Oh no..

I typically only see my BPs soak when they're shedding, and whenever I get new snakes I quarantine them for about 3 days before putting them with the others.
I've recently within the last 3 weeks purchased 5 new BPs, all of which I got from people who were reputable breeders.
Slowly, one by one I've noticed my BPs soaking, I was a tad concerned but as I was about to go to bed just now, I was checking on my snakes and I noticed my adult normal male I've had since I was twelve (6 years) soaking, and he NEVER soaks.

My mind screamed
"MITES!!"

I don't see anything on any of them, their temps are just fine. But I honestly have no idea what to look for when it comes to mites.

QT should be for at least 3-6 months ....... And soaking in water is fine.

What are the temps, enclosure type, humidity?

Pics plz

Quarantine should be done for a LOT longer than 3 days. More like 3-12 months.

=/ mites look like pepper on the snakes skin. Mostly between scales, on the underside of their jaw, and the vent and favorite mite territory. I know people like to use PAM but I have no personal experience with it...

Someone will probably say that 3 days isn't nearly long enough to quarantine but I'll let someone with more experience in the quarantine department give their two cents on that subject.

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Originally Posted by Bobbafett

Quarantine should be done for a LOT longer than 3 days. More like 3-12 months.

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When I mentioned to the person I bought my first BP from that I was considering buying another, she told me to QT them for 24hours, and I thought it'd be safe to add two days to that. I never thought anything different, and was never told otherwise, until now.

Right now it's 80-83 on the cool ends of the tubs and 85/86 on the hotspots.
Humidity is from 50 - 61%

I honestly see nothing different on their skin, and nothing in the water.

They've also been spreading water all throughout the tubs.

I might be paranoid, because I was reading an article about mites a few days ago, and was told constant soaking is a sign of mites.

I'm going to bed atm, but I figured I'd put this up so I'd have some replies in the morning.

my ignorance is my own fault but keep in mind that I just joined a month ago and I've never had a community to help me out. a lot of the advice I have been given over the years you guys have proven false or inaccurate or just dangerous, sadly I've learned a lot more in the last month then I have in my few years the owning snakes

and it feels like I'm starting all over again, but that's what this community is for, right? To help and discuss our hobby with others.

Definitely should QT longer than a few days. I QT for 2-3 months.

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Quarantine should be done for a LOT longer than 3 days. More like 3-12 months.

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12 months? Seriously? I think that's overkill...

Anyways, if all of your snakes are soaking either they're dehydrated or they have mites. Your humidity sounds right, but are you using a digital hygrometer? You could bump up the hot side temp a few degrees also...
What substrate are they on? Change to plain white paper towels if you haven't already. Double check around their eyes and vent, mites like to hide there. Take a hand and grasp it around the snake's entire body if you can, and slide it all the way down from head to tail. See if there are black specks on your hands or arms. I use Provent-A-Mite (PAM) once a month preventatively on all of my snakes tubs. I've never had mites in my collection but my boyfriend has. (his husbandry isn't quite as OCD as mine, lol) I've had to experiment a lot to find what works. PAM is the best for enclosures but you can't use it on the snake. Mite-Off by Zoo Med is good for the snake's body in my experience. It would still be a good idea to buy some PAM and treat all of your tubs, even if you don't find mites. The way I look at it is, you buy flea/tick prevention for your dog right? Why not for your snakes?

12 months isn't overkill if you keep illnesses like IBD in mind. If you only keep ball pythons it would probably present much sooner than that, still, there are illnesses that can incubate for that long.

You should put all of your snakes on paper towels. If they have mites they will be a lot more visible that way.

I third or forth which ever it is by this point to move your snake on to paper towels. It just makes it a heck of a lot easier to rule out when the mite problem is gone, and if you have one in general. 3 day QT is more like an adjusting time before you should try to feed / handle your new snakes after shipping, but it isn't enough time to keep mites out of your enclosures / collection, or prevent from larger scale infections and diseases. So be careful . . . If you only have one snake in your collection prior to all your additions though your QT area is probably going to be your main collection area anyway from the sounds of it. I don't forsee needing a year QT, most people advise you go with up to 3 months, with a minimum of 3-4 weeks. This gives enough time for most basic illness signs to be present and if your cage conditions are good, it gives enough time for mites to show up. I always PAM new enclosures in my QT for bringing in snakes, heck just got QT set up last night with PAM for my new snakes coming from BHB (praying for no mites since Brian has given himself a mite reputation over the past 2 years).

Soaking is normal, even if its atypical for your snake. It's usually more evident with mites, and high temperatures. Double check your ground temps versus your air temps. How are you reading your temperatures right now? If you have an 84 ambient, and are using UTH your ground temps may be near 95-98, so a need to be careful and check temperatures is in order. You can pick up an IR Temp gun for 25 bucks from www.reptilebasics.com, it needs to be fairly close to the target to read accurately, but man is it a lot nicer than my car IR temp gun I was using . . . and seems to be more accurate, and only half the cost. . .

If you are not sure whether or not mites may be present, be preventative. Give your snakes a bath one at a time in cage temperature water with a drop or two of Dawn. This will provide a lot of relief if mites are present and drown mites that are existing on the snake. Fill the tub with only 1-2 inches deep of water, you dont want your snake to be floating or swimming, but soaking and resting. Let him sit in this water for 20 or so minutes (up to 45 if you can keep the temps up so he can hydrate just incase he needs it). Order yourself two things: 1) Reptile Relief which is a spray you use directly on the animal, 2) PAM which you use on the enclosure once you have removed the water bowl.

I had never dealt with mites till about 4 months ago when I got a couple carpets from a semi-local breeder (bout 3 hours away). Both came in and did good in QT for 6 weeks, but as soon as they were moved into the collection room trouble hit... Mite eggs can stay dormant till humidity is proper. My QT for carpets has about 40-50% humidity, which is good for them, but not great for mites, so the mites they had did not pop up till they were moved into the room where humidity in the room is 60%. . .

Just be wise and prevenative, and your collection will be fine. Mites are the devil, but they aren't the end of the world unless you let it become an issue!

I thought that IBD was exclusive to Boas?

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Originally Posted by gsarchie

I thought that IBD was exclusive to Boas?

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Its exclusive to Boids which includes pythonidae, its more common in Boa Constrictors, but has been documented well with Pythons. Not only that though, but its been documented that Colubridae can also act as a host for IBD showing zero signs of infection! QT one of these for 12 months, and you'll still have issues if IBD is present.