Naughty Northwestern

[kibakiba]

I've posted about Squirt and thumbelina having mouth infections and they've been doing good. Thumbelina's mouth is getting its usual pink colour and she's no longer got any swelling, but Squirt is really giving me trouble. I simply wanted to check on him and make sure he was okay and then put a little medicine on his mouth for today... He musked, he pooped and he bit me a total of 30 times in different areas. I have 20-30 little red marks all over my left hand and he bit me multiple times on most of those. He's really been letting me know that he doesn't appreciate the help. You can even see a murderous look in his little golden eyes, his usual big bright golden eyes go to a darker colour and his pupils contract a lot right before he bites me. it's almost like he's posessed. He's such a naughty little Northwestern!

[guidofatherof5]

Serves you right disturbing him the way you do.:D

[kibakiba]

Well, maybe he shouldn't have bothered his girlfriend and stole her place on the tree. She wouldn't have bit his mouth if he hadn't. Then he wouldn't be in this mess. ;) Of course, I don't blame him for being a bit pissy when his mouth is probably hurting really bad and he has to get a q-tip rubbed around his mouth with medicine...
I don't think I deserved the swollen, itchy and very sore hand that I got from his biting, though. It also doesn't help that he smeared his poop in the bites. :rolleyes:

[guidofatherof5]

It also doesn't help that he smeared his poop in the bites. :rolleyes:

Consider it a poultice. He was only trying to help.:D

[kibakiba]

Yes, trying to help by infecting it so I could never pick him up again. ;) :D

[kibakiba]

He's done it again and this time, I have video of his naughtiness. I had to reformat my pc so I cant edit the video and post it right now, but I will when I have time.
Squirt was just a little bit more cooperative this time, he actually opened his mouth for me to rub the q-tip in there.
I also found a cure to my garter saliva sensitivity, lavender oil. I've always known lavender oil to have antibacterial properties, but I never really thought that I'd be using it to ease the swelling and completely take away my problems. My whole hand was purple and swollen last night and a couple drops of lavender oil on the bites stung a little bit and within minutes, it was like a miracle cure. No pain, no itching and the swelling was completely gone. Looks like Squirt won't be winning this time with the biting, though he did actually make me bleed quite badly this time.

[kibakiba]

Squirt didn't bite this time, he just let me do it. I seem to have broken his spirit for now. He latched onto my finger for about 5 seconds then let go and didn't fuss after that. His mouth is also turning back to it's usual pinkish colour.
After getting the medication in his mouth and a little dab of ointment on his mouth, he got a little neck rub from my mom and I before being put back in his enclosure. He seemed to be more calm and didn't try rubbing the ointment off of his mouth this time.

[EasternGirl]

Poor Chantel! Selena just squirms for a bit and then droops over and plays dead! It is tricky putting medicine on their little mouths. It's good to hear about the lavender oil...I'm glad something is helping...I'm going to try that when my cat scratches me and I get severely allergic. I really hope your snakies are okay! Tell them I said to give you a break!

[kibakiba]

Lavender oil is great for a lot of things. Especially anxiety and sleep disorders. I use it in an oil burner in my room at night. A few drop is all it takes to get me relaxed. It also helps with headaches. It has a lot of wonderful uses... Only downside is that it can be a bit expensive. I paid 9 dollars for an ounce of it, but for everything it can be used for, I'd say it's really worth it.

I told Squirt that you said to give me a break and he coiled himself up and struck at me. He's such a naughty little guy, I cant help but laugh at him.

[kibakiba]

I was showing Squirt to my real mom, she went to let him slither onto her hand and I put my hand near hers... Squirt wouldn't have it. He coiled up, flattened his head and did this... I don't even know. You know when you get frustrated at something and you feel like lifting your head up and screaming at the ceiling? That's what Squirt did before latching onto my finger. My mom didn't want anything to do with Squirt after that, she thought he was possessed! Haha.
Thumbelina's mouth is all better now but I'm going to put one more application of the medicine on it and let her stay one more night before putting her back with her buddies.
Squirts mouth improved quite a lot, but he still has a very deep red side of his mouth. I almost want to say that part hasn't improved at all. I feel bad for him since he really hates me for putting the medicine on it twice daily, but I don't want his mouth to get worse.

