The Great Flea Battle of '08!

I've been battling them with powders, medications, and sprays. But today marks the end of the Great Battle! The cats got a flea bath, the final step of the process. And boy, were they not happy about it.

But we're all a lot happier now that the pests are dead. So, we can share a good laugh at their poor expense!

Aww, poor kitties.


Tigger started drooling! I think she was allergic....

But it sure made for a funny resemblance....

Bath: success


Pride: FAIL

WAGING WAR UPON FLEAS!!!

I must have brought fleas home from my friend's house when she had a full-blown infestation going on. I've never had them in my house before. My cats are both indoors so they pretty much stay outta trouble. Well, that kind anyway, hahaha. But when they started scratching their necks raw, and I knew what it was. I put some of that back-of-the-neck stuff on them, and it seemed to help, but they just came back with equal vengeance. I powdered the cats down and it kept it from getting worse, but still no resolution.

The cats must have some instinct because they have been staying off the carpet as much as possible. This was good, but also bad because they'd get on top of ... well, everything they could get their furry butts upon: the kitchen and bathroom counters, tables, the piano, my desk, the tv trays, the stove... the vinyl chairs. The problem is they sat there and proceeded to scratch and bite, and bite and scratch, for hours upon end while I was at work. By the time I came home, said surfaces have become COATED in CAT FUR. Bleh!!! And, sometimes slobber. And sometimes, even blood from scratching the back of their necks so hard. Poor things.

Today I had to vacuum everything down really good. Then I went and got some flea carpet powder and loaded down the crap out of the carpet all in the house, except for my bedroom, which has been a cat-free zone. Thank goodness, because that crap stinks after a while. I took all the rugs down and sprayed them down with upholstery/flea spray, and did the same to the couch & loveseat and all their pet beds.

ALIGHT FLEAS, YOU HAVE MET YOUR MATCH!!!

I dunno why I'm blogging about it. It has just been that big of an ordeal, and I am that glad to (hopefully) be done with it.

If not, I have 1 more thing left to do.... BATHE THE CATS.. oh, the horror. But David's plan will make it much, much less unpleasant. I shall NOT fear.

The carpet powder is supposed to kill stuff for a full year....! So that ought to keep the buggers in check.

Couple of pics

It's feeding day at the zoo! Here's the milk snake. I have to feed him in the crate; he's way too spastic to find/eat his food in his tank, not to mention the sand, so I WON'T feed him in there.


Here's the sand boa. I also put her in the box because I have her on sand. This way there's NO risk of ingestion.


Awww look, they really can be sweet once in a while. Mom voluntarily went and laid beside Tigger. And they're not even fighting here. hehe

Snakes

Alright, the snakes' tank setups:

California Kingsnake

So, I bought her a new 20-gallon long tank with secure lid, and a heating mat. I lined the bottom with some T-Rex brand cypress mulch. Then I topped it with with their "Sand Naturals", which is a sand substitute made of calcium carbonate. We'll see how this substrate goes. She is fine on sand, because I usually place her mouse on a feeding plate and she doesn't appear to ingest any sand. I like to scatter a bit of aspen shavings around on top to help absorb waste, and so that waste is easier to remove.

Because she's the biggest snake (both currently and future) she has the biggest tank, and has just gotten a larger water dish she could soak in, and larger hiding spots on both sides of the tank (warm and cool). No basking light right now since the temp should be high enough (this room is warmer than the rest of the house, what with all the pets being in here!), though I'll keep an eye on the temp to be sure.

Pueblan Milk Snake

He gets the 10-gallon tank I bought at the reptile show that has the wooden casing and very secure lid. Going for the same substrate here, except they only had 1 bag of the other so he gets "Calcium sand." Also calcium carbonate and safer to consume than silica sand.
Enough light shines over from the tank beside it, and no other heat/light needed.
He has inherited the hide rock since the kingsnake outgrew it. He seems very happy with it! So, I put it on the warm side for him.

Kenyan Sand Boa

I had thought a moister substrate might be nice, but this may not be best long term, due to bacteria and/or parasites. So I will just make sure she has sufficient burrowing material and provision for the safe feeling they need, by having something substantial over them. I've read that a glass plate does the trick for them, while still leaving you with a viewable snake, so I'm working on a cool new tank setup for her.

For right now she's in a place she's super happy in: dirt & coconut stuff (bed-a-beast), a little moss and bark tossed in. This will go in the moist box after I finish the new tank setup.

Oops! Just received bite #2. She was okay about it last night, but it seems she didn't take too kindly to me taking her out of the substrate tonight, lol.

I can't blame her, though. Poor things; all this shuffling around. I'm sure they'll get more settled over the next few days.