by Brett Gardin AKA JuliusSqueezer
It should first be understood that the author of this page(me) is not a
Vet and assumes no liability for any animals that you treat as a result of this advice.
I have spent the past 29 years gathering information and experience and have
successfully used all of these methods countless times. Other's will undoubtedly have
different views and ways to treat things but I am only offering what I have done and what
I feel comfortable to suggest. I will avoid dosages of certain drugs due to the fact
that this is a blanket care sheet for All species of reptiles and many species require
higher or lower doses than others. Feel free to email me with any questions or concerns.
href="mailto:rdkill@rocketmail.com">mailto:rdkill@rocketmail.com
To avoid most common illnesses, injuries, husbandry errors etc.
Please read as many care sheets from reputable herpers as you can find and as much
species information as you can BEFORE you bring the animal home.
Let's start with setup since how we keep our pets is often the reason they
inadvertently become ill or injured so maybe we can head some things off. Prevention
is always the best cure for anything. Thermometers and hygrometers should be placed at eye
level with where ever the animal spends most of his/her time. For ground dwelling
reptiles, 1 inch above the substrate or cage floor. For arboreals, just behind the
perch. Temperature readings above or below where the animal spends its time are useless.
All reptiles are cold blooded, meaning their body temperature is controlled by the
ambient temperature around them. They all must thermoregulate to properly digest
food. Therefor they must have gradient temperatures i.e.: a warm area and a cool
area with hides at either end so they never have to choose between hiding and
thermoregulation. Hides are very important to keep the stress factor down.
Stressed reptiles often will not eat or bask and are subject to many health
problems as a result. The hides need to be of just the right size where they fit
snuggly inside. To heat the cage, any household bulb will do for daytime light/heat
for snakes as long as the wattage is sufficient to heat the cage without over
heating. (Do not use halogen flood lights). For nighttime viewing use red or black
reptile bulbs as they do not disturb the night cycle of reptiles. Blacklight poster
type blacklights are not usable as they will damage the retinas of your reptile. Many
lizards and turtles require UV or full spectrum lighting to promote proper bone growth.
Without it, they will suffer severe calcium deficiencies and the bone disfigurement
is very apparent. They also need a warm surface to lay on to heat their bellies after
eating. This promotes proper digestion and without it, impaction or constipation is
eminent. The best floor heating devices are Under tank heat mats or even human type
heat pads. HOTROCKS DISFIGURE AND KILL. Do not use them.
Any herp vet or person that is involved with rescue and rehab will tell you of the
countless thermal burns they have treated because of partially burned out hotrocks or
hotrocks that develop hotspots. Night time temps should drop about 10 degrees as is
common outside in the wild anywhere. This can usually be provided by letting the
heat lamp go off and leave the heat pad on depending on your ambient room temperature.
Appropriate humidity should also be provided depending on your particular species.
READ THE CARE SHEETS. "More" is not always better.
Reptiles can overheat and they can be exposed to too much humidity. KNOW
YOUR ANIMAL'S NEEDS! The type of enclosure you use will dictate how well it
holds humidity. There are many ways to raise humidity. Lowering it is seldom a
problem because the heat tends to dry the cage out anyway so you almost always are
starting from near nothing. Most experienced herpers claim that putting a water pan
under the heat lamp raises the humidity. It does but it seems to fly right out
through the screen top. I prefer to cover part of the top with plastic, leaving room
for the heat lamp to not come in contact with it. The more you cover, the more
humidity you can hold in. Daily mistings will then raise the humidity for several
hours a day. For desert animals that prefer dry climates, Turn up the heat at the
basking point to whatever it is they require, Don't mist and don't cover with plastic.
There is of course no one way to set up housing for all reptiles. Do your
research. Talk to others with experience and if you are one with experience, please
help spread the word.
Now, onto illnesses and treatments.
Respiratory Infections
Symptoms: Breathing with mouth slightly open, excessive
yawning, excess sticky mucous, bubbles coming out of the nostrils or mouth, wheezing,
clicking sound when breathing, Loss of appetite, regurgitation, lethargic, no tongue
flicker.
Causes: Exposure to other animals with respiratory
infection, Temperatures too low, Improper Humidity.
What to do: First of all, understand that reptiles can
not sneeze or cough well enough to clear the trachea so breaking up all of the congestion right away with high humidity
will probably drown them or at best, cause pneumonia. So with a severe Respiratory infection, do NOT raise humidity at
this time to break it up like you would for yourself. DO however, raise the heat to
a maximum allowable setting for your particular species. Most Boas and Pythons with
an R.I. should be kept at a steady 90-92 degrees with low humidity until the wheezing
stops 24/7 which will require a nighttime heat bulb or ceramic heat emitter to allow
proper photo periods. If the animal regurgitates, do not attempt feeding again just yet
but encourage fluids. If any dehydration is apparent, use Pedialyte instead of
water. Once the wheezing or clicking stops, you can bring the humidity back up and lower
the temps a bit and resume day/night heat schedules. Very often, this is all that
needs to be done and they can recover but if symptoms continue for over a week, you will
need to see a Vet about some antibiotics.
