Is It Possible...

[justinsane82]

that mites can come from eco earth? My bp recently came down with mites and my thoughts were that they came from the eco earth so I've switched over to paper towel, but I would rather use the eco earth as it's easier to spot clean. I know this is a bit of a weird question but I'm hoping someone has some experience with the stuff and can tell me if I should stay away from it (I have two bricks left) or if it's ok to use.

[FIEND_FO_LYFE]

Yes it is possible, unless you get Eco earth that is in the dehydrated bricks.
I have had a few people i know say they have used the "Hydrated" version in the big bag, instead of the bricks, and have spotted mites from the pet store, or the Eco Earth itself.

[justinsane82]

I have those dehydrated bricks that require a bucket of water to actually create soil. I know that generally, being that it's a dehydrated brick of dirt, that nothing should be able to come from that but I'm just at a loss as to where these mites could've come from other than the eco earth.

[FIEND_FO_LYFE]

I'm not sure, Ive always been told to buy those because they wouldn't have any bugs.

either way, i wouldn't recommend using it anymore, id put the snakes on paper towels, and treat them with PAM.

[justinsane82]

Ya, that's all being done and he's going through a shed right now. It looks like the issue is resolved by after the shed I'll treat him one more time with Reptile Relief and in a few weeks use PAM again.

[FIEND_FO_LYFE]

Just wondering, why do you use Eco earth anyways?

Personally i think it would be a pain...
if humidity is a issue, have you tried Cypress mulch?

Anyways, hope you get things under control.

[justinsane82]

It's indeed for humidity and no I haven't tried it, but thinking that I should. Eco earth is ok but for someone paranoid about mites, it's a pain in the ass because there's always black dots everywhere. Do you have experience using cypress mulch?

[FIEND_FO_LYFE]

It's indeed for humidity and no I haven't tried it, but thinking that I should. Eco earth is ok but for someone paranoid about mites, it's a pain in the ass because there's always black dots everywhere. Do you have experience using cypress mulch?

Yes, i use cypress mulch for my Yellow Anaconda, and my mom uses it for her Green Tree Pythons.
Its great because when it is dry, its a very light tan, but when wet, its dark brown.
I love it. I don't have humidity issues here, our humidity is around 50% ALWAYS. So i use aspen, and newspaper for nearly the entire collection. You should try cypress when they are all mite free, I'm sure you will like it.

[justinsane82]

Alright, I'll look into that for sure. Thanks for the suggestion

[rabernet]

Unless the eco earth was purchased in a pet store that had a mite problem, it's highly unlikely that you got snake mites from your bedding. Now, other types of insect critters that aren't snake mites, possibly could come in the bedding, but SNAKE mites - not likely.