Could this be Mites?

Yes, sorry another Mite thread.

The other day while doing a quick examination of my new baby BP before a feeding I noticed a whitish discoloration above the left eye. I tried to show it to my boyfriend but his reply was "I dont see nuthin". This evening I had a friend over who has a BP and wanted to see. He noticed straight away, it looks almost like shed that didn't come off. He suggested it may be mites.

My plan of attack is to procure some Prevent-a-Mite in the AM and treat.

My question is... although I have my other snakes in other rooms and have not handled any of them directly after handling the BP what is the likelyhood, if infact it is mites, that they have spread to the others? Should I treat them all even if there are no signs or symptoms? It freaks me out to think that my healthy snakes may be in danger.

Nevermind, I just ran a paper towel down the snake and YES it is mites.

I was told to use Sevin powder, to mix it in with the aspen in all of my snakes vivs. I will do this in the AM and let you know how it works. If you have other ideas or advice please share.

I would post a pic but my camera is old and sucks.

Please, Please advise

Angela

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Originally Posted by Rorryy

Yes, sorry another Mite thread.

The other day while doing a quick examination of my new baby BP before a feeding I noticed a whitish discoloration above the left eye. I tried to show it to my boyfriend but his reply was "I dont see nuthin". This evening I had a friend over who has a BP and wanted to see. He noticed straight away, it looks almost like shed that didn't come off. He suggested it may be mites.

My plan of attack is to procure some Prevent-a-Mite in the AM and treat.

My question is... although I have my other snakes in other rooms and have not handled any of them directly after handling the BP what is the likelyhood, if infact it is mites, that they have spread to the others? Should I treat them all even if there are no signs or symptoms? It freaks me out to think that my healthy snakes may be in danger.

Nevermind, I just ran a paper towel down the snake and YES it is mites.

I was told to use Sevin powder, to mix it in with the aspen in all of my snakes vivs. I will do this in the AM and let you know how it works. If you have other ideas or advice please share.

I would post a pic but my camera is old and sucks.

Please, Please advise

Angela

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I would STRONGLY suggest holding off on the Sevin dust until you get more input here...I thought that stuff was for Tomato plants!??! Provent-A-Mite is the bomb. Until you can get that, I would just give him a nice bath, or spend some quality time together (ie...pick them bugs off him). A mild case of Mites isn't going to kill him, whereas Sevin dust may...

Anyone else have any advise???

I would be wary of using the Sevin dust, and would look into procuring Provent a mite as soon as possible. It's safe and effective for mites, but make sure to follow the directions. I would also recommend treating all cages, as those little boogers can be unseen travelers. :gj:

Sevin dust is FOR plants, NOT animals! It s very strong stuff! Get some Provent a mite. That stuff works great!

Ya, thanks guys. I was looking at that Sevin at the store and decided umm..no.


I just got new aspen, couldnt get provent-a-mite but got Reptile Relief. I figure clean out all cages bleach down spray with Reptile Relief (cage furniture too). Treat snakes with Reptile Relief and mineral oil around eyes and heat pits. Get some Diatomaceous Earth and sprinkle around cages just in case I miss a few buggers in one of the tanks. Time to get started.

Any more advice will always be welcome

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rorryy

Yes, sorry another Mite thread.

The other day while doing a quick examination of my new baby BP before a feeding I noticed a whitish discoloration above the left eye. I tried to show it to my boyfriend but his reply was "I dont see nuthin". This evening I had a friend over who has a BP and wanted to see. He noticed straight away, it looks almost like shed that didn't come off. He suggested it may be mites.

My plan of attack is to procure some Prevent-a-Mite in the AM and treat.

My question is... although I have my other snakes in other rooms and have not handled any of them directly after handling the BP what is the likelyhood, if infact it is mites, that they have spread to the others? Should I treat them all even if there are no signs or symptoms? It freaks me out to think that my healthy snakes may be in danger.

Nevermind, I just ran a paper towel down the snake and YES it is mites.

I was told to use Sevin powder, to mix it in with the aspen in all of my snakes vivs. I will do this in the AM and let you know how it works. If you have other ideas or advice please share.

I would post a pic but my camera is old and sucks.

Please, Please advise

Angela

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Who told you to use Sevin powder? I would NEVER take any advice from that person ever again wow.Get the prevent-a- mite and trat all your snakes and enclosures.Please do not think i am being rude to you as i am not,although the Sevin use kills me.I bet your snake would be dead by morning if you used that stuff.

The crazy thing is that 3 different people in a chat on another snake forum all said it was safe to use. They said to take a teaspoon of the powder and mix it up in the aspen. As I said before I am using the method I talked about above. I have already done the known infested snake and cage. The others don't show any signs of mites but I will treat them and thier cages as well. Do you see any reason I may need to repeat the treatment in a week even if I see no more signs of mites?

It has been awhile since i dealt with mites(thank god) so i would read the directions on the can.Do me a favor PM me the sites that gave you the Sevins idea so i can stear clear of them lol.I think i know one site allready,i guess we will see.