Ulcerative Stomitits (Mouth Rot) or Abcesses
Symptoms: Swelling and/or open or scabbed sore around the
mouth/labial scales, cotton like patches or puss filled pockets inside the mouth, Mouth
not able to close all the way
Causes: Bacterial infection. There are many causes.
The most common in captivity being, feeding inside the enclosure where wood bark or
shavings are present. Wood particles no matter how small lodged between teeth will
rot in saliva. Rotting wood promotes bacteria growth. Bacteria growth causes
mouth rot. Other causes are rodent bites of the mouth area that get infected,
infection that manifests due to low immune system caused by other illness, unsanitary cage
conditions, rotting/spoiled food.
What to do: Luckily, if caught early, this is one of the
easier illnesses to cure at home. All you have to do is swab with a Q-tip the
infected area with either a diluted antiseptic like Listerine ( I dilute 50/50 with
water), Betadine (dilute 1 part to 10 parts water), Hydrogen Peroxide (dilute 50/50) 2-3
times a day until clear. Currently though the best stuff to use is chlorhexadine (Nolvasan) but confer with your vet on how to dilute it if you have full strength or if it's all ready diluted, find out how diluted it is and if you need to dilute it some more. At full strength, this stuff will eat a hole the size of Rhode Island in your snake's head.BE VERY CAREFUL not to over wet the Q-tip.
You do not want any of any of these fluids to enter the animal's trachea. If
left untreated, the infection will affect the jaw bones and he/she will not be able to
feed. If symptoms continue past a week, you will need to see a vet about
antibiotics. However, when treated as above, this would rarely happen and if it
does, then there may be other health issues involved.
Ulcerative Dermatitis (Scale Rot)
Symptoms: Discolored (pink, red, or brown) ventral
scales, Chipped Ventral scales. Usually only 1 to 3 scales are infected but often
breaks out in multiple areas. Sometimes it effects only part of the infected scales.
Causes: The most common cause of Scale rot is one that
can not be easily forseen therefore not easily avoided. Infections often start from within the animal and work their way
out to the skin. This is what is known as a secondary infection. The primary other infection that has your animals immuno system broken down needs to be quickly identified and treated. Chances are, when it's cleared up and the immuno system kicks back in, between the natural immunities working again and whatever antiboitics you were treating the other infection with, it will go away too. The most common husbandry cause that CAN be avoided however is
bacteria grown in dried urates left in the cage, especially in the basking area.
When a snake lays in this to bask, the combination of heat and the bacteria found
in feces and urates can become very dangerous. Another cause is overexposure to damp
substrate or oversoaking in dirty water. Snakes with mites will soak for extended periods to drown
them. This will sometimes cause scale rot. Ball and blood pythons seem to be
the most susceptible of the boids but any reptile can have this condition.
What to do: Neosporin, Polysporin, or any Triple
antibiotic ointment that does not incorporate Lidocaine or any pain medicine is very
effective in clearing this up. Remove all substrate and clean or keep the infected
snake in a secure plastic storage container with air holes and a water bowl large enough
to drink from but too small to soak in while treating. It is normal for no apparent
improvement to be noticed until the next shed. But, any skin irritation such as this
will cause a snake to go into a shed cycle, sometimes even back to back sheds until it all
clears up. Keep rubbing Neosporin on the bad scales twice a day and make sure the
snake is clean and dry. Or...if you can get it, SILVER SULFADIAZINE aka Silvadene cream is the best broad spectrum anibiotic ointment on the market but it required a prescription. Being allowed to burrow or crawl through any substrate at
this time is a bad idea. There is no way any Neosporin or whatever will remain on the snake's
belly and there is no way to keep it clean. This is why it is important to place the
animal in a substrate free enclosure during treatment. If at any time redness
spreads out over a larger area than where the infected scales are or if any puss oozes
from the wounds, or it continues to get worse, a trip to the vet will be necessary.
At this point the infection could very well become septic. Septicemia (blood
poisoning) will quickly spread to multiple vital organs and kill the animal in as little
as six weeks so a series of antibiotic injections will be needed.
Thermal Burns
Symptoms: patches of 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree burned skin,
the latter 2 leaving festering puss covered sometimes necrotic open wounds.
