Mites! Help!

[sloth]

I noticed my red tail boa has mites i treated the enclosure and im about to treat the snake how will i know if the problem is gone?

[The Serpent Merchant]

What are you treating with?

How is your cage setup? (mainly what substrate are you using)

[sloth]

im using eco earth bedding and im using the natureal chemistry reptile spray, was recommended to me by a friend whose treated the issue before, now if i treat the snake and it goes right back into the water bowl does this mean my issue isnt resolved?

[The Serpent Merchant]

Remove and dispose of the ecoearth, it will only increase the chances of the mites coming back due to a few survivors/eggs that camped out in the substrate.

Until this is over keep your snake on paper towels. This prevents mites from going unnoticed, and will help you track their demise.

You need to soak your snake in warm (not hot: mid 80's F) With a drop or two of dawn dish soap. This will help remove the mites, and your spray will kill them. Make sure you follow the directions on the bottle exactly. Some mite killers are pretty nasty and can harm (some even kill) the snake if used incorrectly. Each day as you soak the snake carefully look for mites. once you don't see any more for a few days straight you can probably assume that the worst is over. You should still keep a very close eye on the snake for a few weeks after to make sure they don't come back.

If you are using any wood/porous materials in the cage they will either need to be thrown away or baked in the oven at 350F for at least 2 hours.

[sloth]

damn i wish i wouldve posted on here earlier i already went through 2 bricks of eco earth, what about if i soaked the wood in boiling hot water for about 45 minutes would i be okay to continue using it? worst case i just buy a new log tomorrow when i get paid. i followed the directions exactly as specified. so if after treating and my snake goes right back into the water bowl is this a sign it still has mites on it? ive only seen a total of two mites yesterday. and started treatment today, the snake has been soakin in the bowl all day but i havent seen any mites in the bowl.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Are you 100% sure they were mites?

Mites can be very difficult to get rid of, don't expect them to just go away overnight.

You can put it in the oven at 350 for a few hours, but it really would be best to just get rid of it if you are sure you have mites.

[sloth]

im fairly sure they were mites, little black bugs.

[The Serpent Merchant]

This is a magnified picture of one, they are very small:

[sloth]

i googled pictures and i was pretty sure thats what i saw, and my snake has been spending a ton of time in his water bowl. what else could this mean if its spending most of its day in the water bowl? i know they usually do this right before a shed, but she shed about 2 weeks ago so its not exactly time for another shed, which leads me to believe i do have a mite problem.