Hi,
Sorry but I disagree with some of this.
The water in any tub like this should be about 86 degrees F - you really don't want it to be as hot as 100f at all. And if you are going to use water that deep it is really important that you supervise it constantly. But, to be honest, if the snake has been sitting in his waterbowl and there are no dead mites in that I would skip the bath alltogether.Originally Posted by tarakatrine
you may not want to shake the mite thing just yet. i just treated my ball for mites and just because you cant see them after checking a couple of times..does not mean they arent there. especially if you got him from a pet store, i wouldnt rule it out just yet. if he has a minor infestation, there may not be many of them and they could be hiding in the folds of his belly scales or his heat pits. the paper towel and quarantine thing is a good idea. you should get a rubbermaid container that has a lid and submerge him but leave enough space between the surface and the lid so that he can leave his head out of water. make the water about 105 degrees. leave him for 30 minutes or so...and if he has mites...you will surely find at least one mite that has drown. thats a good way to tell. it worked for me....and once the snake sheds, he will shed his mites. they will quickly find him though and get back on him so you need to be on top of things. get the skin out immediately and let him soak again. also..if he does have mites, you can bake your wood products at 275 degrees for 3 hours in the oven to rid it of any mites hiding in the cracks. the heat will kill the eggs as well. hope this helps you...and i hope your snake doesnt have mites. hopefully you are right and he just likes his water. i am a firm believer in that we cant know everything there is to know about snakes..or any animal for that matter. who is to say that one is exactly the same as the other? you cant hop on google and find the answer to everything about your ball python when you need to. he may just be a water junkie.
The female mites lay the eggs away from the snake and possible even outside of the enclosure so while cleaning everything inside isn't a bad idea it certainly won't kill all the eggs. This is what makes mites such a pain you think you have got them all then 30 days later a new load hatch and you are back to square one.
If you have mites pay the $18 get Provent-A-Mite and treat the enclosure following the instructions exactly. Repeat in 30 days and your mite problem will be gone.
You don't need much of it at all so the can will last you for ages even if you treat all the enclosures as a preventative measure (which is a good idea for anyone with more than one animal who discovers they have mites ).
dr del
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