Causes: #1 cause-Hotrocks. Don't use them. Hotrocks have
a tendency to partially burn out leaving very hot spots but since the rest of the rock is
cool, the reptile doesn't know he/she is being burned. You can test this for
yourself by placing one hand in hot water and another in ice cold water. If done at
the same time, your brain tells you that they are both warm. So while one hand is
getting frost bite and the other is burning, you think all is well. Some people use them
without problems but this doesn't mean that tomorrow they will still be so lucky.
Other causes are, cages with exposed light bulbs or ceramic heaters inside the cage
where the animal can make contact, Under Tank Heat (UTH) Pads under glass turned up too
high or with too little substrate as insulation. Basking too close to the heat lamp
for too long, even though no contact is made. Iguanas are especially bad about doing this.
Many escaped lizards and snakes have been found to have crawled into walls or
ceilings and basked on hot water pipes and as a result received serious thermal burns.
What to do: First thing to do is remove or adjust
whatever it is that is burning your animal. In the case of Hotrocks, simply cut the
cord. Then Treat as you would scale rot. Neosporin rubs, no substrate. Unlike
scale rot, thermal burns do leave scars and take a little more time to heal. It may take
several sheds to heal. Do not peel scabs off but do gently mash any puss out.
and again, If infection occurs, see your Vet about some antibiotic injections.
Slight first and 2nd degree burns can usually be handled with just Neosporin.
Since 3rd degree burns involve necrosis and cooked flesh, they may require some
tissue removal or even amputation so A trip to the Vet is a must.
Parasites
Symptoms: There are three major types of parasites that
will effect your animals health. Endo(intestinal usually but sometimes found in
other major organs, Ecto(crawling around on or attached to the outer skin), and
subcutaneous(burrowed just under the skin) Intestinal parasites will often cause
regurgitation, rapid weight loss, runny smelly stool, bloody stool, anorexia, lethargy.
Some parasites (example- pinworms)are somewhat harmless and will run their course without treatment so just
because you find eggs or larvae in a stool sample, does not always mean the animal should
be medicated. However if any of the above symptoms are obvious. Especially in the
case of regurgitation then medication is necessary. If all conditions are ideal and
you know you didn't feed a partially frozen rodent or other food item to your pet, and
he/she regurgitated 2-3 days after eating, then there is likely a parasite problem.
Ectoparasites are obvious because you can see them. and because they suck blood and
will move from animal to animal, they will spread disease and should be eradicated at once.
They also cause much discomfort and can even eventually even kill. when you
see ticks or little pin head sized mites crawling around or find them in the water bowl
drowned then use whatever treatment you think is best. There are many ways which are
all outlined on the care sheets section under mites. To remove ticks, use heated
tweezers to gently pull them off. Hot tweezers will make the tick release it's mouth
parts and thus not leave any behind to cause infection. Many reptiles imported from
Asia, Africa and surrounding areas will have little bumps along the spine that appear to
be pimple like and can usually be mashed like a pimple as well. These could be any
number of subcutaneous parasites which are often common worms like tape worms, roundworms etc that didn't make it to the lungs and are trapped in the lymph. These can often be hard to treat since oral wormers won't touch them. Ivermectin often will but ivermectin has to be given in near lethal doses to the reptile to kill the worms and some snakes develop an allergy to it after the initial dose so a second dose could kill them. Use with caution if at all.
Consult your Vet for proper dosage. You can purchase Ivermectin from local
feed and seed or farm supply stores and most Vets will gladly give you instructions over
the phone free of charge. Ivermectin will kill Box turtles and Tortoises.
Do not use it on them. PLEASE research how your particular species responds
to any drug before administering. Overdose of Ivermectin, especially with neonates
should be avoided. It can cause paralysis and kill your pet if not administered
correctly.
Causes: mites can be carried in in virtually anything you
bring home from an infested pet store including you and your own clothing or from outdoors
for that matter. Reptile mites will not however feed on the blood of mammals so you
have nothing to worry about in that regard. Ticks will feed on reptiles, birds or
mammals though and carry diseases such as Lime Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
which can kill humans. Ticks are mostly a problem with wild caught reptiles.
It is far less likely that they will occur on captive born animals but can not be
ruled out. They are easy to see on snakes and lizards. Turtles and Tortoises
However may require a more thorough examination, looking into the openings between the
carapace and the plastron at any soft skin that is exposed.
