mite and first feed questions

[Music28]

I bought lucy just a few days ago. Yesterday was her first meal with me. I went to the store and bought a pinkie. I had mixed feelings on how to feed her. Ive read that putting the live mouse in the cage isnt a good idea, and then later read that it doesnt matter.
At first i tried putting her in a box with the mouse, she freaked out so i put her back in her cage. I decided to just put the pinkie in her cage in the end, noticing that the pinkie wasnt moving too much anyway.
After 10 mins of her slithering around i got bored of watching and went out for a while. When i returned, no trace of the pinkie! This morning i found the feces in one of her hide boxes, i didnt know shed digest it that fast. Overall, im really happy that she ate, i had my doubts : )

My only Q about this topic is, did i do it right? Should i approach it differently next time? Advice would be awesome.

Next question is a quick one. This morning i was checkin up on her and noticed a mite (or what i think is a mite) crawling along her belly. I pinched it off and checked her whole body for them, but found nothing.
Should i be concerned? Do i need to do something about it? Clean the cage?
Im not sure what mites do or how they live, so i feel i must ask.

I guess that sums it up for now.
Me and Lucy are thankful for any wisdom you have to pass down.

[lord jackel]

You fed fine...but next time just feed her in her cage and don't watch. With a pinky there is ZERO risk to the snake...but if you watch you will just bug here and she may not eat.


As for the mites get some PAM (Provent-A-Mite: Available online) and treat the cage according to the directions. If you have one mite you have many (you just haven't seen them yet).

In the short term till you get the PAM give her a soak (small tub, water warm and just up to the middle of her body, and 2 -3 drops of dish soap) this will help give her some relief.

Then clean out her cage (everything) and I would recommend you change to papertowels as a substrate for now so you can see any more mites.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Music28]

Very helpful advice, thanks a million.
The dish soap in her bath wont bother her?
And will the bath also help her shed? Since i bought her shes been going through a crappy shed.

Lastly, how do i use paper towel as substrate? Rip it up in small pieces? strips? ball up the paper towel? or just lay the paper towel flat along the floor of the cage?

Thanks

[lord jackel]

Very helpful advice, thanks a million.
The dish soap in her bath wont bother her?
And will the bath also help her shed? Since i bought her shes been going through a crappy shed.

Lastly, how do i use paper towel as substrate? Rip it up in small pieces? strips? ball up the paper towel? or just lay the paper towel flat along the floor of the cage?

Thanks

2-3 drops of soap won't hurt her at all...but it breaks the surface tension of the water so the mites drown.

Yes it will also help with an retained shed...if she had a bad shed this could be due to the mites...but also your humidity level (what is it? what is the rest of your setup like?)

Just lay the papertowels down in the bottom of the cage...no need to cut, tear or wad them. Just lay them flat...like you were covering a shelf with contact paper.

[jglass38]

Provent A Mite

http://www.pro-products.com/miteandtemp.html

[Music28]

I have her in a ten gallon tank with the tin foil setup on the lid to keep the humidity steady. Im using a heat lamp right now, i get paid this weekend so i plan to pick up a more sufficient heating source.
humidity usually sits around 60, unless i keep it misted, which i have been lately after reading that high humidity helps the shed process. Once misted it goes into mid 70's to mid 80's.
Temp usually sits at about 90 on hot side and 80-85ish on cool side.

ive noticed shes been shedding alot better, but its a slow process.