New BEL with pink blotches

It's been quite a while since I've dealt with any mites, but I don't recall any of them moving that fast. :confusd: There's many kinds of mites though, not only snake mites. And the speed of this "thing" reminds me more of a tiny spider. It's a bit of a track star. ;)

Also, when you squish a snake mite, you should see a tiny bit of red (blood). Did you do that when you removed the mite?

I’ve noticed some of my pieds have spots like that after they shed. I’ve never dealt with mites (thank god) but I would continue to treat for them anyways. Here are some pics of one of my pieds with red splotches just like thathttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...dac454c89e.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...426683ece3.jpg
Mine didn’t nearly have a smush as your bell though


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Well the thing with a white snake is that every little bruise will show up too. But the repeated small circular spots on Shasta's BEL really make me think of some sort of bug bites, with the resulting irritation & inflammation around each one. I really have no idea if snake mites cause that however- nothing like that ordinarily shows up on snakes- it's hidden with their normal (darker) colors.

I haven't been able to positively squish test one yet. I took her out of her shipping bag, was taking some heart-eyed initial snaps when I spotted the bug. Freaked out a bit, took a video, and gave her a rinse (she also had some coir on her). Bug might have washed away down the U-bend as I haven't seen him since. Weirdly enough with all the YouTube content on how to treat for mites, there aren't a lot of videos about how snake mites actually look. I keep seeing people putting pepper in a white water bowl to demonstrate, lol. Anyway if someone looked at that guy's velocity and doubted that it was a snake mite based on that, I would be more than happy. ;)

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Originally Posted by shasta

... Anyway if someone looked at that guy's velocity and doubted that it was a snake mite based on that, I would be more than happy. ;)

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Me too- I'm hoping some members here with more recent mite experiences will comment on that. I'm going only on my memory from a long while back- I've been fortunate to have had very few run-ins with mites, considering how many snakes I've lived with.

Update on the little girl. This is day 5 with me so I still haven't offered her food (I did waft some thawing rat into her vicinity while feeding my other BP to get her thinking about it lol). Woke up today to a nice healthy poo and a 7/10 shed. It was in pieces which I didn't love but we got eye caps and tail tip so I wasn't too fussed. I had to interrupt her alone time for turn down service and did a thorough body check. I have not seen another mite on her body or in the enclosure. Unfortunately her pink spots didn't get better, in fact they look like most of the damage was taking place underneath. They look like damaged scales. If they were more ventral I would think scale rot for sure. At this point I still think they could be traumatized scales that need some time to turn over. Her belly continues to look good which makes me less concerned for something systemic. She certainly doesn't seem malnourished. I'm hoping the shed and the poo has inspired some appetite in her, thinking I will offer her a rat today or tomorrow.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/b0OJOjh.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/jHNWvQC.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/6zdfUaS.jpg

Close up of the damaged scales.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/4C4sTT3.jpg

The entire scales are missing, which makes me doubt they're from [solely] mites. It could be from the shed reopening the wound, hopefully they heal in time but I'm not sure what else to recommend.

I agree ^ ^ ^ but I'm also a bit concerned about the other dark areas between some scales nearby that are "in line" between some of the missing scales. I think a vet visit would be a good idea- this is not something you want to have spread to other scales. It doesn't look like what I've personally seen before, but hopefully a well-qualified herp vet would be of some help- along with some lab work, perhaps. :confusd: Off-hand I'd say it's potentially fungal (it's somewhat similar to what I have seen)- but do see a vet.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I agree ^ ^ ^ but I'm also a bit concerned about the other dark areas between some scales nearby that are "in line" between some of the missing scales. I think a vet visit would be a good idea- this is not something you want to have spread to other scales. It doesn't look like what I've personally seen before, but hopefully a well-qualified herp vet would be of some help- along with some lab work, perhaps. :confusd: Off-hand I'd say it's potentially fungal (it's somewhat similar to what I have seen)- but do see a vet.

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I would also be sending the bill directly to the person/breeder who knowingly sent her to you in that condition


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