What to do: There are many over the counter pet store
herp wormers such as Ridworm But they just aren't strong enough to wipe out hookworms, roundworms etc. You
can get Flagyl or Panacur at most any farm supply store. If you are concerned
that your pet may have parasites, contact your Vet about how to collect and save a stool
sample or a regurged rodent or if you want to look for yourself, buy a cheap microscope
from a hobby shop and read up on all the different things to look for. To make a
fecal float, put some feces in a test tube or small lab bottle and fill 3/4 with fecasol (sodium nitrate). Then fill the test tube up till there is a bubble on top..almost overfilled but not spilling over. Lay a slide cover over the top and wait a few minutes. Eggs are boyant in sodium nitrate and will float to the top and stick to the slide cover. After a few minutes, gently remove the slide cover and place it on a slide. Varioud dyes help illuminate the nuclea of eggs and make them easier to spot and identify. You are unlikely to find adult worms in a float way but
may find eggs and an occasional larvae. Get a good book or find and bookmark some good web pages
on the subject and compare pictures and notes. There is far too much information to
try and put it all here about identification. One thing that is very important- If
your reptile is regurgitating, Do not try to feed again right away. Loss of fluid
will dehydrate them and will kill them if they aren't cured first and are allowed to
continue regurgitating. While many reptiles can fast for many months at a time, none
can withstand the fluid loss of regurgitation for much more than 3 regurges. If your
animal shows signs of dehydration, force a 2 hour soak in undiluted Pedialyte once a day
till hydrated. You can tube feed or dropper small amounts of Pedialyte as well.
If a parasite infestation causes any of these major symptoms, they MUST
be eradicated. Contact your Vet or leave a post on the "Help Me" section of
Redtailboa.net with details of what the symptoms are and the age, size and species to be
treated and someone will help you.
IBD (Inclusive Body Disease)
Symptoms: Apparent neurological disorder i.e.:
Stargazing with no response to movement around them, Seizures, Head flopping over to one
side, Inability to upright when laid on his/her back. Other symptoms are
Regurgitation, Undifferentiated Cutaneous Sarcomas, Stomititis, Pneumonia, Leukemia.
(Burmese pythons usually only show signs of neurological disorder with no regurgitation or
any of the other clinical symptoms)
Cause: Possible Retrovirus (primary host has yet to be
identified) IBD is passed through body fluids i.e.: feces, urates, saliva, blood (blood
can easily be crosscontaminated by mites) Since mites can help spread this disease,
the snakes do not have to be caged together to spread it. QUARANTINE! All
boids are considered susceptible but other snakes are not proven yet to be ruled out.
What to do: This is a tough one. Many of these
symptoms are also noted symptoms of far lesser and treatable illnesses. There is no
known accurate test to diagnose IBD in a living snake. However if other snakes in the collection have
died recently and had these symptoms or for whatever reason, you and/or your Vet are
reasonably certain that this is indeed IBD. Euthanization is the most humane thing
you can do for this animal. It is 100% fatal. There is no known cure. It
is highly contagious.
This is nowhere near all of the illnesses that your pet may encounter but
it does hit on the most common problems that people come seeking help for on our forums at
http://www.redtailboa.net . With the proper care
and set up. Most of these things can be avoided. Follow these simple steps that
apply to all reptiles and you and your pets will have a much better life. I know some of
this is going to be redundant but it really needs to sink in.
1) KNOW YOUR SPECIES. Read the care
sheets and do your research BEFORE bringing an animal home. Just because you have
kept a ball python for 15 years does not mean that you are ready for an anaconda or an
emerald tree boa. Learn about their requirements first then act on good judgment,
not impulse.
2) Correct Husbandry. Provide adequate space,
hides, climbing branches, clean fresh water, heat, humidity whatever they need to be happy
and healthy.
3) Healthy Diet. Fresh vegetables or nice fat gut
loaded crickets. Or in the case of animals that feed on rodents, make every effort
to feed prekilled and preferably frozen/thawed. Freezing kills parasites! Do
not power feed. Yes, sexual maturity may be reached a year early by power
feeding but they will not likely produce healthy offspring and may develop health issues
of their own as well.
4) NO HOTROCKS! 'nuff said on that.
5) CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!!! but not too clean A clean cage is far less
likely to harbor the harmful bacteria that causes many of the conditions above but a total lack of any bacteria will prevent the snake from developing antibodies. They actually do need some exposure to germs, so you have to find a happy place between filth and daily cage bleachings. 10% bleach/water solution to clean glass cages. Treat any exposed wood with a safe
waterproof sealer such as polyurethane to prevent rotting, fungus and bacteria growth.
Change the substrate often. Clean the water bowl every time you give fresh
water.
6) Locate a good Herp Vet in your area. This is
often is harder to do than you might think. Most Veterinarian clinics cater mostly
to cats and dogs and really don't see many reptiles. Most have some knowledge but
most aren't truly qualified. Ask for referrals and DO NOT be afraid to ask
questions. Some Vets just do not want to turn away business and feel they can fumble
through enough to get by. If you carry in a redtail boa and the Vet asks what kind
of snake that is ...LEAVE! Don't laugh. It happens. If you can find a
good one, spread the word in your herp community. We are all always looking for the
good ones.
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