Sigh.. White Mites?

Well I've had my BP for quite awhile now and she finally pooped. I went to get her out to feed as normal today and noticed alot of white tiny bugs near the feces and in the substrate. Upon further investigation it looks like some sort of mites. How do I tackle this situation? I've been using Zoomed Repti-Bark and JUST opened a brand new back a week ago and replaced the bedding.

I googled for awhile and saw that I can bake the substrate, logs, and rocks, and take diluted bleach to the entire enclosure.

This seems like the easiest to get rid of them. I had a reptile expert come over and examine the snake, he said she looks fine - no actual mites on her as of yet. He really examined her well, and mentioned the same thing as I found in google, about the bleach and baking everything else at like 300-350 for 30 minutes.

Let me know..

Newspaper works wonders! Ugly But works Great!

I've not heard of any white snake mites. They must have come in on your bedding. I'd go with Jas' suggestion of newspaper until you're sure the problem has been resolved.

Mites are host specific. If they are wood mites or dust mites or something like that, they will not attack your snake. Just clean everything up and throw out your old substrate.

The more I have been reading I've seen alot mentioned about wood mites. Do I have the option of baking my substrate? I really like the repti-bark because of how well it holds my humidity in check.

I was reading some articles that said wood mites like humid bark type enviroments.. I guess if they don't harm the snake im ok..?

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Originally Posted by Gundy

The more I have been reading I've seen alot mentioned about wood mites. Do I have the option of baking my substrate? I really like the repti-bark because of how well it holds my humidity in check.

I was reading some articles that said wood mites like humid bark type enviroments.. I guess if they don't harm the snake im ok..?

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I guess your fine, If you like having bugs in your house living with your snakes? I'm sure you can fix it though. Someone that uses that stuff will chime in and help you out! Good luck...

They are from the reptibark. You can bake the substrate. I personally opt for clean paper. Those are aphids. No harm to the snake but still not something I like hanging around.

I agree I don't want any bugs living with my snake. I was just asking if they are harmless.

If I bake the substrate will they return? I mean if they are some type of wood bearing bug will they return if the humidity or something spikes?

I noticed ZooMed Repti-Bark is the ONLY bark that IS NOT heat treated before its sold. I was wondering what that mean't the other day at the Local Pet Store. Obviously it said heat treated substrate won't house mites. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Gundy

I agree I don't want any bugs living with my snake. I was just asking if they are harmless.

If I bake the substrate will they return? I mean if they are some type of wood bearing bug will they return if the humidity or something spikes?

I noticed ZooMed Repti-Bark is the ONLY bark that IS NOT heat treated before its sold. I was wondering what that mean't the other day at the Local Pet Store. Obviously it said heat treated substrate won't house mites. :rolleyes:

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Baking it will kill off all the nasties. Seems like a lot to go through each time you change the substrate, no? Best of luck with it!

If you don't want to spend the money on Repti-Bark, go to Home Depot/Lowe's and look for Orchid Bark(it's used for orchids and other high humidity plants/flowers). It's around $3 for a big bag and I've never found bugs in it.

I don't entirely agree with the statement that snake mites arent white. When they are gorged on blood they are dark, but when not, they are nearly translucent. Or "white". I believe the barkers quoted someone on their site that studied these snakes mites. It's a great article. Just wanted to clear that up.

Mites are black or clear if you look at sarcoptic/demodex mites. Lice are white, and they may be wood lice.

Lol, I don't even think you can see a non-dark mite anyways. As the article does state that it is very difficult to see with the naked eye.

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Originally Posted by JASBALLS

Newspaper works wonders! Ugly But works Great!

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I agree. All wood beddings are susceptible of carrying some kind of bugs. i used cypress mulch once and that stuff was loaded!

Now my snakes keep up with current events :D

'Course you can. I've never found it difficult to find lice on rescue rats, even if they are white. And rat lice are TINEENSY! Yes.. that's a word.. Rat mites look like chiggers, maybe a bit smaller. Chiggers are easy to see. Nasty little creepy crawlies.

Now sarcoptic/demodex mites you can't see unless you have a microscope. They burrow down into the skin and hair follicles. Snakes don't have those so it really doesn't matter anyway.

:)

Raul, do yours prefer the sports section or the classifieds? Hehe. The comics aren't a big hit because when they wee, the ink smears and they can't read them anymore..

Haha, isnt that like the mange or something?

Yeah, sarcoptic mites cause mange. ICK! EW! *twitch* Now i'm itchy.. At least demodex isn't contagious.. I'd take that any day.

LOL, great.

I found tiny bugs on a feeder, I want to say they were white, this could be a source of non-snake mites. Although I'd imagine that they'd eventually die on their own without a host.

Sounds like lice. If so, I'd find another source for feeder animals.. If they have lice, who knows what else could be wrong with their care. Healthy prey = healthy snake

Are these the same species of lice that humans can get?

Nope, they are rodent mites/lice. Species specific.

Ok, good. We have cats and a dog as well so I was worried about them too.

The problem is that this place is the only one I know of that has live prey and they have a pretty good reputation, other than the lice on the feeders I'd have to say their reputation is warranted.

Lice..? I feed in a totally different container.. And if they aren't on the snake how are they getting in the tank?

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Raul, do yours prefer the sports section or the classifieds? Hehe. The comics aren't a big hit because when they wee, the ink smears and they can't read them anymore..

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I think they are up to something, they read the classifieds alot!

can i bump a question in here i use cypress mulch or should i say used until i found cockroaches in the tank i also got it from home depot is it really safe to say that one product has less bugs than another in a different area?

also i have heard that ceder bedding is harmful to all snakes mine is on aspen bedding is there any potential for bad side effects by keeping him on said bedding?

Hardwood beddings (such as aspen) are safe.

ok cool i can pick up a huge bag of aspen n e time 4 like $3