My baby ball might have mites!!! HELP

[SacredSerpent]

So I'm really new to owning snakes and even newer to this forum. I recently bought a 6 month old female ball python, haven't had her more then a week. I noticed that she has been spending most her time in the water dish and I read that that is a sign of mites. I have not seen any mites, but I'm also not sure what exactly I'm looking for. I read somewhere that maybe the humidity is low in the tank but I keep it at a constant 60%-70% so I don't think that's the problem. Also she isn't going into shed (no graying of scales/blue cloudy eyes).

So my questions are:

1. How can I be sure she has or does not have mites?
2. What's the best way to get rid of the mites?
3. How long do I have before this becomes serious?
4. What are some ways to prevent this in the future?

Thank you all very much, hopefully next post I will be talking about how happy and healthy she is

[bcr229]

Use a white or light colored water dish - any drowned mites will look like pepper in the bottom of the dish.

Occasionally mine will soak even with the humidity at 70% or more, starting a day or so before signs like a pink belly.

Also, if your hides are too big or too open BP's may try to use the water dish as a hide - they like very dark hides that are just slightly larger than they are, with one entry. The half-log hides that most people get from pet shops are inappropriate for BP's unless you block off the entrances with plants or substrate so there's just a small access hole.

[SacredSerpent]

I will try using a lighter water dish and see if any mites are falling off her. There isn't any I can see in her tan water dish now. Pink belly is a sign off shedding, correct?Her hide is a skull I had as a Halloween decoration, she loves it. It is just slightly bigger then she is and has one hole big enough for her to go into and then two small holes in the eyes of the skull. I think she is comfortable there.

[Saber402]

Just because they sit in the water bowl is not a definitive sign of mites in itself. It could be beginning the shedding process, or it could even just like being in the water.

Look your snake over closely. If it has mites you should see some tiny black dots moving around or under some of the scales. Look around the eyes, heat pits, and vent, these are common places for mites to be.

Change your substrate to paper towels and check often for the same little dots moving around.

If you do find mites the number one rule is not to panic. It happens. Most of us have dealt with them and they can be treated. Remove all contents of the cage and use paper towels for substrate for the duration of treatment. Either use Provent-a-Mite (aka PAM), Reptile Spray, or NIX head lice treatment (yes, for people). I have successfully used NIX myself. You should treat three times, once every five days, to break the breeding cycle. Most products will not kill any eggs so doing multiple treatments is the key to killing them after they have hatched and before they can breed and lay more eggs. Treat the cage, hide, water bowl, and any decorative pieces and let them dry thoroughly.

There are many threads here about what others have done.

Good luck and hope he is free of mites!

[SacredSerpent]

Thank you both very much for your help. I will switch to paper towels tonight and check regularly for mites. Also I will take a look at her belly to see if it has started turning pink. I really appreciate your quick responses, I'm new at this so the thought of my snake getting ingested with mites makes me feel like a bad owner. But it sounds like it's not the end of the world, I will get right on it and fix the problem. Thank you again

[albinos_rule]

Be careful with those skulls as hides, I had one once that really got stuck in one of those