Good News!

[Miko]

I e-mailed the guy who sold me my ball python and he informed me that the mites I was seeing were indeed, wood mites. Apparently he had wood mites in his aspen bedding or something, which I wish he would've informed me about. However, I'm just glad that my snake doesn't have annoying blood sucking mites.

[alexOATH]

Wow, I'd be pretty upset with that breeder -.- knowingly selling you an animal that he KNOWS has been in a place with mites and didn't say a word to you. That's a good way to make yourself some enemies real quick.

[BPelizabeth]

ummmmm...personally I would be very leary of that and treat all of your snakes as if they had mites...

Sounds like you need some Provent a mite!!

[Charlie And Lucy]

That is good news! I agree with BPElizabeth, get some PAM just to be safe.

AlexOATH makes a good point as well - selling an animal that is known to be around mites. I'd be questioning a lot.

[Miko]

Well, they're wood mites, so I don't think it matters much health wise but I wish he would've told me. I only have one ball python, so no worries about it getting out of hand. I did everything I could because I thought that they were snake mites, I've been using some reptile spray and I haven't seen the mites for the past few days. My snake doesn't seem to like quarantine though.

I don't really think it's a big deal, it's not like there were colonies of mites. I only saw around 3, and not even in the same day. However, I freaked out when I thought they were snake mites.

Do you guys know a better way to keep humidity when using newspaper? Perhaps I should add another wet towel or make a humidity hide? I already have the screen top 75% covered.

[snakesRkewl]

Humid hide

Reptile spray can at best only kill what's live, you need something to kill the eggs(or possible eggs), that's where Provent A Mite comes in to play.

[BPelizabeth]

how do you know whether they are wood mites or not. I ask as I would NOT trust anyones word on that. You do not see mites until it is too late. When they are just hatched out they are not visable to the naked eye. And the last poster is correct you will need to treat the cage as well.

I wash the whole thing in bleach, dawn and hot water, then I put out to dry in the sun...then spray with Provent a Mite and let dry. You will need to redo this again in 2 weeks to ensure it is gone. You need to put hides in the dishwasher on a hot wash and cook all wood for 1 hr at 225. Mites can be a total nightmare to get rid of.

As far as the humidity....when I see they are going into shed I mist 3 times a day and put a damp towel over their warm hide. I keep rewetting this once a day. You can also create a moist hide from spagnum moss.

[cinderbird]

how do you know whether they are wood mites or not.

wood mites are white.
snake mites are black or brown.

Mites (of any type i suppose) are one reason why we suggest following proper quarantine procedures. Bring someone with mites into your home? Treat with PAM and if you feel like it preventive treatment for the rest of your collection before bringing other animals in.