[guidofatherof5]

Good to hear they are doing better.;)

[kibakiba]

I forgot to do Squirts medicine today at 8 like I normally have, just did it now and the red spot is gone... But not in a good way. After getting bit about 6 times before I could restrain him, he opened his mouth, like he knew that putting up a fight wouldn't get me to stop... His whole mouth is a purpley colour again. I feel kind of like I've failed the little guy.

[ConcinusMan]

How long has it been now? the treatment I mean. If things are looking a lot better you could back off and maybe just do it once a day in the evening after feeding time. I'd still keep them on paper towels for a while and keep a very close eye on it. If it seems to flare up again, you know what to do.

[kibakiba]

About a week. For Thumbelina her mouth is perfectly pink, it's just Squirt I'm worried about. He had a deep red spot on his gums this morning when I put it on, I checked on them and put the medicine on it, his mouth still had that red spot and the purple colour. I put a couple extra drops of the medicine in the water for Squirt.
One thing good about that is, he seems eager to get it over with... Aside from all the biting, he just opened his mouth and let me put it on his gums. Usually he puts up a fight with getting the medicine in there.

[ConcinusMan]

I was saying that in another post somewhere about their intelligence. The one's I was treating learned to just go limp and accept it. It was over in seconds that way instead of all the fuss and I think they figured that out after a while.

I would keep it up for a while but they probably don't need the pink stuff but once a day now. Just keep them on clean paper towels still, use the pink stuff after they eat, and follow up with the ointment maybe twice a day.

Even if the worst of it heals, their mouths might still be vulnerable to stuff getting crammed in there so keep a close eye on it and try to keep them clean. Eventually you may be able to put them back on regular substrate but you'll have to watch and make sure stuff isn't sticking to the wounded areas.

[kibakiba]

Alright. I'll probably feed them tomorrow since I just put the medicine on their mouths. I feel kind of bad having the food thawing in my room and having them know it's there, but they'll have some treats tomorrow. Especially Squirt for being a good boy. :D

[ConcinusMan]

Keep them nice and warm, even at night. Helps with the healing.;) I think you'll find they do most of their healing on a warm night while they sleep.

[kibakiba]

I keep my room at 70-75 and rarely above that. Since they're in the one gallon plastic enclosure I cant use a lamp. I also don't trust the heating pad meant for humans to warm them or not burn them. The damn thing is so iffy. "high" on the settings is literally life fire... "low" is cold and "medium"... Well, you just never know with that setting.

[ConcinusMan]

Hmmm... not sure what you should do about that but being injured they should be kept warm. At least part of their enclosure at 85-90 degrees.

[kibakiba]

Well, I suppose I can try the heating pad and monitor it when I'm awake. I don't trust keeping it on while I'm asleep though so that might pose a problem. Maybe at night I can just take Squirt to bed with me and let him sleep under my multitude of blankets. I'm sure he'd stop biting then... Knowing what it feels like to be a king... Haha.

[EasternGirl]

I really hope that Squirt gets better. I'm keeping you and Squirt in my thoughts, Chantel.

[kibakiba]

Thanks, Marnie. I'm sure he'll be fine. He enjoyed his treat for being good yesterday and didn't bite me today. He did flatten his head a bit though... He's cute when he's mad!

[kibakiba]

Squirt's mouth has gone back to normal and I've let him go back in with the others.
One thing is weird though... When I pick him up to make sure his mouth is okay still... He flattens his head and rubs his face on me and drools. Please tell me that is normal... Haha.

[kibakiba]

I figure I'll pu this here, since it's a little story about another naughty northwestern....

Runt is normally really sweet, musky but calms fast and doesn't mind being held too often. I picked her up today to show my boyfriend how big she's gotten since he last saw her (about 6 months). She didn't seem to care when I first wrapped my fingers around her body, then she started freaking out with her mouth open... I figured I just startled her, and that I'd just continue holding her until she calmed down. Nope, she didn't like that plan. She's never bitten me when food wasn't involved, so when she latched on it startled me... Her grip is so much stronger than Mama's... She didn't let go for 15 minutes, she kept digging her teeth even deeper into my finger. It took some water to the face and carefully pulling her away to get her off of me... She kept flailing with her mouth open. Evil little brat.

[kibakiba]

My mom thinks it's a case of serious teen angst. If you look at it in snake years, she is technically a teen. It makes perfect sense! :D

[Light of Dae]

Lol maybe she just don't like your boyfriend and this was her way of showing you she disapproves! lol My horse is normally a sweet heart, but the other day a friend of ours showed up n I showed him my horse n she became the biggest B*tch EVER lol He smells funny I guess...

