ok so its mites....

i posted about a week ago that i thought maybe my bp hate mites and now its confirmed and they all everywhere! dammit! how did this happen?!!! I mean im already getting PAM and going to treat him in one of the spare 15 gallon tanks i have, lined with paper towels, etc etc, but my fustration is how did this happen?

When i got him months ago from a very good breeder he was mite/tick free for months. I never take him outside and i cant understand where these things come from, i mean i have had issues with BPs with mites, but that was one i bought from petland and it CAME with mites, how did this happen?

Maybe it had mites and you didn't see them? Maybe it had mite eggs on it and then they hatched and became noticeable? Maybe you were in another store, or expo, or breeders that had mites and it came home with you on your clothes? There are a number of reasons it could happen.

I'm sorry to hear about the mites, I hope once the PAM arrives the problem will die quickly. Good luck!

She is right, your bp could have had eggs, or you could have picked them up at a show, etc.

Do you buy your supplies from petland? Mites can be on anything you get from the pet store. It's not uncommon for pet stores to be infested with mites considering where they get their stock. I always advise people to put their bedding and whatever else they buy from the pet store for their bps in the freezer overnight to kill any mites/eggs that could be on the items.

Yeah I've also read that mites can come from pet stores. As in, person has a snake with mites, doesn't know it. Goes to the store and touches things (hides, water bowls, etc) and they cling onto those things. You touch them and/or bring them home. You now have eggs/mites in your tank. Mites can cling onto our clothes and feed on us a little until they can get back to the host they prefer.

its definetly not from the breeder, i got my BP may 17 of this year and did not notice anything (and believe me i check) until last week. As far as pet stores i dont buy any supplies from them at all, just mice. Last time i was at a expo was 2 months ago, and i did buy supplies there, but 2 months without me noticing is not likely. The only thing i can think of, is i should have went with my gut instincts when i bought this "drig wood" bark for my tank. I have had bad experiences with bark/mites in the past and just plain dont trust bark. But again, i bought this 2 months ago and its just now mites showing.

I already ordered PAM, what can i do in the meantime? This sucks, its like finding out I AM the one with a disease or something, im gonna be feeling like crap until this is all over with....

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Originally Posted by FrankieCarbone

its definetly not from the breeder, i got my BP may 17 of this year and did not notice anything (and believe me i check) until last week. As far as pet stores i dont buy any supplies from them at all, just mice.

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The one time I had a mite outbreak (with 25 snakes - ugh!), I strongly suspect they hitched a ride home on some feeder mice... I'd just started going to a new shop for mice, and they also sold reptiles at this shop. I asked later if they'd seen any mites around, but of course they said no. They really couldn't have come from anywhere else, and "coincidentally," I never had mites before or after visiting that particular shop. :rolleyes:

That PAM stuff works wonders, though, so hopefully the buggers will be gone soon! Don't dwell too much on HOW they got there, just focus now on killing them dead.

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The only thing i can think of, is i should have went with my gut instincts when i bought this "drig wood" bark for my tank. I have had bad experiences with bark/mites in the past and just plain dont trust bark.

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Bark/wood mites are different from snake mites... so unless the bark had SNAKE mites taking a ride, it's unlikely that's your culprit.

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I already ordered PAM, what can i do in the meantime? This sucks, its like finding out I AM the one with a disease or something, im gonna be feeling like crap until this is all over with....

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Believe me, I understand that feeling! It's pretty awful, but don't worry - the PAM will take care of things, and you'll be over this soon enough. If the snake is really suffering, you can bathe them or get a bottle of Reptile Relief (Natural Chemistry). This won't solve the problem permanently, but does offer some relief from the currently living mites... I used that on the most affected snakes while waiting for my PAM, and it seemed to help a lot.

Reptile Relief (which can be found at most pet stores): http://www.petnsupplies.com/product_...odel=16256-TDG

ill stop over a petland tommorrow and see if i can pick up some reptile relief, in the meantime i got the spare 15 gallon out and ready with paper towel linings, the 2 old rock cave hides from my previous setup and the old UTH/DIMMER setup, hell be living there for a while, i will be cleaning his real setup (the 29g one) twice if not 3 times, before he goes back in, i just cant stop thinking "man he must be suffering having all these things crawling all over him" i really hope PAM is as effective as eveyrbody says, i dont know what i will do if it dosent.....

oh man things are getting worse, i woke up at 6am to find my bp like this. He is going thru great lengths to avoid being in that tank now. That him between the plexi glass and top

Have to go to work, after which im going to every damn pet store i have to to find some reptile relief....


http://www.imagebam.com/image/ed5781154565034

I really suggest taking all those decorations and everything out, cleaning the tank like crazy, and then replacing with paper towel and only putting back the hides and a water dish. I'm sure you said you bought a tub for him, but this should be done asap. Bake anything wood and bleach the rest. Give this guy some soaks throughout the day, poor thing :(

You have too much stuff in that tank with a mite outbreak. You need to strip the tank bare. Take all decorations and either boil em or submerse them in water for a couple hours, strip and bag and throw all the substrate. I would order a can of provent a mite to have on hand. Reptile relief doesnt hold a candle to pprovent a mite. I wouldnt have anything in that tank except paper towels. Mites can come home from the pet store on rodents. I have seen it happen too many time. Picture this, pet store has a mite outbreak and the kid handling the snakes also handles the rodents. Theres your link. Mites are not just specific to reptiles.