Hi Todd,
I just had the woma out for better examination, and there is something underneath its right eye. I am not sure what it is, but thought I read somewhere that mites will get up underneath the eye lid. There is also some injured scales on its belly, but think that will heal with sheding. The thing under the eyelid will move around.
Brad
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Brad,
>I just had the woma out for better examination, and there is something
underneath its right eye. I am not sure what it is, but thought I read
somewhere that mites will get up >underneath the eye lid. There is
also some injured scales on its belly, but think that will heal with
sheding. The thing under the eyelid will move around.
I did not notice either thing. As for some scaling being different,
possibly some rock shelter of wooden dowel in his cage might have done
that via rubbing against it. Mites? This guy is captive-born and was in
a very clean cage.
Todd
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That is what I figured about the scales. Not too worried about that. I am currently soaking the snake in warm water. I just took him out to look at the eye, and I dont see it anymore, so hopefully the water made it drop off. I didnt see ANY others on him, just in the eye socket, under the eyelid. I am going to get mineral oil and put on the eye to "suffocate" anymore mites taht could be in there. Im kinda upset. Like I said though, I didnt see ANY others except in the eye.
Also, when was the last time it ate so I can try to keep it on the same schedule.
Brad
----------------------
Brad,
>That is what I figured about the scales. Not too worried about that.
I am currently soaking the snake in warm water. I just took him out to
look at the eye, and I dont see it >anymore, so hopefully the water
made it drop off. I didnt see ANY others on him, just in the eye
socket, under the eyelid. I am going to get mineral oil and put on the
eye to >"suffocate" anymore mites taht could be in there. Im kinda
upset. Like I said though, I didnt see ANY others except in the eye.
I'm not sure what that was, but that critter was captive-born and in a
clean cage, so I would not assume it was a mite, but something debris
of some sort.
>
> Also, when was the last time it ate so I can try to keep it on the
> same schedule.
Last Friday, he took a live adult mouse and a live rat pup. He looks to
shed soon.
Todd
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Todd,
I just took the woma out of the warm bath and found a mite on the belly of him. It was dead, but I did save it. I took these pics, but they arent very clear at all.
Brad
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Brad,
>I just took the woma out of the warm bath and found a mite on the
belly of him. It was dead, but I did save it. I took these pics, but
they arent very clear at all.
Your pics are very fuzzy.
I shipped another customer a pair of Irian Jaya carpets and some
tarantulas today. He said tonight:
" The IJs are spectacular and the bicegoi look like they are going to
be fun to work with. What a great collection of animals! I look forwad
to the vagans and platyomma next week. Let me know what that collection
of spiders looks like because I am sure to pick up some of them. Take
care and talk to you soon."
The woma male I sent you was and is a healthy, eating, great-looking
snake. I never saw mites on him. He is CB and was in a very clean cage.
I'm not sure what you are seeing as your pics are fuzzy, but if you are
trying to say the snake is bad or unhealthy, I respectfully and
strongly disagree with you.
The only thing about him currently, is he is approaching a shed based
on his eye color today.
Todd
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I have a mite in a little ziploc bag if really want me to send it to you. I swear to you that he has mites. I thought that it was dead after the 30 min water soak, but as it was sitting on the papertowel, it started to move. So then I put it in this ziploc and sprayed some ant and roach killer in it to kill it. It did the trick. Like I said, i would be more than happy to send this too you. I can also see if I can borrow a friends camera to take a pic of it first for you as his camera is better than mine.
Brad
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Brad,
> I have a mite in a little ziploc bag if really want me to send it to
> you. I swear to you that he has mites. I thought that it was dead
> after the 30 min water soak, but as it was sitting on the papertowel,
> it started to move. So then I put it in this ziploc and sprayed some
> ant and roach killer in it to kill it. It did the trick. Like I
> said, i would be more than happy to send this too you. I can also see
> if I can borrow a friends camera to take a pic of it first for you as
> his camera is better than mine.
No need to send me a bag with a mite. I do not understand where that
came from. Maybe it was in the shipping box from something else. After
you get past the mite or not mite thing, are you saying it's a bad
snake?, because I so, I would strongly disagree. He looks great. He has
eaten great. He has good body weight. He has been very active and calm
and most of all - he is a rare Woma.
In the past week, I have shipped over 7 awesome-looking and rare
snakes. No problems, no mites, and all happy customers.