Well i was wrong on the site that told her to use Sevins dust.It shocked me though at what site it was from :O .Lets say its not a ball python site and be nice lol

when i got my hog island boa he had mites... i got some provent a mite and haven't seen any since!

it is definitely the way to go... works for 3 months with one application!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Definitely do retreat at the interval recommended on the label. Mites have several life stages including eggs, which may allow a few to avoid being killed in the first treatment. Also, retreat any cages that you have to otherwise clean during the treatment. I saw it suggested on another website to put a few moth balls in your vacuum cleaner bag to kill any mites that are drawn into the vacuum cleaner.

Good luck!
Steve

I've heard of using the Sevin dust even on dogs and cats, but why would you when there are much safer treatment options available. I'd stick to Frontline for the dogs and cats, and Provent a Mite for snakes.

Thanks for all your replies

The Reptile Relief I used doesn't say anything on the bottle regarding a second treatment. I am going to order some Provent-a-Mite online so I will be prepared if the little suckers show themselves again. My poor little BP's eyes look really dull. I am not sure if it is due to the mites or if it is going to shed. My other snakes are really obvious in the blue phase, but this is my first BP. I suppose a little time will tell!

Thanks again,

Angela

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rorryy

Thanks for all your replies

The Reptile Relief I used doesn't say anything on the bottle regarding a second treatment. I am going to order some Provent-a-Mite online so I will be prepared if the little suckers show themselves again. My poor little BP's eyes look really dull. I am not sure if it is due to the mites or if it is going to shed. My other snakes are really obvious in the blue phase, but this is my first BP. I suppose a little time will tell!

Thanks again,

Angela

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Yea that retile relief is great for killing mites.As long as you spray everything like start at the top of the enclosure and work down it should kill them.Remove your substrate and replace with newspapers or paper towel.Also leave the water dish out for awhile till everything dries.It will make the snakes eyes look dull from the mites picking at them.Good luck and let us know how your war on mites goes lol.

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Originally Posted by hoo-t

Definitely do retreat at the interval recommended on the label. Mites have several life stages including eggs, which may allow a few to avoid being killed in the first treatment. Also, retreat any cages that you have to otherwise clean during the treatment. I saw it suggested on another website to put a few moth balls in your vacuum cleaner bag to kill any mites that are drawn into the vacuum cleaner.

Good luck!
Steve

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Good idea, I did use the vaccuum to suck out aspen remnants before sanitizing. I have a bagless but I will put some balls in for a cycle or two just in case they got into the filtration system.

4 days post treatment and no sign of mites. The little BP's eyes look much better and the discolored patch above the left eye is gone as well. The little guy seems to be a lot calmer too. I am so glad I didn't use that Sevin dust stuff although I just saw someone else post on the other forum that they use it. Thanks again for all your support and advice.:grouphug:

Ok quick question here from me... You may give me the "beginers question" crap but I need to know... How do I know if one of my snakes have mites? what are the signs, what do the mites looks like?

I know how to treat them, but I dont know if any have the mites.

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Originally Posted by jessie_k_pythons

Ok quick question here from me... You may give me the "beginers question" crap but I need to know... How do I know if one of my snakes have mites? what are the signs, what do the mites looks like?

I know how to treat them, but I dont know if any have the mites.

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Mites are little black bugs,almost like fleas on a dog.If you see little white things on your snake those are mite poo.Now some substrates have bugs in them IE the wood like substrates.These are not mites like those described above.If you use the wood substrates its best to bake the wood in your oven to kill these bugs that are in it.Best signs to know if you have a mite problem are,if your snake constantly lays in its water bowl(trying to drown the bugs) or when you touch your snake you find bugs on you.Now unless you are using the wood chip substrate and did not bake it before using it then you could be having a mite infestation.

I found my little guy had mites by first observing a whitish discoloration above one of his eyes in addition to its eyes looking really dull. I had him slither through a white paper towel and then examined it. At first I didn't see anything but upon closer inspection I could see little black dots no bigger than a grain of pepper that were moving. Hope that helps:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rorryy

I found my little guy had mites by first observing a whitish discoloration above one of his eyes in addition to its eyes looking really dull. I had him slither through a white paper towel and then examined it. At first I didn't see anything but upon closer inspection I could see little black dots no bigger than a grain of pepper that were moving. Hope that helps:)

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Bingo you now know what the little buggers look like now.Have you treated your snake yet?

Yes, I did it has been 5 days post treatment and no sign of mites.:sweeet: See above post.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rorryy

Yes, I did it has been 5 days post treatment and no sign of mites.:sweeet: See above post.

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OK thats great:D .Sorry i missed your previous post:oops: lol.

well I checked every one and no mites so I feel better now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jessie_k_pythons

well I checked every one and no mites so I feel better now.

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Jessie,thats great news:D

just as a tip, when I had to deal with a mite infestation, I also sprayed sections of the floor (it's hardwood) with the provent a mite. The PAM took care of the problem, but with spraying the floor (and vacuuming afterward) I felt that I'd been better able to get the ones that might have migrated to the furniture in the room. (or at least stop them from crossing back to the snakes).