Mites??? Please help.

Just recently I cleaned Dewey’s tank with the normal routine as suggested by all of the helpful people here when I first got him (I use F10). Everything went fine, and I put the new substrate down and all of that good stuff.

However since the last cleaning I’m noticing dewey’s entire water bowl is empty in the morning, looks like it was splashed out. I took out the water bowl today and dumped it onto a paper towel, there are some black flecks on it and I am terrified.

I pulled him out of the tank and checked him myself and as far as I can notice there are no kites near his eye sockets or his heat pits.

I use Forest Floor by zoomed.

I will upload pictures in a minute

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...57a8bdb8b.jpeghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...9c0cec5df.jpeghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...fc44e494c.jpeghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...173f757f7.jpeghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...2e146acb5.jpeghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...84952f1c7.jpeg
Hold on there’s a few more

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...416bf6b5d.jpeghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...7036a53fe.jpeg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ddc3bef9c.jpeghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...fb3422197.jpeghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...06cd8971c.jpeghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...556b5d02e.jpeghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...89fdaeb1e.jpeg

I’m unsure of whether this is from the substrate or the moss. The moss is brand new, but that partcular bag of substrate I’ve used before (for the cleaning before this one) and I had no issues. Is it possible that it was in the sphagnum moss??

Could they possibly just be tiny insects / beetles from the substrate ?

I’d pick the snake up then wipe it down head to tail with a couple of pieces of slightly damp paper towel ..

If there are any black flecks on the paper ... crush them with your fingernail or the back of a teaspoon and see if it’s full of blood


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Where did you purchase the substrate? The big box stores tend to have mite infestations and since the females travel off the snake to lay eggs, it's possible that there were mite eggs in the substrate.


Otherwise this thread has a lot of useful info about eradicating mites:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...it-with-AaronP

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Could they possibly just be tiny insects / beetles from the substrate ?

I’d pick the snake up then wipe it down head to tail with a couple of pieces of slightly damp paper towel ..

If there are any black flecks on the paper ... crush them with your fingernail or the back of a teaspoon and see if it’s full of blood


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I’ll try this when I get back home. I thought t was the substrate too it’s just that I’ve used that SPECIFIC bag before because one bag is too big for the tank and haven’t had a problem. I’m just not sure. It’s still likely, and maybe it’s the moss?

but yes thank you so much, I’ll definitely try this out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Where did you purchase the substrate? The big box stores tend to have mite infestations and since the females travel off the snake to lay eggs, it's possible that there were mite eggs in the substrate.


Otherwise this thread has a lot of useful info about eradicating mites:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...it-with-AaronP

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I belive I did get it from a big chain store I just can’t remember which, I should have known bettter but I was in a rush for materials that go around so that was my fault entirely if the bag is infested. Is it possible that even though the first half of the bag had no problems the second half could??

also thank you! That link is much appreciated. Do they look like mites for sure to you?

Only this one ‘looks’ like a possible mite but even that looks kinda beetle shape ..
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...025328151a.jpg


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Only this one ‘looks’ like a possible mite but even that looks kinda beetle shape ..



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The one on the tweezer kinda irks me too. But if it is a beetle what should I do?

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Originally Posted by GiddyGoat

The one on the tweezer kinda irks me too. But if it is a beetle what should I do?

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I’ve never been too bothered about tiny critters in my vivs .. it’s all part of nature I guess ..



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The only mites I’ve encountered were tiny .... about 1/8th the size of a grain of rice ..


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by GiddyGoat

The one on the tweezer kinda irks me too. But if it is a beetle what should I do?

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Try wiping down the snake as I described... mites will be on the snake of there’s an issue with them


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Try wiping down the snake as I described... mites will be on the snake of there’s an issue with them


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Wiped down the snake twice; no small black anything. Still nothing in the sockets or pits, I think maybe it was a false alarm. Thanks so much for the help.

Cr*p! I just looked at the substrate in the tank and there was this little white bug running around.. more baby?? I’m so paranoid

Cook the substrate an clean everything again. I went to paper towels after getting "bad" substrate. Now, go find some predator mites to eat the bad mites.

Good luck!

White mites are (normally) wood mites, no problem for the snake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GiddyGoat

Cr*p! I just looked at the substrate in the tank and there was this little white bug running around.. more baby?? I’m so paranoid

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Pretty certain that snake mites are black ...


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Hey everybody, I now have a solid plan. I’m in the process of deep cleaning the entire enclosure again, Including all his stuff. Going to put him on paper towels for a week to make sure that he is free of mites. Ill cook the rest of this substrate after that if he’s a-ok, and the substrate helps me retain humidity. Thanks again for everybody’s help. Going to order more killers just in case.

Update: he’s clean! Thanks again for all the help everyone.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Pretty certain that snake mites are black ...


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Yup, or red from being engorged with blood they sucked out of a snake, or brown (from a light meal...red + black = brownish).

As far as I know, white are wood mites, not an issue (other than annoying to you). Glad he's clean now anyway. :gj: