Mites?

[Laxhitman316]

For the past 2 mornings i found my snake beavis in his water bowl soaking he has never done this before.... I found a black bug on his belly and quickly thought mites... Although i dont see how this is possible. as for the couple months i have had him he has been fine. I changed his substrate about a month ago but could it really take a whole month for mites to come out. I used the same bag of cypress mulch i used for the first bedding of the tank and he was totally mite free. just as a precaution im going to get prevent a mite and take all the necessary precautions but could this be just a fluke?

[Vypyrz]

I would treat with Provent-A-Mite just to be sure. From what I've read mite eggs can lay dormant for quite some time before they hatch. It's possible that the mites or eggs came in on something you got from a pet store a while back...

[FatBoy]

Where did the mulch come from? It is not unusual to find a few bugs in a bag of mulch from Lowes, Home Depot, ect. They are harmless to your snake, although we still don't like them in there It is possible it was a mite...especially if the mulch came from a pet store. Mites can catch a ride on about anything!! You can bump into another snake owner in the grocery store...who has a snake with mites...mites on him, mite gets on you...mite gets on your snake. It's unusual to see just one, they multiply fast. Best place to look to comfirm your worries is the water bowl. If your snake is soaking you should find mites floating in the water if your snake has any. They drown.

[Laxhitman316]

i didnt check the water bowl but i dumped it alrdy this morning and didnt check for them... He pretty much gets in his bowl and dumps the water all over his cage and i haveto dry it out =/

[Laxhitman316]

would they have prevent a mite at petco or petsmart you think?

[mpkeelee]

they dont have it at stores where i am. you will probably have to order it offline.

[j_h_smith]

Don't do the PAM yet. Check the snake's belly and if you have mites, you will see little, tiny bugs. Some can be black, others can be red. These are tiny bugs. They almost look like little specks of dirt. Like others have said, I would think the bug you saw is a bug from the substrate.

If you see more bugs, take a few pictures and post them here.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

[FatBoy]

Don't do the PAM yet. Check the snake's belly and if you have mites, you will see little, tiny bugs. Some can be black, others can be red. These are tiny bugs. They almost look like little specks of dirt. Like others have said, I would think the bug you saw is a bug from the substrate.

If you see more bugs, take a few pictures and post them here.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

No disrespect Jim, but unless you are just trying to save the OP some $$$$ PAM wont hurt anything if it don't have mites. Kinda a better safe than sorry practice. I spray with PAM about every 4 months, but we do shows and have a better chance of picking up mites at a show.

[Gavin Cooper]

No disrespect Jim, but unless you are just trying to save the OP some $$$$ PAM wont hurt anything if it don't have mites. Kinda a better safe than sorry practice. I spray with PAM about every 4 months, but we do shows and have a better chance of picking up mites at a show.

PAM is a waste of money imo. You can get the same results buy spending around $10-$15 and get 4L of mite spray.

Go to your local drug store and purchase NIX lice cream rinse. Not shampoo but the cream rinse. Should cost around $8-$10 for 56g/59ml. Same active ingredient as PAM 1% permethrin.
http://www.nixlice.com/about.php

Now purchase 4l of distilled water. Distilled water helps the solution last longer. Add the Nix to the entire 4L of water and shake well until mixed thoroughly.

Lastly buy a smalll spray bottle and your set. Keep the mixture in a cool dry place and it should be active for up to one year.

Good luck,

P.S- I know some will dissagree with this but I have used this process for years with great reults. I had one mite infestation a few years back and have been mite free since using this method.
Gavin

[BuckeyeBalls]

PAM is a waste of money imo. You can get the same results buy spending around $10-$15 and get 4L of mite spray.

Go to your local drug store and purchase NIX lice cream rinse. Not shampoo but the cream rinse. Should cost around $8-$10 for 56g/59ml. Same active ingredient as PAM 1% permethrin.
http://www.nixlice.com/about.php

Now purchase 4l of distilled water. Distilled water helps the solution last longer. Add the Nix to the entire 4L of water and shake well until mixed thoroughly.

Lastly buy a smalll spray bottle and your set. Keep the mixture in a cool dry place and it should be active for up to one year.

Good luck,

P.S- I know some will dissagree with this but I have used this process for years with great reults. I had one mite infestation a few years back and have been mite free since using this method.
Gavin

Hmm thats nice to know will have to look into that