Bad shed/mites

[theshopismyhome]

Hey all my ball python has had bad sheds the past few times and now at the beginning of his shed cycle he has spent the last few days curled up on his water dish. It's not too hot and we Keep it pretty wet. So we think he has mites and figured even if he doesn't have them it would not hurt spraying. Is it okay to treat him while shedding? He just got milky.

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[JoshSloane]

What are your husbandry specs? Humidity and temps? How do you check these factors? If he has mites you will generally see them. They look like flakes of pepper, and are easiest seen on the belly of the snake. It wouldn't hurt to soak the snake for 20-30 min to help loosen up the impending shed. If there are in fact mites, you will more than likely see a few of them drowned in the water bath. I wouldn't treat the animal with any mite spray during or after the shed for a few days. The fresh scales can be a bit fragile immediately after a shed, and its not good to expose them to chemicals. I recommend using Natural Chemistry mite spray, rather than the typical Provent-a-mite. Both products annihilate mites, but Natural Chemistry is much less toxic to the snake itself. You can even wipe the product directly onto the animal.

[trevor88]

Have you confirmed and seen mites? I notice that if my humidity levels are off before they go into shed they will soak to help them shed.

[theshopismyhome]

It's really hard to confirm. We use coir as substrate and it's dark. I saw few specks but not sure. .

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