Update on Mites

I'm starting to think that the bug I found on my BP may not have been a mite. I haven't seen any other signs of mites anywhere, but I really don't know what I'm looking for. Bruce has black specks all down the sides of his body but I don't know if it is just his coloring or mites....Help?

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2F6V0ykhr.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FLkyQw7C.jpg

check under his head, and cloaca? mites in water?

Put him in a tub with a heat mat under it for a day or two with only a paper towel as substrate and a water bowl. You'll seem them on the paper... but I'm thinking that's just his speckling.

EDIT: obviously you'd want a thermostat on the heat mat, and proper ventilation for good humidity

You could always clean out his entire tank and spray with provent a mite just as a precaution. Of course you'd wanna follow the directions on the can to a T.

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When I first thought he had mites I cleaned his tank and accessories and put him on paper towels. I have given him a thorough look over a couple of times since then, paying close attention to the face and vent areas, and haven't seen anything on him or in his tank.

The only reason I haven't used Provent a Mite is because my husband has a few Tarantulas and I don't want to risk killing them. I've been giving him warm soaks and keeping his enclosure pristine. I figured if it got any worse I would just take the tank to the garage and treat it in there, leaving Bruce in a separate container for a while. But, like I said, I'm starting to doubt he even has mites.

New owner, it's okay to worry. You can soak him then put him on paper towels, or even spray reptile spray on the papertowels and run it along his underbelly to see if you get anything.

You'd know if your snakes have mites as they will crawl on your hands when you handle your snakes. When I handle my snakes I make sure to given them a good body rub and check my hands thoroughly for bugs as some stages are very small and hard to see. Sometimes you can see them on the snake as they look like black bumps. Your snakes will spend lots of time in their water too,generally. They're nasty little buggars and you have to keep on top of them. I have used "nopest" strips and they seem to work but the effectiveness of the strip seems to dissipate quite quickly. I have an isolation tub that I put the snake in, with a couple of small pieces of nopest in ventilated pill bottles and put the big section of nopest in the enclosure (seal the enclosure as well as possible). Then I clean the enclosure thoroughly and repeat this in 9 or 10 days to kill off the next hatch of bugs.