Is he ok?

[shiloh2768]

Hi guys

I've had my coastal for nearly 4 weeks now. He is a year old and is feeding very well. He's on fuzzys. He is excellent to handle (only bit me once). He is handled every day for up to an hour at a time, sometimes twice a day. The cats sit on top of his tank, but it doesn't seem to bother him because he sleeps near the glass sometimes.
His substrate is woodchip and he has a climbing log, little plant and rock (all plastic), water bowl, no lighting or heating (live in Darwin)

My concern is that he hasn't started to show signs of shedding. The petshop couldn't tell me when he last shed. Should I be expecting him to shed soon?
Also, the cats have fleas and the fleas have gotten into his tank and water. Is this going to be a problem for him.

Thanks for your help

 

[Khagan]

When he sheds will depend on how fast he is growing.

 

[xScarlettex]

Id get the fleas out pronto! They could carry all sorts of things that you wouldnt want near your lil coastal! Even if the presence of the cat doesnt bother him id still be cautious of the nasties that could be transferred from the cat onto/into the enclosure, the petshop should have kept a record of his feeding and shedding but he'll shed when hes ready

 

[pythons73]

I doubt the petshop will have any feeding or shedding history,depending on how well its eating,my yearling usually sheds every 6-8weeks,older snakes a bit longer.Dont stress at this stage it will shed when its ready...

 

[shiloh2768]

Oh good. Just needed a little reassurance re the shedding.
As for the fleas, its battle on!! They are a bugger to get rid of

 

[Khagan]

Oh good. Just needed a little reassurance re the shedding.
As for the fleas, its battle on!! They are a bugger to get rid of

Just be careful using anything any where near your snake.

 

[shiloh2768]

Can anyone suggest the best way to keep the fleas out of his tankwhile the cats are being treated?? I don't want to completely cover up the airvents in case he can't get fresh air

 

[Khagan]

Can anyone suggest the best way to keep the fleas out of his tankwhile the cats are being treated?? I don't want to completely cover up the airvents in case he can't get fresh air

Keep the cats away from the tank .

 

[shiloh2768]

Gosh - dumb blonde today! lol
Well, it may be a bit hard - the cats have the run of the house with my husbands full blessing!

 

[FAY]

Shiloh, IMO I wouldn't be using bark chips as a substrate, I would use newspaper (places for fleas to hide).
A fuzzy for a year old coastal is a bit small (unless it is fuzzy rat), I would up the food. Hence why he hasn't shed...not growing.

 

[shiloh2768]

Sorry, I meant to say fuzzy rat. And, I've noticed him getting thicker in the middle since I've had him. Besides being a great flea hiding place, is woodchip no good in general? I've read mixed reports regarding woodchip

 

[disasterpiece7.0]

I'd say newspaper will be ALOT easier to clean, and probably cheaper too. That's probably te only arguement apart from the flea/mite thingo.

as far as feeding, i've got small yearling coastals (late starters) that are taking large fuzzy rats/small weaners. That'd be why he hasn't shed in a while.

 

[shiloh2768]

Should I feed him something bigger?? He is about a metre long and about 3cm round at his widest part

 

[Vixen]

Probably weaner rats. Something big enough to leave a noticeable bulge in the belly but not overally huge.

 

[shiloh2768]

Further crisis - we cleaned his tank out to get rid of the fleas and lined the bottom with newspaper. Now, he won't rest on the newspaper. He is currently latched underneath the top. Is he freaking out??

 

[tenacres1100]

he'll settle down just leave him now with the light off. use frontline or something like it for the fleas on the cats that way when they bite the cat they will die and you will find they will all die out. you can use surface spray around the outside of the tank but don't spray it anywhere it can come in contact with the python and remove him before spraying too. the other product is top of descent which is for mites but would kill fleas too I'd say and is for pythons

 

[shiloh2768]

Thanks for that. I was really worried. The cats have been treated with Frontline, so hopefully they'll stop scratching soon. What I've also done is place a teatowel on top of the tank where the airvents are to try and stop the fleas from dropping off the cats and into his tank.

 

[Wild_Storm]

Honestly I have found Advantix better than Frontline... My Grandparents have a BAD Flea problem and I visited unknowing with my dogs and Advantix was the only thing to kill them. (My Grandparents use Frontline on their dog, with no luck.) And no, the darling old grandparents WON'T try anything NEW!! Bah!

 

[shiloh2768]

Well, I took him out again and sprayed around the outside of his tank. Also sprayed the teatowel. We put a little bit of woodchip on top of the newspaper in a corner and he settled back down again. Obviously didn't like the newspaper much.

 

[AUSGECKO]

Honestly I have found Advantix better than Frontline... My Grandparents have a BAD Flea problem and I visited unknowing with my dogs and Advantix was the only thing to kill them. (My Grandparents use Frontline on their dog, with no luck.) And no, the darling old grandparents WON'T try anything NEW!! Bah!

Frontline does work, Advantix just has a quicker "Kill time"