Diseases of the snakes | Pet care.
Diseases of the snakes
Even in terrariums built with maximum correction and where care and maintenance are such as they must be, setbacks and infectious diseases may occur from time to time. Normally the change of attitude of the animals already warns a good observer of the first symptoms of the disease and will accordingly proceed to isolate the exemplary patient transferring it to a single cage. Once it has already located the sick animal in the cage for quarantine, you can apply the specific treatment you need without disturbing the other guests.
If a snake tends indifferent about the terrarium, and has ceased the characteristic tremor of language, these are signs of poor health. Any animal showing this suspicious proceeding should be subjected to a good test to establish as soon as possible the causes of such behaviour.
Often the snakes are infected by ticks and mites of different types, what used to happen in newly imported specimens, being necessary to remove such parasites to examine animals for the first time before the quarantine. Ticks of the snakes are normally small and do not represent more than a nuisance, but are chupadoras of blood, and can be spread by other parasites.
With the help of specially adapted parts of his mouth, the mites taken blood and lymph from the body of its host. Many ectoparasites living above, below, or between scales. Some ways to invade the edges of eyes that, in the case of severe infection, can lead to blindness, and there are still others who live as internal parasites in the parenchyma of the lung where they feed.
The main damage suffered by guests is obviously the loss of blood. However, sometimes appear also secondary infections in which the previously weakened host body has acquired a particular susceptibility.
Preparations and chemicals for the control of ectoparasites should be chosen with extreme caution. There are many insecticides by contact which can be symptoms of poisoning if they have been administered in minimum amounts, serving notice. After some hesitation and convulsive movements, the animal poisoned this way often dies very quickly. Against the mites have been obtained good results with chloride of camphor. This slightly volatile white powder is spread on a glass container dry and airtight by entering inside the affected snake . In about 80 minutes all these parasites have been destroyed.
Also here you should be monitored continuously snakebehavior. If symptoms of poisoning should move the animal to a well ventilated and warm area where normally will recover quickly. When they are affected only a few small areas of the body can be treated with cooking oil (applied with a brush) that will kill mites. Also control pests with a good greased oil cod liver rubbing with the whole body of the snake. The untura procedure has the additional advantage of accelerating the healing of wounds that may have resulted in parasites.
The loss of the skin, which depending on the species concerned, regularly take place in periods from a few weeks to several months, has a great significance as an index of well-being. In normal cases the old skin detaches itself in a tubular piece. This time eyes cloud, the animal loses appetite and eventually skin that must be disposed opens lengthwise and snake slips out of his robe climbing shrubs or rough surface objects many times to help the purely mechanical process of detachment.
When the caretaker of the snakes note that molt does not follow its normal course, should facilitate the animals bath or by immersing the snake in warm water for two or three hours to fix the problem. The forced of any piece of skin that is still attached detachment should be avoided. A method that has proven to be effective in these cases is to rub the skin with cod liver oil, after which removed this waste without difficulty.
Found worms or worms parasitic in virtually all groups of vertebrates, and therefore should not be surprised that they are also in the snakes. Among those most frequently found are tapeworms (Taenia tapeworm), not segmented worms and nematodes (roundworms, thread-like worm) and others. In an infection of parasitic worms, not what only the intestinal tract is invaded but also the muscles, subcutaneous tissues and almost all of the internal organs. On the other hand, the harm that do the worms that live in the intestine consists of the extraction of valuable nutrients and if they involved other parasites will consist of the destruction of parts of organs. In any case, the most damage is due to the excretion of products of metabolic waste and its toxicity in the body of the host.
Against the worms it gives good results any good anthelmintic as that normally are used with young children and usually administered jointly with laxatives, ensuring quickly emptying the gut.
The denomination of smallpox is a collective name applied to various situations that follow a similar course. The recommended treatment consists of the administration of antibiotics such as penicillin and aureomycin, terramycin. Drugs are given either by injection or orally. It is very important that the dose is not too short; on the other hand should exceed a little so that the causal agent do not run to be resistant. For a snake of about 40 cm in length is appropriate a dose of 1,000 international units (I.U.). The terramycin and aureomycin hardly give side effects, while with penicillin if they are observed from time to time. Healing the wounds with a local treatment of the pustules with silver nitrate and a combination of aureomycin and sulfonamides can be accelerated significantly.
Disease of the most feared snakes is stomatitis. Probably it is a complex of several diseases that have a causal relationship between them. Les stops tremolar language, within the oral cavity epithelium is discolored, appear small white bumps yellow bumps scattered on the top of the inside of the mouth and pharynx. As the disease progresses these abnormalities extend to the air ducts, gums are broken into zones and teeth fall out. The causative agent has proved to be the Aeromonas liquefaciens fluorescens. If the disease is detected in its early stages, it can be resolved with a solution of hydrogen peroxide 3% applied to the oral cavity and pharynx using a brush. A subsequent and effective treatment of the disease consists of long baths and injections of vitamin C (Ascorbic acid). Ideally this should be followed by a rinse with quinoline (one tablet of quinoline in a glass of water) several times a day. Lately the antiseptic "Listerine" has demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of this disease. Described in the more modern treaties, such diseases are also attributed to vitamin deficiency.
Not less dangerous are digestive disorders. In the boidae, sudden deaths usually come from a gangrenous inflammation of the inside of the bowel. The disease moves quickly; animals affected usually die within a few days. Another common cause of dangerous intestinal diseases is constipation. In these cases it is beneficial treatment of hot baths and the administration of oral castor oil.
The respiratory organs of snakes are extremely vulnerable. Even minor injuries in the region of the throat and windpipe caused by attempting to capture the animal with a forked branch can cause death in a few days.
Pneumonia which spring is given from time to time, has a final fatal in most cases. The animals raise the front part of its body by placing it upright, the lung is inflated, with wide open mouth. If the disease is detected in its early stages, it can be cured with eucalyptus oil, because the snakes often have these symptoms without having true pneumonia. Occasionally infections of tuberculosis in the snakes have been diagnosed.
The deficiencies and vitamin deficiency diseases are easier to prevent that cure. If the diet is sufficiently varied, rarely these cases occur in the snakes. What matters above all is that animals that feed them are be adequately nutritious. When necessary, you can give weekly a multivitamin supplement that can be injected into the dorsal lymph SAC of frogs before they are eaten by snakes. On, and together with all of this, it is advisable during the cold season replaced conditions of natural light from a UV lamp for 10 to 15 minutes a day.
Surgical interventions such as the Elimination of tumors, stapling a wound, etc., meat is best left to a veterinarian specialist that you can apply urethane anaesthetic.
Fractures and especially damage to the vertebral column are recognized immediately during locomotion by the interruption of the continuous sine line; they must be immobilized by applying a splint of wood or a carton armband, thus leaving it until its cure.
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