Foreign or Chemical Substances??? Odd objects??

[mtolypetsupply]

I was wondering if anyone uses anything foreign or unnatural or chemical etc. for any purpose with their snakes, and I mean this in a benign or beneficial way. :)

For example, if we get cut, we can superglue our skin back together, if a snake gets cut, can we do the same thing? (DON'T WORRY SHANNON, James and Ernestine are safe and have not been cut!)

Or if you have a bunch of babies, can you mark them with something? Nail polish? Sharpie Marker? (Don't worry Shannon, I am not graffitting your snakes.)

I know you can use tape on them with no ill effect, I saw the Leetle Lizard Halloween Costume!

Seriously, though, you experienced Herpers probably have a whole bunch of tricks up your sleeves, using things us newbies wouldn't even imagine to solve problems or enrich our snakes' lives. Share your secrets with us, great masters, so that we may be prepared for anything!

[infernalis]

I have mentioned this one before.

Silvadine SSD ointment was originally developed for human use to prevent infections in severe burns.

This ointment works wonders on snakes, it will shrink boils, prevent and treat infections, and help heal frostbite in tails.

We always keep a tube in the snake room.

There are several others, but I would prefer a qualified vet to prescribe those on a case by case basis, so I won't even discuss them.

[Garter_Gertie]

Dekay, could you just name them saying, "Ask your vet for XXXXX as it has to be prescribed"? Else how will we know what's out there and what it's good for?

[infernalis]

It's a tough call MK, but if I go and disclose what pain meds and antibiotics the vets use, then somewhere, somehow, someone will try and bypass the vet.

We have to understand, I have looked at the "who's on line" page more times than I can count, and at many times there can be say 6 of US on line and 60 visitors (Unregistered guests)

Some of these unregistered guests ultimately join the forum, but most are just looking for information, and we have to be responsible for what kind of information we are sending THEM.

[ssssnakeluvr]

Or if you have a bunch of babies, can you mark them with something? Nail polish? Sharpie Marker? (Don't worry Shannon, I am not graffitting your snakes.)



I wouldn't do it....nail polish could affect them...not sure on what chemicals would be in it that couild be a problem...sharpie probably wouldn't hurt them....but all these would only be temporary....as soon as they shed, it would be gone.
best thing to do if you need to id them is to keep them in separate smaller cages.

[drache]

I know you can use tape on them with no ill effect, I saw the Leetle Lizard Halloween Costume!
do not use tape on snakes and I don't think Kyle did
I'll look again, but I believe those lizard legs were just placed, not attached
tape can damage their scales and skin when you take it off
when we moved last year, one of my snakes escaped and was found dead, stuck to some packing tape
the gruesome part was that apparently she had struggled so hard to get loose that she had ripped herself open

[infernalis]

Somehow a small piece of packing tape got stuck on a ribbon snake here once. Oh yea the snake took off at feeding time.

Anyhow, it was a freaky 10 minutes here getting it back off.

Not good at all.

It's extremely hard to tell, but look at the angle of the rear right one.

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4109/img1358dt9.jpg

[drache]

you're right
Kyle - what did you use?

[infernalis]

The front left is elevated also.

It looks like 2 pieces of tape face to face to make a strap, hopefully without any exposed adhesive.

Rhea, your comment about the snake tearing itself brought to mind this awful glue trap thing I found listed for home and garden.

It's intended to lure in snakes and trap them in glue, just like the mouse traps do.

[drache]

I've heard about them - barbaric!

[mtolypetsupply]

Is the Sulfadene prescription or over the counter????

[infernalis]

Silvadine is prescription, but not a controlled substance.

You may ask your vet for some, OR whenever you have a DR. appointment for yourself or one of the kids.

http://www.healthsquare.com/common/images/a/A0600360_55815_5.JPG

[Snake lover 3-25]

yeah.... i too have had snakes get stuch to packing tape.... some veg oil and water took care of that though.... but then again it was old used tape..... new tape could be really really bad.......

[infernalis]

Whenever I clean my tanks and glass panels, I always use vinegar based window cleaners.

Ammonia may leave vapors behind, and if you use bleach, any trace of bleach left behind will react with ammonia based cleaners and produce toxic fumes.

So we just buy big gallon jugs of vinegar windex. (leave the ammonia stuff right on the shelf at the store)

[drache]

the vinegar stuff is so easy to make, Wayne
I got a gallon of cheap white vinegar about two years ago and I don't know whether I'll get to use it up in my life time (not that big on cleaning a lot)
it's just a quarter cup of vinegar and a half a teaspoon of dish detergent added to two cups of water - put it in a spray bottle, shake it up, and voila - window cleaner
and the best part: you know exactly what went into it
don't buy a gallon of vinegar though, unless you have other uses
the stuff comes in quarts too, and that should be enough for about ten years or so

[Garter_Gertie]

If you drink coffee like I do, use the vinegar to clean your coffee maker...

[infernalis]

Yep, run it through once a month to keep that Java tasty.

Vinegar and water, it's the solution doctors recommend most:D

[mtolypetsupply]

you can also use vinegar for:

If you have a dishwasher, use it as the rinse agent, works great and MUCH cheaper

In your clothes washer- every so often do an empty load and run the vinegar through the soap dispenser and fabric softener dispenser (if you like, I don't use it so don't need to, I'd run another load empty or bathmats and rugs after that in case there's an aroma left), and it will remove traces of soap that cause the laundry to never actually rinse clean.

I don't use dish soap when I use it to clean glass, so I don't know how that recipe would work but don't forget that the windshield washer fluid is just diluted glass cleaner, too.

To clean slow drains, and freshen any drain, take out the stopper, and pour some baking soda down there, then follow with the vinegar. Follow with hot water after all the bubbling stops.

I can't think of any more right now, but isn't it great? Between a gallon of vinegar, and a gallon of bleach, you can clean just about anything in your house for less than $5/year!

[drache]

the vinegar makes a great weed killer too
I actually killed a 2" thick poke weed root with it - injected it in the stump and that thing never came back

[mtolypetsupply]

Ah, weed killer! Another thing that works for places that you NEVER want anything to grow again is rock salt. The kind for water softeners or for spreading on walks when it snows.

We use it in the horseshoe pits and on the driveway. I really don't know how much to use per sq ft, I think we've used it with about a 1 bag per 5-10 sq ft. Don't use in flower beds, and it can leach into surrounding soil and kill the grass, etc. Once a year, in our vegetative-free zones, it definitely keeps the weeds to a minimum.

We go pretty lightly with it, so it doesn't leach and kill the lawn and plantings, so after 6-10 mos or so, the rain dilutes it, and we get some regrowth. We are on city water, and our aquifers in the area are contaminated with all sorts of chemicals so salt leaching in is the least of our worries, but anyone with good clean well water should do their research as to if/how this could affect their well or aquifer.