I think my snake has mites!!

[otniel01]

hey all, i just purchased my 1 year old ball python off of craiglist about 2 weeks ago, and inside the lamp was :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: raoches, so we through that out quickly....well when i heard about mites i quickly thought, well since my snake had roaches in the lamp and didnt come from the best family maybe he has mites...so i checked the water dish and see this tiny black dot, im very nervous and maybe over reacting but i cant even tell if it was a mite because it was so small....so maybe someone could send me a pic of a snake mite or give me other signs that would indicate my snake has mights, much appreciated, anthony

[otniel01]

someone?

[Patrick Long]

well if you see one, there is prolly more.

[Sparky1]

Yeah i had a scare a couple of weeks ago, i never determined if they were snake mites or wood mites which are common in alot of bedding. So i ordered some PAM provent-a-mite, treated the enclosures and the bedding as directed and walla no bugs. Is he soaking alot?

[lord jackel]

I don't have a picture but you can't mistake them. They look like little black beetles (easiest descriptor - shiny black in color). You usually see them moving around the snakes eyes and head. When you smash them they have lots of blood in them.

You typically don't see just one you see several.

If what you found in the water doesn't clearly look like a bug then it most likely wasn't a mite. But I agree coming from a bad home you have no idea what it has...safest way is to just go ahead and treat him assuming he has them (the treatment will kill anything else that might be hiding).

Go online and purchase some Provent-A-Mite (aka PAM) follow the directions exactly as they appear on the can and your worries are over.

Hope this helps

[otniel01]

no, he almost never soaks, just drinks.....and this was way to small to even really see if it was a beatle or not....and i've checked several times around the mouth,nose,body and haven't seen any mites, or maybe they're to small to see?

[Argentra]

Best to do the PAM treatment just to be sure. Even if they aren't snake mites, that stuff will get rid of them. I think I have to treat all my doorways with the stuff next time, cause I keep having them come back. The feeder supply store I go to keeps pretty clean, and always sprays trade in enclosures with PAM when they come in... but they could be the source. Any ideas?

[MelissaFlipski]

One little tiny black dot on a hard surface, but none on the snake that are moving, could mean just a roach poop.

Did you ever see any mites on the snake?

[Ginevive]

Provent-a Mite is your best option. It will kill-off not only any mites, but also any remaining roaches.
It is standard procedure for me, to treat any new snake with P-A-Mite. You could miss the signs of mites until they have multiplied more.

[drugaria]

Same thing happened to me .I wish I had taken pictures but was concerned about erradicating them and forgot. Mites are nasty small black or beige dots about the size of a period at the end of a sentence. I found them in the heat pits of my snake and around the eyes , in the chin wrincle, in between the belly scales and in between the cloaka scales. You can't mistake them for nothing else ! I too adopted a snake from craigs list and found out it was infested with mytes.
I bought some Reptile relief from Petco and it worked great killing them right away. However u probably got a whole bunch of eggs around the enclosure you gonna need to get yourself a can of Reptile Relief since it has a long residual effect meaning it will kill the larvae over a 30 day period as they hatch . Got mine right from the manufacturer no middle man and higher price.Here is the link http://www.pro-products.com/ Follow the instructions and you'll be fine ! Good luck