse then left it alone to die so i threw him in with the python,,,did not take long,,lol, i killed alot of the mites but i can still see them on him