[kibakiba]

My boyfriend is 2000 miles away. :) She bit be before she even got close to my webcam, so that didn't scare her either. I think she just wanted to make me tear up while I was on the camera. Haha. I've never been bitten that hard before, even in Mama's food rages and Snap's random ansty pms fits.

[EasternGirl]

Well Cee Cee must have pms...I think she's too old to be a teenager...but she has become a total brat lately. She tries to bite me every chance she gets! It's just a matter of time before she gets me good...

[Light of Dae]

Aaah I thought maybe he was like right there n maybe his scent had put her off. Who knows lol

[kibakiba]

If he was close and visited on a regular basis, I think the snakes would be more used to him... He loves snakies and reptiles a lot, so I doubt any of them would have a break from his love... :P

Marnie, maybe since it's geting (kind of) close to spring... The ladies are getting in a pissy mood because they know that in a couple moths the boys wont leave them alone! Haha.

[kibakiba]

So... Now Snap and Hades are acting like this. Hades is usually a good boy who comes up to my hand and acts all sweet, until you pick him up... So I don't get what's going on with them. They're being extremely evil.

[EasternGirl]

Maybe it's evil snakie time...who knows? I really think with Cee Cee it has to do with her now thinking my fingers are food everytime I stick them in her enclosure. She's been doing this ever since I started feeding her with the hemostats. When I would feed her with the hemostats, I would go to her tank with a dish of food and sit down in front of her tank on the floor. I would sit the dish on the floor so that I could open her tank and then stick the hemostats in the front of the tank with a piece of food. Now, everytime I sit down on the floor in front of her tank, she comes over to the door and looks outside and down onto the floor for food...then she starts poking her head out of the tank and smelling my fingers and getting that look on her face like she's going to take a bite of me! Tonight, I was feeding Seeley some fish and she must have smelled it...she started slithering all over and looking at the floor for a dish...I opened her tank and she popped her head out and started darting for my fingers. I finally gave in and gave her another pinky....(she ate last night)...pig snake!

[guidofatherof5]

What is wrong with you Marnie. Be strong, don't let Cee Cee push you around. The next time she tries that .......... hold on.
You should see my big girls. They're at the screen begging for a treat. Back in a few.

Now, where were we? Oh yeah, Cee Cee. As I was saying. The next time she tries that stuff just don't feed her. She'll learn you can't be manipulated and controlled. ;)
Be strong, like me.:D

[angrygamer]

Maybe it's evil snakie time...who knows? I really think with Cee Cee it has to do with her now thinking my fingers are food everytime I stick them in her enclosure. She's been doing this ever since I started feeding her with the hemostats. When I would feed her with the hemostats, I would go to her tank with a dish of food and sit down in front of her tank on the floor. I would sit the dish on the floor so that I could open her tank and then stick the hemostats in the front of the tank with a piece of food. Now, everytime I sit down on the floor in front of her tank, she comes over to the door and looks outside and down onto the floor for food...then she starts poking her head out of the tank and smelling my fingers and getting that look on her face like she's going to take a bite of me! Tonight, I was feeding Seeley some fish and she must have smelled it...she started slithering all over and looking at the floor for a dish...I opened her tank and she popped her head out and started darting for my fingers. I finally gave in and gave her another pinky....(she ate last night)...pig snake!

Just a suggestion, I don't know how often you handle Cee Cee but I read somewhere that if you don't handle your Garters often enough that they don't stay tame. You can "re-tame" them if you will, but it takes a little bit of time for them to get used to being handled again. I'm just throwing it out there.

[kibakiba]

That's not always true, I never really hold Snap, but the longer I go without holding her, the tamer she is (for a while). Some snakes just hate it when you pick them up, and it stresses them out even more when you force contact with them

[angrygamer]

That's not always true, I never really hold Snap, but the longer I go without holding her, the tamer she is (for a while). Some snakes just hate it when you pick them up, and it stresses them out even more when you force contact with them

Yeah, but how much do you handle her say, on a weekly basis?

[kibakiba]

None. I pick her up kist when I need to clean the tank. She doesn't like being held, so I don't hold her. Every once in a while I'll give her a little love and hold her for maybe 15 minutes a couple times within a month or two, but for the most part handling is kept at a minimum, because otherwise she becomes unhappy and a serious grump.

