General Care Question

Sanitize everything in his tank!!!

Buy Provent a Mite for mites. You can get it from LLL Reptile, or Reptile Basics. It's only available online. It's the best stuff and works the best but you have to follow the directions exactly. If the stuff you have right now has any sort of pesticides in it, don't spray it on him, it'll cause neurological sickness and death within 24 hours or so. Don't even risk it. In the meantime, you can soak your snake in warm water with just a drop of Dawn in it to help drown the mites for 20-30 minutes. Right now, empty out your tank. Dump out all the substrate, everything, clean everything really good and put down paper towels instead of substrate. You'll want to be able to see the mites. When you get your Provent a Mite, follow the directions carefully.

As long as he has mites, don't go to any place they sell reptile feeders or reptiles. You can carry them on you and they'll just spread. Mites are a pain to deal with, they can and will infest anywhere they can get. Be prepared for several weeks of fighting with the mites. You have to break the breeding cycle of the mites and eradicate all their eggs. It only takes one egg to start a whole new infestation.

Sounds like a challenge. I love challenges... I'm gonna f- the little bastards up! Thanks for the quick response

A friend of mine said to soak the snake over night in olive oil then clean em with dawn. Is this a good idea?

Nooooo that is a very very poor idea. If anything a good soak in warm water 85-88.f with a drop of dish soap would be thing I'd suggest if you're trying to get the mites off.
Never use anything oil based on a reptile. Especially if you can help it and never soak one in olive oil. I can just imagine how that would turn out.
Save the snake and yourself that trouble though and grab a can of Pam. (mite spray).


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Oil on skin is one thing but oil can soften up scales and make them flake off opening your snake up to infections, especially if mites are in the equation. Don't use oil of any kind! Stick with a drop of dawn in water that doesn't feel warm to the touch. It shouldn't even feel lukewarm, really. If it feels warm to your 92-95 degree skin, it's way too warm for your snake.

So I got my order in the mail, and I'm waiting for my mite off. After yesterday, I didn't notice anything in the tank which is now bedded with paper towels, until I saw 1 black spot. It wasn't moving, but on Uro's water dish ther seemed to be a larger bug crawlin around, but not much larger then the mites. I'm assuming its a tick. I have to ask, WHERE did these things come from, I don't handle other snakes, I'm pretty sure he didn't have them when he came home. And is it possible they can affect his temperment? I ask that simply because it'd explain the random striking he does at me (especially when he's soaking(I have only done it twice, once for hydrating(didn't see any mites that time)and once for getting mites off Uro)).

If he had eggs on him when he came in, then those eggs hatched and began multiplying. It really only takes one or two eggs to get a full-blown infestation. I doubt he had a tick - did you get a picture of it? A tick would be much larger than a mite. Mites cause stress and stress causes a more irritable, defensive snake.

I killed the little bugger, but it looked almost like a little fatter flea, I think it had wings.

...Huh. That's strange. Wonder if it got into his tank some other way, it doesn't seem like something that would be riding around on a snake.