MD Rubbing Against Everything - Seems Quite Restless....

[MoreliaMatt]

good evening fellow herpers

tonight i went to get my MD out... when i picked her up she was moving very quickly (quicker than usual) and seemed very uptight! i only had her out for a short while as she kept squeezing my hand as if to say put me back! she was also rubbing her head up against my arm.... when i put her back she was going up and down 1 side of her tub rubbing her head against the wall..... ive never seen her do this before, and as im new to keeping snakes, i thought i'd ask here for advice...

instant reactions were that she could be coming upto a shed, but i havent noticed any milkyness in her eyes....



worst of all, after watching her rubbing her head i noticed some small bugs inside of her branch she has in there for climbing....
they look like baby millipedes... and they were obviously dead as they were hard and one broke in half when i scraped it out with a stanley knife blade.... i cut away at the branch to see if i could find anymore, but i couldnt...
i highly doubt that there would be anything living in the branch because before i put it in i had baked it in the oven for 2 hours @ 120 degrees as advised by Jason at Reptile City to kill any bugs.....

now im freaking out a bit, but im hopeing her strange behavior can be explained by something else and that it was just bad timing that i found what i did when she was acting like this....

hopeing for news that the 2 items above are in no way connected!!


Matt

PS. heres some photos.

Branch


The 2 Bugs (Millipedes)


The Milli split in half

[pugsly]

Just relax mate im sure it will be fine, keep an eye on it over the next couple of days, but was probably just trying to get some dust or something off its head. Im sure everything wil be fine.

[Reptile City]

Hi Matt
The millapeads & wood borers shouldnt matter.
Are they dead & failing out of the branch?
I am hopeing 2 hrs in the oven at 120 degrease should be plenty of time to kill any living bugs?
What are other members opinons?
How long ago was her last shed?

Jason

[staffsrule]

I am sitting here watching Luke do the exact same thing, restless, rubbing, etc. he is shedding, his eyes cleared a couple of days ago. Another late night for me, I can never resist staying up and watching him shed.

[MoreliaMatt]

hi jason, she hasnt shed while ive had her yet.... you wouldnt happen to know when she last shed for you would you?
i have fed her 4 times since getting her....

Your Last Feed
17/06/2006 Pink Mouse

My Feeds
2/07/2006 Velvet Mouse
11/07/2006 Velvet Mouse
20/07/2006 Pink Rat
28/07/2006 Pink Rat

so im guessing she should be due for one soon? would that be a good guess?

[MoreliaMatt]

Originally Posted by ReptileCity

The millapeads & wood borers shouldnt matter.
Are they dead & failing out of the branch?

and yes they are dead, and i could only see the 2 i found....

[kwaka_80]

one of my coastals does that when im holding him he comes around the back of my hand upside down rubbing the top of his head on my hand, if you can picture it its quite cute... looks like he is giving me those puppy dog eyes

[BlindSnake]

Sounds like you have a sheddy snake there!!!!

[Reptile City]

Matt
When feeding at the amounts & times that you are she will shed aprox every 6 or 7 weeks.
Going by the last time she shed she is due now.

Cheers,
Jason

[MoreliaMatt]

thanks heaps jason!
your always a great help!

i'll be down in your area not this weekend but next weeked, so i'll pop in to say hi and grab some more rats/mice cheers!

[nvenm8]

may i ask? why go from feeding velvet mice to pink rats? this is a step backwards, change to fuzzy mice.

[MoreliaMatt]

because where i went only had pink mice, they were out of other sizes, but had all sizes or rats, so i got the pink rats because of their size...
and a variety doesnt hurt....

[Julie-anne]

Originally Posted by nvenm8

may i ask? why go from feeding velvet mice to pink rats? this is a step backwards, change to fuzzy mice.

Aren't rats better anyway? I was told the sooner you get them on to rats the better. Is this wrong? (not having a go at you, just asking cause i'm unsure)

[Mr_Matt]

I doubt the millipedes have anything to with it, although some species are renowned for letting off a foul odour as a defence mechanism.

[MoreliaMatt]

hey all, her eyes are milky today and it was time for a feed so i only gave her a small feed which she was a bit reluctant to take but did in her own time.....

just to confirm, these are what people refer to as pre shed milky eyes? yeah?