New and need help! Please!

[chasethorn]

I did a reptile show today that show cased my Tortoises. For the help, the owner of this shop gave me a free baby ball python. I took it home and set it up in my reptile room. Came back and checked on it and noticed some small snake mites on him. This is my first ever BP but I have other reptiles and did some research about them as I wanted one for awhile now. I have him in a 10gal with paper towels and a UTH with a water bowl large enough for him and a hide on the warm side and one on the other. temps are about 85-90*F on the warm and 81-83*F on the cooler end. He seem fine and is doing well, not stressed really but I don't want this mite situation to get worse.

I have $0.00 to my name and the only money I have goes to feeding my animals. I do not and will not tap into those funds. Can I soak him in warm water with a couple drops of Dawn soap and leave him in there for awhile such as 30min to and hour? While soaking, change the paper towel and clean everything with hot water and some watered down bleach? Will this all worm ok? The infestation is not bad from what I have read. I soaked him once and he just floats... And I did not see any dead mites but I saw a few on his head and one in his hide.

What can I do and am I doing this right?

Please help, I would really appreciate it as I can be known to over react to these things!

[chasethorn]

Further questions... Will mite get in my dresser and on my clothes? I am paranoid about my other reptiles as I do not want to transfer them to my torts or my leopard geckos... Is that possible? Since he is a baby, Having him in a new home, and killing mites, will he be stressed like no other? Will he refuse to eat for awhile?

[Daybreaker]

I would separate him from you other reptiles, always quarantine new additions.

Dawn soap and baths will not get rid of the mites, you need to get a can of Prevent a Mite: http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59 and do as the instructions say.

Also is your UTH regulated with a thermostat/dimmer/rheostat? How are you measuring hot and cold side temps?

But besides all that...contact the person you got the BP from. See if they'll help you out with the mite issues, since you only got him today.

[chasethorn]

I use a hydrofarm thermostat. I will contact them!

[chasethorn]

There seem to be very little mites, like one or two. I have seen a few around his eyes. I will take him back and see if they will cure him before I bring it back home.

[Tfpets]

So you had your reptiles at the shop that has mites? I would have some concern about that. I know that mites happen, but I would distance myself from that shop until/if the situation is fixed. I would just return it and not worry about getting it back. Just save yourself the headache!

[BWyant]

I would separate him from you other reptiles, always quarantine new additions.

Dawn soap and baths will not get rid of the mites, you need to get a can of Prevent a Mite: http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59 and do as the instructions say.

Also is your UTH regulated with a thermostat/dimmer/rheostat? How are you measuring hot and cold side temps?

But besides all that...contact the person you got the BP from. See if they'll help you out with the mite issues, since you only got him today.

Soap bath wouldn't help at all?

Obviously you'd still need to clean the cage and do the baths about once a day for like a week, but....

[fionab]

heres a question, if the shop had not given you the snake but you came home and gave spread mites to your reptiles ( yes you can transfer them via clothes etc) how would you have treated them?? mites can come from many sources, so you should really have cash available to treat your animals for anything that may come about, even if you have to put money away each month / week, if you cant afford to do this you maybe have to ask yourself the question, can you afford them? as the upkeep of these animals includes vet and treatment costs not just heat and food.

In the mean time you will have to find the cash from somwhere to treat everything, there may only have been a few visible mites but you wont be able to see their eggs. and if not treated properly you will soon see more......

over here we use either ardap, frontline or callingtons, not sure what the best treatment available over there is or if its the same as here.
soap and water wont do at all it will not kill the eggs

sorry to be blunt.

[Andrew21]

heres a question, if the shop had not given you the snake but you came home and gave spread mites to your reptiles ( yes you can transfer them via clothes etc) how would you have treated them?? mites can come from many sources, so you should really have cash available to treat your animals for anything that may come about, even if you have to put money away each month / week, if you cant afford to do this you maybe have to ask yourself the question, can you afford them? as the upkeep of these animals includes vet and treatment costs not just heat and food.

In the mean time you will have to find the cash from somwhere to treat everything, there may only have been a few visible mites but you wont be able to see their eggs. and if not treated properly you will soon see more......

over here we use either ardap, frontline or callingtons, not sure what the best treatment available over there is or if its the same as here.
soap and water wont do at all it will not kill the eggs

sorry to be blunt.

That was actually a really nice way of getting your point across! Most of the time people just say, "if you don't have emergency cash, give the animal to someone who can take proper care of it" Or something worse.

[chet1028]

I would immediately return be snake. You can buy a small normal for less than it'll cost you to treat he mites. Wait til you have a bit more money available and then find yourself a mite-free BP.