So, where are you going with all this?
Todd
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I think he is a beautiful snake. Just like you said, looks healthy, very active, docile, etc. I am just upset that I paid $500 for a snake that has mites and now risk the chance of all my other reptiles mites. I figured that a responsible reptile dealer would want to know that he has mites and would tell the others that recently purchased from you that there is a chance that they have mites. I am dissappointed that you dont seem concerned about this. This is the first time I have ever had to deal with mites and now freaking out that it is going to spread to my whole reptile collection.
Brad
-----------------------
Brad,
> I think he is a beautiful snake. Just like you said, looks healthy,
> very active, docile, etc. I am just upset that I paid $500 for a
> snake that has mites and now risk the chance of all my other reptiles
> mites. I figured that a responsible reptile dealer would want to know
> that he has mites and would tell the others that recently purchased
> from you that there is a chance that they have mites. I am
> dissappointed that you dont seem concerned about this. This is the
> first time I have ever had to deal with mites and now freaking out
> that it is going to spread to my whole reptile collection.
RESPECTFULLY, Brad, if I was "not concerned", I would not be
communicating with you so much. Since I am, and I am listening to you
and corresponding with you frequently, answering your questions and
such - yes, I am concerned.
My other customers, especially in the last two weeks have received rare
snakes and no mites. Believe me, I do not intentionally do anything bad
to my customers.
In summary, the only thing that I can think of right now is my
suggestion that it is not a "perfect world" and getting anything
perfect is not realistic. Take a deep breath, calm down and be
open-minded here. I'm always on my customer's side in business matters
as I always think from the customer's perspective, because I too am a
hobbyist of these critters.
I do not do things sinister, intentional or under-handed. Any
suggestion of that is something that does not go hand-in-hand with my
involvement in the hobby and business for over 26 years with the
reputation that I have built.
With that said, I do not have an explanation for the mite or two you
have reported. It doesn't add up with the conditions he was kept in or
my other snakes and most of all the many rare snakes that my customers
have received in the last two weeks. It doesn't make sense to me. That
doesn't mean that I'm unconcerned.
I guess this example might make my point:
If you worked at a car wash and you hand-washed a car and you were 100%
confident in your abilities and your inspection of a customer's car
that you just washed and one hour after finishing that customer came
back and said you missed one spot on the car, how do you deal with
that? You know that you washed it, there was no dirt or spots, but for
some strange reason, there appears some speck of dirt on one side. The
bottom line is the car is immaculate-looking, clean and anybody would
agree, but the customer is upset about a speck of dirt that he found.
This Woma is immaculate and anybody would want him. There is a very
high demand for this species and this individual was high quality. I do
not understand the reported mite or two. It makes no sense to me, but I
give you the benefit of the doubt that you saw it. Now after processing
that, you still have a beautiful, healthy and rare snake. That is the
bottom line.
I will look over my snake cages and see if there are any mites. Even if
I do not see them, I will clean them tomorrow extra clean. None of my
customers have reported this problem, so I consider it a fluke. I do
not know where it came from, but it wasn't on my other snakes or in my
other cages and this guy has been clean.
Todd
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Todd,
This isnt a perfect world, but when you pay that much money for something that you were told was healthy then you expect it to be that way!
<<If you worked at a car wash and you hand-washed a car and you were 100%
confident in your abilities and your inspection of a customer's car
that you just washed and one hour after finishing that customer came
back and said you missed one spot on the car, how do you deal with
that? You know that you washed it, there was no dirt or spots, but for
some strange reason, there appears some speck of dirt on one side. The
bottom line is the car is immaculate-looking, clean and anybody would
agree, but the customer is upset about a speck of dirt that he found.>>
As for the example you used, if the car washing company had good customer service, they would rewash the car for the owner. If there is a spot of dirt on it, it is not immaculate. I honestly would think that I simply missed it. Its not a "perfect world" Todd, people make mistakes.
These mites were already attached and plump! They have been there a while. I have already had to spend $50 to take care of this. And now that I brought it into my house, I have to spray my whole house to prevent a major outbreak!
So you are saying that just because he is beautiful and rare, that I shouldnt be complaining that the snake I just spent $600 on has mites! Do you understand how big of a deal mites are? They are so hard to get rid of and they will kill an animal if not treated. I can assure you that if I would have known it had mites, I would not have purchased him. I am sure that many other people would feel the same way.
Brad
