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  1. #21
    BPnet Veteran Malum Argenteum's Avatar
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    Re: Hi! New to Ball Pythons!

    Quote Originally Posted by GuardianHunter View Post
    Guess what. Snake mites. Y’all told me. Here we are.
    Are you certain they're snake mites? Could you post a close up photo of them, or a detailed description (color, where they're located, etc)?

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    Bogertophis (11-01-2022)

  3. #22
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    Re: Hi! New to Ball Pythons!

    Quote Originally Posted by GuardianHunter View Post
    Guess what. Snake mites. Y’all told me. Here we are.

    Let's make sure first...as already noted in previous post.

    Here's a thread covering most of the options for eradicating snake mites- https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...=1#post2771656

    Here's a more recent method mentioned in that post- not one I've ever had to try & it wouldn't be my first choice, but we all have our own ideas for what's best.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwCAuhSVRV4

    The first thing I'd personally do is clean enclosure- throw out all decor & substrate that's made of wood or any porous materials (because that's where mites & their eggs hide)- use plastic hides only, a plastic or glass water bowl, & white paper towels on the "floor".

    Then I'd do a daily closely supervised "soak" in tepid/cool water with a drop or 2 (only!) of Ivory or Dawn dish soap- for about 20-30 minutes. The bit of soap is to break the surface tension so mites drown, rather than swim & live. DO NOT hold snake's head under water- accept the fact that some mites will survive there, which is why you still need another method to eradicate all the mites. But doing this is HARMLESS & fairly effective at reducing their number & thus the danger as quickly as possible.

    Bear in mind this is a true battle that can take time (a month or potentially more) & will be a physical set-back to your young snake because most likely they'll not want to eat while being treated (due to stress from handling etc), but mites can & do kill snakes, especially young or smaller ones, because mites multiply exponentially- so getting your snake free of ALL mites & their eggs is "job one". Follow all directions carefully because the treatments can also harm or kill a snake if done wrong. I was really hoping you'd avoid this... but it seems that snake mites are widely-shared these days.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 11-01-2022 at 04:46 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
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  4. #23
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    Re: Hi! New to Ball Pythons!

    Very sure these are mites. I can’t get a picture because he just ate for me, so I don’t want to disturb him. But they are small shiny tear dropped shaped bugs. A couple crawled on his back, and there was one underneath his scales.

    I will start treatment in a couple days once he has digested and begin breaking down his cage.

    did we determine the styrofoam background has to go?

  5. #24
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: Hi! New to Ball Pythons!

    Quote Originally Posted by GuardianHunter View Post
    Very sure these are mites. I can’t get a picture because he just ate for me, so I don’t want to disturb him. But they are small shiny tear dropped shaped bugs. A couple crawled on his back, and there was one underneath his scales.

    I will start treatment in a couple days once he has digested and begin breaking down his cage.

    did we determine the styrofoam background has to go?
    Personally, I'd wait only a day & a half for his digestion- then do the daily soak I described above- keeping him as calm as possible. Meanwhile, manually remove any mites you see anytime, & decide what your treatment option will be- read more on here- ask questions- & order the product if not locally available. Sooner is better.

    The best way to handle this is to fix him up in a temporary "tub" with the bare necessities as described- make sure the temps are good, etc. This is to minimize the # of mites that get back ON him from where they're hiding or hatching in the "decor" he currently has.

    Let's get more opinions on your styro-background- it "might" be possible to treat that but I'm not positive (there's an awful lot of crevices, right?); it's been [happily] a long time since I had to deal with any mites & I never used such backgrounds, nor any of the chemicals currently available. I'm not sure how well some products might work on that, & in any case, you'd likely need to leave it empty for a good 2 months (life cycle of snake mites is about a month, as I recall?) to be on the safe side? But yes, the safest & easiest option would be to dump the background- bear in mind that I have no idea how much $ you invested in that.
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    Re: Hi! New to Ball Pythons!

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    Personally, I'd wait only a day & a half for his digestion- then do the daily soak I described above- keeping him as calm as possible. Meanwhile, manually remove any mites you see anytime, & decide what your treatment option will be- read more on here- ask questions- & order the product if not locally available. Sooner is better.

    The best way to handle this is to fix him up in a temporary "tub" with the bare necessities as described- make sure the temps are good, etc. This is to minimize the # of mites that get back ON him from where they're hiding or hatching in the "decor" he currently has.

    Let's get more opinions on your styro-background- it "might" be possible to treat that but I'm not positive (there's an awful lot of crevices, right?); it's been [happily] a long time since I had to deal with any mites & I never used such backgrounds, nor any of the chemicals currently available. I'm not sure how well some products might work on that, & in any case, you'd likely need to leave it empty for a good 2 months (life cycle of snake mites is about a month, as I recall?) to be on the safe side? But yes, the safest & easiest option would be to dump the background- bear in mind that I have no idea how much $ you invested in that.

    so, in terms of additional heating that can transfer to a plastic bin, I don’t really have that. Can I break down and disinfect his current tank, using it with two plastic hides and paper towel substrate?

  7. #26
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: Hi! New to Ball Pythons!

    Quote Originally Posted by GuardianHunter View Post
    so, in terms of additional heating that can transfer to a plastic bin, I don’t really have that. Can I break down and disinfect his current tank, using it with two plastic hides and paper towel substrate?
    It's a glass tank, right? Sure thing- strip it, clean it good & use only the items where mites can't hide. White paper towels help so they show up...mites are such nasty things!

    As far as the background, I think if you can safely remove it (without breaking it?) you could probably soak it for a while (days?) in soapy water, etc. No idea how sturdy they are though?

    BTW, there have been multiple posts from various keepers that use "backgrounds" (assuming similar to what you have) & their snake ends up getting stuck behind them. I personally don't favor such things because they are hard to clean (hide fecal material & germs, along w/ mites) & I only use 'scenery' on the outside of the glass. Just because they sell these things, doesn't mean they're a "good (or practical) idea".
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 11-01-2022 at 06:06 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
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    Re: Hi! New to Ball Pythons!

    Ok. Thursday morning is a day and a half. We will get him squared away asap.

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    Bogertophis (11-01-2022)

  10. #28
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    Side note: yes. Agreed. Just cause it’s sold doesn’t mean it’s best. This is so well demonstrated when a person goes to buy a betta.

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