[angrygamer]

None. I pick her up kist when I need to clean the tank. She doesn't like being held, so I don't hold her. Every once in a while I'll give her a little love and hold her for maybe 15 minutes a couple times within a month or two, but for the most part handling is kept at a minimum, because otherwise she becomes unhappy and a serious grump.

They can be tamed into being handled, it just takes time.

[kibakiba]

Some of them don't. She's never going to like being handled.

[angrygamer]

Some of them don't. She's never going to like being handled.

Oh, I agree.

[ConcinusMan]

Me too. I find that if they don't tame down within a month, they never will. Many of the tamest WC ones I've ever had were tame within days or even minutes. After several weeks, it is obvious which ones will tolerate handling and which ones won't. Beyond a couple of weeks, more handling doesn't help one bit.

[EasternGirl]

Cee Cee doesn't try to bite me at all once I pick her up. Like I said, I really think it is her associating my fingers with food more than anything else. She does get defensive and false strike sometimes when I first go to touch her...but then she will usually calm down and let me pet her once she knows it's me. But she is never going to like being held...I can tell that she, and Seeley, are never going to be those types of snakes that snuggle up on me or curl up around my hand. They just wiggle around trying to get away when I hold them. But they always come out to see me...poke their heads out to look at me and watch me when I talk to them...they do interact. Hermes is going to be the one who will cuddle up with me...I can already tell...but he is captive bred. I just accept Cee Cee and Seeley and love them for who they are.

[kibakiba]

I've chosen to accept that if they don't want to be calm with me, that's fine. As long sa they aren't suffering from the occasional pick up ;) I can't force miss snappy to love me and be calm around me, so there is no use in trying. Perhaps she'll eventually get used to me enough that she doesn't have to hiss when I touch her.

[EasternGirl]

Yeah...I can always keep hoping that one day Cee Cee and Seeley will decide to be less skiddish and more trusting...but I figure at least they have adjusted pretty well for W/C snakes. They seem happy enough and they do know who I am...they trust me more that anyone else. They have come to the point where I can put my hands in and pet them and they don't hide...that is a lot for them. I love them no matter what so if this is how they are going to be, that's fine with me.

[kibakiba]

Snapwill come up to me ususally but that's about the extent of her "niceness". She'll come up, nip me and slither under the bedding. It seems like it's a game to her sometimes.

[EasternGirl]

Lol...that's kind of funny. Probably not so much for you since your the one getting nipped. Cee Cee's latest thing is to poke her head out of the enclosure and then sniff at my fingers and nudge her nose around in my hand a bit and then she goes back inside the enclosure...I think she is just looking for food. She is a pig snake! At least she isn't trying to bite my fingers anymore though...

[kibakiba]

Well, surprisingly, Snap doesn't do the whole "bite so hard it bleeds and swells up" sort of thing... She just latches on enough to startle me and feel her teeth against my skin, but not enough to puncture.

[EasternGirl]

Still have never really been bitten...Cee Cee will get me one of these days though...and she has a big mouth so it probably won't be pretty! Anyway...it seems that we are the only two members left on here so I am going to say goodnight Chantel...I'm going to go watch some Angel and then go to sleep...:).

[kibakiba]

Night Marnie!

[ConcinusMan]

I took a week or two to handle all the babies in order to choose the calmest ones for you Chantel, and it turns out she just hates you. That's so funny.:p

I'm pretty sure she's one of these three, and I didn't even have to pick them up. They crawled up on me.:)

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3633/new3stripebabies021larg.jpg

[kibakiba]

She climbs onto me sometimes, she's really curious and calm... She just doesn't like me picking her up. She looks like the one closest to yout hand, she's got the same look going on as that one.

I'm sure you'd be surprised at how giant she is now... She just went through a small growth spurt, larger than Mama now.

[ConcinusMan]

I wouldn't be surprised at her size at all. I raised my first concinnus pair from babies and they were from the same population. All the snakes there get very big, and get that way fast. There's a lot of egrets, crows, herons, enormous bullfrogs, etc in that wetland that just love to eat snakes so there's natural pressure to get big fast.

[kibakiba]

Her thickness is larger than a quarter right now... :D But, she's also pretty fat... She eats 2 large pinkies a week.