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krissyg2991 · Aug 19, 2013, 10:12 PM

We recently introduced a new rainbow boa into our home who has mites. To be extra safe, we have been extra-thorough in cleaning all our snakes enclosures once weekly. Last week, while my 7 y/o snow corn snake was eating, I cleaned out the tank and changed all the bedding. He seemed apparently healthy then, has not EVER refused food and seemed normal. Tonight, I looked at him and noticed his scales weren't laying flat, so I pulled him out, scared to death that he had caught the mites from my rainbow boa. Instead, he was covered in crustiness, all around his scales, almost full body. I work as a veterinary technician and I consider myself an experienced snake keeper, but this is something I haven't seen before. It looks like he has dried milk around his scales-yellowish white, dry and crusty-flakes off when I rub him. He in general looks crummy-dull, dry and somewhat discolored. I did notice that he was soaking more today and yesterday than normal, but otherwise he has been active, eager to get out and eat, no difficulty breathing. Ambient temp in his tank is generally around 75 degrees, with an UTH and heat bulb on the other side (generally 85 degrees ish) and his humidity stays at around 20-30%. I feel like I do a pretty good job of keeping his tank clean, but maybe not as diligently a couple of weeks prior to the introduction of this new boa. I washed him in luke-warm water with a mild antibiotic soap, rinsed him, dried him and cleaned his tank. I switched him to paper towels for bedding to keep things extra clean and dry. I used to work for a good reptile vet, so I have one available, but I'm kind of hoping just the changes in husbandry will help. Any thoughts?

joypulv · Aug 20, 2013, 03:08 AM

Like this?
USGS National Wildlife Health Center - Snake Fungal Disease

From what I gather, but not being a snake expert, you need a vet ASAP for oral or injected anti-fungals because this can be fatal.

hauntinghelper · Aug 20, 2013, 01:21 PM

I'm with what Joy posted. I would get the snake to a good Herp vet. Husbandry alone doesn't fix problems.

I don't know if you originally quarantined the new snake, but that should be a good practice to keep when introducing a new pet into the home (reptile wise, anyway). Typically a 30 day should take care of any issues that come with the new pet.