Quick question.

Hey im kind of new to the forums. I have had my BP for about couple months now. Hes about 2-3 ft long and couple years old. I have a 40 Gal tank, Aspen bedding, 2 hides- one cold - one hot. I have 2 thermometers ( one under the warm hide and one outside in the tank) Both thermometers have probes on them and are at bedding level. The humidity in my tank stays roughly at 50-60 cuz i mist the tank once or twice a day. For heating i use a UTH attached to a temp gauge that keeps the warm hide between 88-92. For ambient temp in the tank i use an overhead lamp with a control 150 watt but i usually dont max it out. Also has a red light so the BP dosent get annoyed.

Now for my question. My BP has been eating fine on a regular basis. He just finished his shed about a week ago. He has no mites i check him daily and/or every other day. But he constantly is in his water bowl. He's in it all night and sometimes during the day too. Anyone know why this could be? I read places it could be because of shedding or mites. He just finished his shed and im pretty sure theres no mites but just to be safe im going to get the mite killer stuff. Any advice would help. On my tank, on why he sleeps in there all the time, Anything. Still kind of new to this whole thing. Thank you in advance!

Your setup sounds fine, except you didn't give your ambient/cool side temps. It's possible he's too warm if those are on the high side. Does he fit snugly into his hides? If they're too big or he's spilling out from under them, he might not feel secure enough. He could be using the bowl as an additional one. You could add more hides if you have space, and/or reduce the size of his water bowl. There isn't any harm in him soaking as long as he isn't doing it so much that he develops water blisters or scale rot (a smaller bowl will prevent him from soaking).

Well i only have one other thermometer outside his warm hide and thats right in the middle of the tank and that stays at 78-82. The hides might be a little big. thank you for the advice.

He actually does have mites!! how would i go about getting rid of the mites?? As well as preventing them from comming back. What causes the mites as well?

You need to get a can of Provent a Mite (sold by pro products and referred to as PAM)

While you are waiting for that to arrive you need to remove everything from the tank including the substrate. Replace the substrate with paper towels. This will make it easier to see them and help get rid of them faster. You need to soak your snake daily and provide a minimalistic set up until they are 100% gone. Perfect temperatures and humidity in the cage will help make your snake more comfortable, but this is going to be stressful for both of you. Mites are a serious problem that can be caused by many things.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of things to do. I'm sure others will post something, do a search on this site for mites, I'm sure you will find tons of good information that way.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

You need to get a can of Provent a Mite (sold by pro products and referred to as PAM)

While you are waiting for that to arrive you need to remove everything from the tank including the substrate. Replace the substrate with paper towels. This will make it easier to see them and help get rid of them faster. You need to soak your snake daily and provide a minimalistic set up until they are 100% gone. Perfect temperatures and humidity in the cage will help make your snake more comfortable, but this is going to be stressful for both of you. Mites are a serious problem that can be caused by many things.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of things to do. I'm sure others will post something, do a search on this site for mites, I'm sure you will find tons of good information that way.

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Awesome information! To soak the snake you can use just a drop of Dawn dish soap. This will help break the water tension and help drown the little buggers.

Thank you alot for the help! Can I get Pam at PETCO or a pet goods place or I can only order it online? Ive only him for a little over a month close to two. Im jus surprised he got mites so quick. :( and dawn dish soap wont hurt him or affect him in anyway?

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Originally Posted by viper8940

Thank you alot for the help! Can I get Pam at PETCO or a pet goods place or I can only order it online? Ive only him for a little over a month close to two. Im jus surprised he got mites so quick. :( and dawn dish soap wont hurt him or affect him in anyway?

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Honestly, your snake probably came with mites, but you just didn't notice.
PAM can only be ordered online.
http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59

I don't think any retail store carries it. Pet stores do carry mite sprays like 'mite-off' or 'reptile relief', but I would still order a can of PAM. It's the best mite control product out there. Just be sure to follow the directions carefully. I can't emphasize that enough. When I had a mite problem, they went away the day after I used PAM.

And be sure to sanitize all tank accessories and water bowl with hot water and bleach. Mites can lay eggs anywhere. And once you treat your snake, do so again.

Good luck.

You can only get it online. Don't bother with the mite spray sold at pet stores, it's crap.

As long as you use just a drop of dawn. This is a wildly used method and has proved to be safe and effective.

Honestly he could have come with mites. Sometimes aspen or other substrates have them in them when you buy them. If the rodents you feed him aren't of the frozen type it is possible to get notes from them. The list goes on and on, mites need to be taken care of as quickly as possible. When you get PAM make sure that you follow the directions to the letter as PAM itself can hurt your snake but it is a necessary risk as mites left untreated will be far worse.

I wish you the best of luck, and I'm sorry that you are having to deal with this. Just remember once you get through this it should be smooth sailing.

Thank you again. I just ordered PAM off the website. Right now I'am in the process of taking everything out of the tank and cleaning it all untill the PAM arives. Should i put his hides back in the tank with the paper towels after i clean them ? or should i just make temp disposable hides untill the PAM arives. I dont want him to stress too much till it arives without a hide.

Well soaking him didn't work too well. He kind of just thrashed about and didn't want to go anywhere near the water i put papertowels down thou. and bleached his tank along with the hides and water bowls. Now to just wait for the PAM.

Sounds all good.

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Originally Posted by viper8940

Well soaking him didn't work too well. He kind of just thrashed about and didn't want to go anywhere near the water i put papertowels down thou. and bleached his tank along with the hides and water bowls. Now to just wait for the PAM.

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What temperature water did you use?

The water should be the same temperature that you would use to wash a baby in... warm but not hot (mid 80's)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by viper8940

Thank you again. I just ordered PAM off the website. Right now I'am in the process of taking everything out of the tank and cleaning it all untill the PAM arives. Should i put his hides back in the tank with the paper towels after i clean them ? or should i just make temp disposable hides untill the PAM arives. I dont want him to stress too much till it arives without a hide.

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What type of hides are they? Rock type, half log, plastic, other?

They are rock type hydes. I ended up putting them in bleach rinseing them off and drying them an putting them back into the tank. i just have the 2 hides and a water bowl in the middle now with the paper towel. Hard to keep the humidity up now thou cuz i dont want to mist with the paper towel as bedding cuz it will get damp..

You can mist your cage, maybe not as much, but it should be fine. They will dry out after a few hours.

And putting the hides back in was fine. Its mainly the half log type that can cause issues IMO

Quote:

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Originally Posted by viper8940

They are rock type hydes. I ended up putting them in bleach rinseing them off and drying them an putting them back into the tank. i just have the 2 hides and a water bowl in the middle now with the paper towel. Hard to keep the humidity up now thou cuz i dont want to mist with the paper towel as bedding cuz it will get damp..

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The hides will be fine, and misting the paper towels will not be a problem. Half of my BPs are on newspaper right now with no issues from misting.

Gotcha. Thanks guys.