ticks/beetles on royals/balls

hey, today i was looking at my royal Carmen,and i noticed a lil black dot on her back, i knocked it off and it moved,it looked liek a little beetle or tick.that was the only one i saw, so i killed it and threw it out.i know the snake was 100% healthy when i got it and it is a cb royal baught from a well known dealer in Northern ireland(reptile shop but only orders from special breeders and not from wild caught specimens) the guy knowshis stuff.
there was no other ticks.beetles on her or in d tank or near the tank for that matter.
has anyone else coem across this or has anyone had problems with ticks on their royals/balls.
ok i realise that last bit sounds dirty(it really isnt tho)

you need to treat your snake and it's enclosure. the easiest way to do that is to get some Provent-A-Mite (or PAM as it's referred to) and spray your enclosure according to the instructions on the can.

mites lay eggs... where there is one there is an infestation waiting to hatch.

i cleaned the tank before i set it up,and treated all items in the tank before i put them in.i have reptibark a sa substrate,and evemn before i put that in, i treated that with the repti bark treatment for cleaning the bark.the hide was also cleaned and treated before it went into the tank,and she always has fresh water.
she is never sluggish and always very active and loves being handled(in shedding cycle at the moment though)the guy in the shop, checked her out before i paid for her, she got the all clear,he only accepts 100%healthy animals,no ticks or mites or eggs were present in the shop.

i agree with aleesha.....I would take the snake off the repti bark until you found out whats going on..........sounds like mites and you NEED to treat with provent a mite ASAP.

what should i do with the repti bark though?leave it in and then spray or take it out and clean it then?and use the same bark or put new stuff down? nice bike in your display pic by the way,i got a ducati monster.

Just a note we all seem to forget about. Not all 'bugs' in enclosures are snake mites, so treating for mites when it isn't necessary is a risk that shouldn't be taken.

Reptile_Man, check the snake more closely and soak it in water and see if more come off. You may very well have mites, but it's best to be sure.

While you're doing that, check any feces in the tank and see if the same dark bugs are crawling on that. If that's the case, I'd suggest getting a picture if you can - it might not be snake mites.

Cypress mulch coming from garden centers is a prime example of one place where bugs are present that aren't snake mites. The bags of mulch often have extra cargo in them, but they are harmless to the snake.

there is no poop in the tank,she hasnt pooped yet,and i soaked her in water already and no other mites or ticks came off her.it was just the one i saw today thats all.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SoulSmilen

Just a note we all seem to forget about. Not all 'bugs' in enclosures are snake mites, so treating for mites when it isn't necessary is a risk that shouldn't be taken.

Reptile_Man, check the snake more closely and soak it in water and see if more come off. You may very well have mites, but it's best to be sure.

While you're doing that, check any feces in the tank and see if the same dark bugs are crawling on that. If that's the case, I'd suggest getting a picture if you can - it might not be snake mites.

Cypress mulch coming from garden centers is a prime example of one place where bugs are present that aren't snake mites. The bags of mulch often have extra cargo in them, but they are harmless to the snake.

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i agree...............but i don't think there is a risk to the snake when PAM is used as directed on the bottle.............but i do agree it could be anything, we need a little more info on this "bug" in question

ok here it goes,it wsnt big at all, was tiny actually,tiny roundish body,tiny head, and it was all black.id say it was about the size of a fullstop.maybe a lil bigger(a fullstop on a keyboard not a hand written one)

tough call man-------------i'll let the professionals handle this one

sounds like a mite to me? did you, by chance, squeeze/crush it between your finger nails and find blood? that's a sure sign it's a mite.

using Provent A Mite won't harm your snake at all. i use it every time a new snake comes into my collection... as a precautionary measure. ;)

but... of course, it could be something else, denise.

yep i squashed the bugger(love squashin bugs) its fun.neway,,no blood at all just the usual greeny yellowish guts that usually come out of bugs when ya squash em.

oh yeah,i dont know if i can get PAM here, (im in ireland) but i have heard of it actually i heard of it on the movie Joe Dirt,he used it on some glass or sumthin.

I believe the PAM Joe Dirt used was the cooking spray.


When you see "PAM" in reference to mites, people are talking about Provent-A-Mite and shortening it to initials; another one of my peeves.. lol

RecyclingGoddess is like me on that one and tried to make it clear earlier. :)

ah i thaught i was the only one who saw joe dirt.anyway,,im a lil slow,been lookin at my laptoop screen since 3pm(12 hours)
il probably have to get the closes theing to pam then if i cant get it here,but should i leave the substrate in the tank while i spray it?

i would take out the substrate and put in printer paper or newspaper. change it daily and wipe the tank down daily. it was prob a bug from the reptabark. i hate that stuff.

sounds like a bug from your substrate. try placing it in the oven and baking it at 200 degrees for 20 minutes - that'll kill anything in it.

and yes,... Provent A Mite is PAM. please don't use cooking spray on your snakes. :P

So does anyone knwo where i can get provent a mite in ireland then?iv searched al over the net and i cant find an irish place or a uk place that sells it.

Provent a mite is pretty hard to get hold of in the uk (either that or its under a different brand name or something :confused: ).
I had a mite problem a number of years ago and i used Frontline (diluted 50/50 with water)
i put it on a cloth and let my snakes crawl through it ( dont use frontline if your snakes in shed thou or they will have shedding problems ) , frontline leave residue on the snakes so any mites looking for another snack will die from contact with the residue .
i also used frontline to treat there cages which then were wooden vivs - thats one reason since then i use tubs, i love tubs...no nooks or cranies for mites to hide in out of sight, it totally eradicated the mites...no more snakes soaking in the bowls..no more mites running for cover when i turned the viv lights on..nothing.
Frontline worked a treat and is great but it must be diluted when used on a snake or lizard etc as neat frontline is strong stuff and i wouldnt risk it undiluted at all .
When treating the viv dont put any water back in for at least a few hours and keep the room well ventilated.
check around your snakes eyes and mouth , mites hang around those areas alot and use newspaper so you can keep a better eye on any mites you may have.
if or rather when you are mite free you can go back to using reptibark but as mentioned before here - bake it in an oven first to be sure those little f@#%ers are dead as....err dead :)

ps if treating a snake with frontline dont get any near there eyes or mouth

This isnt really recomended as I'm sure in the intervening decades someone has created a better solution.


But we used to go buy "vapona" pest control strip ,cut a couple of inches off it and place it inside a plastic box with holes stabbed in the side, take out the water bowl and leave it in for 24 hours. we used to have to repeat a couple fo times so it probably isn't much good to you.

Only thing I can suggest is asking a vet - they should know pretty much everything out there and if its a reptile vet what is safe for your snake.

Oh and if anyone is wondering why I posted it saying I dont recomend it it was in case someone else suggested it. :P

This was "back in the day" when there weren't as many alternatives.Thank god for progress.


dr del

cheers, i found provent a mite on ebay but its in the states and the postage here is 15 euro.
il just go 2 my usual supplier of stuff n get d closest to it i can find.theyr a big pet shop but have reptile specialists there.