will it stress my snake???

[craig.a.c]

Just a quick question. The enclosure that I have Angel in is in an area where everyone walks past alot, will the vibrations cause her to become stressed at all? She is not hiding though, she spends alot of time in her water dish.

Thanks in advance. Craig.a.c

Nah, i have my snakes in a high traffic area and they dont seem to care.

Also, how much time is "alot" of time in the water dish? you might want to check the water and the snake for mites.

[craig.a.c]

She was checked for mites before i bought her, They also said she might be coming up to shed soon. She got in the water dish around 7pm and is still in there. and was in there for a few hours before lunch.

Yeah, she might just be soaking to help get ready for shedding. My bigger coastal did that before he shed too. But just to be sure, check the water for any drowned mites that might be there. No harm in checking.

cheers, Alan.

[sxereturn]

One of the best ways to check for mites is to get a white paper towel/tissue, and run it down the length of their body. Check for black dots...

[cwarren72]

don't stress to much just yet about her soaking. You will find in lots of threads this comes up and all snakes are different in that some like to soak and some don't. I have a male who soaks all the bloody time. I think he is part sea snake. ll

[hugsta]

Sometimes they soak to cool as well, so just make sure your temps aren't too high. I would imagine they would be ok and she is mainly soaking due to an upcoming slough. Check her for mites all the same though. Wipe her over as SXE said and also check her water dish.

[bigguy]

Craig, it all depends on the snake if it will tolerate a high trafic area. Signs of stress may be increased aggression and lack of appetite. If it shows any of these signs move it to a new area. If it doesn't show any signs of stress then you do not have a problem.

[Sdaji]

Where did you buy the snake? 'Checking' for mites isn't necessarily going to be enough, especially if there are only a few. Some people are really good at spotting them, while others can't detect them even on very heavily infested reptiles. I think it's mainly due to the large variation in the acuity of peoples' eyesight.

Snakes without mites sometimes soak, especially if they're too hot, but there seems to be something husbandry related which governs whether or not they do it. The only times I've ever had any of my snakes soad is when they've had mites, and the most recent soak in my collection was about 6 years ago. Healthy snakes seem to do it on occasion too, but it must depend on some as yet unidentified aspect of husbandry, or perhaps I've just been very 'lucky'. My guess is that it is caused by mild problems with husbandry, perhaps mostly low humidity and excessive heat. I believe (and could be wrong) that it is unusual for a wild pythons of most species(I'm assuming Angel is a python, giving the species etc is better than the pet name!) to spend any significant amount of time soaking in water. Freaking out from too much activity outside the cage should make them go into the hide box, not the water bowl. Most snakes will quickly get used to vibrations etc, but the odd one will not and will need to be kept somewhere quiet.

[craig.a.c]

Thanks everyone. I have checked the enclosure aswell as angel, there is no sign of mites. She doesn't seem to be botherd about being in a high traffic area. She has been checking out the enclosure and climbing over the branches now. She seems quit happy now. Still a bit jumpy when I first pick her up, but once I have her out she is fine. Thanks again for all the replies.

[bigguy]

Sdaji, I have found wild pythons soaking in Dams, Creeks and Ponds on many occassions, and its not due to mites. Sometimes they just like to soak in water. Maybe to cool off, maybe to assist in a shed or for parasites.

[Sdaji]

Bigguy: Interesting stuff. My guess would be parasites, but a guess is all it is. What species have you seen doing it?

I have seen this also.

Water pythons (), Darwin Carpets and childreni, 2 of those were in July, and the temp was about 20... No external parasites on any of them.

Brodie

[Sdaji]

No parasites on any of them? That's suprising, many, probably most wild snakes I see have ectoparasites.

Nope none, I quite often find snakes with no external parasites. Talk to Ben Wright, a lot of the stuff he catches do not have them as well.

Brodie