TICK HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hdman]

I've had my ball for about 4 months now. When I first got him, he had a tick. Pulled it off, he was fine. I had some kind of bark chips(don't remember the name) in there for a while. I went down to the river and got some dead wood to to put in his tank(55gall.). I soaked the wood in bleach, and put it in the oven for hours to bake it and kill anything that would have been in or on it. Well, a month later, he had about 3 little ticks on him. So, about a month ago, I cleaned out the entire tank, put different bedding in,(not sand, but a hair bigger pieces then sand, repti somthing, sorry. It is all natural.) Anyway,cleaned the whole thing and checked him over. Now today, I look on his back, he has one that was half the size of a dime!! If not a little bigger!!! So, I pullled it off, checked him out, and there weren't any more. WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM??? Do mice that you get to feed them possibly have them?? This is driving me nuts!!!!! I also have plastic leaves hanging in there for the jungle look. I've cleaned them several times as well! ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!! Thanks. P.S.- the ticks are a light greyish color.

[gozetec02]

How often do you take him outside? If you take him outside and let him crawl around on the grass he could get all kinds of parasites.

EDIT:I forgot to inform you that when ticks are not blown up with blood they look very much like regular scales. The best way to tell if you got ticks that are not engorged is use a flash light and they will be bright red.

Here is a picture of an unengorged tick so you know what to look for. He got it from one of the wood hides from petsmart.



EDIT AGAIN:Ticks also hitch rides on you, your clothing, your shoes, your socks. If you work in a wooded area or go into the woods often then you could be bringing them in. A tick can lay thousands of eggs. I would take that wood out. Soak it in bleach with water with about 25% bleach and and 75% water and soak it for at least 24 hours. After that let it air dry completely.

[Marla]

It's entirely possible that the ticks have been there all along and you're just finding them as they get big enough to be engorged. It's also possible that they are being carried in by you or another member of your household. I got one two weeks ago ON ME from my dog playing outside then rubbing gainst my leg. I would inspect your snake thoroughly with a flashlight and magnifying glass if needed and see if you see any more, possibly as slightly-raised scales.

[JLC]

You may also want to switch to white paper-towels as a substrate until you get this issue under control. Clean his enclosure and EVERYthing in it with bleach or the right pesticide (I won't recommend one because I've never had to use any and don't know much about them)...RINSE WELL...then rinse again and let dry. Then put back just the basic necessities on the paper towels. (Water bowl and hides) Keep an eye on things for a couple months. If you still have ticks, they'll be a LOT easier to find this way. Once you're sure you've got them licked, then you can go back to a prettier substrate and decor. (I would get rid of the sand-like stuff in any case...go with eco-earth or repti-bark or cypress mulch, etc.)

[SatanicIntention]

We had the Merial company come to our class for a presentation, you know, the guys who make Frontline and Heartguard. They said that Frontline, which gets rid of fleas, ticks and mites, is safe for snakes. They were experimenting on if it was poisonous or not, and they gave a dog around 35 packets of the stuff orally, and he showed no adverse side effects from it. They also did this with a cat, and it was fine too. It has also shown no side effects with very sensitive Collies who are allergic to everything under the sun. These guys were great and answered our questions. One question that was brought up from a fellow snake keeper, was if Frontline could get rid of mites and ticks on her BP. The answer was yes it could, since it is very safe. I am not too sure about how they said to apply it, but I would expect you could put a LITTLE onto your hand, gloved or not(be sure to wash them afterwards if they are not gloved), and spread it on the snake. If possible, find a place where there is skin showing so it will be able to penetrate the skin and get into the snakes system. Just be very sure not to get it on or around the eyes. Also, you only need a tiny bit as the snake surely isn't as big as a dog, and get the smallest packet possible. You can usually get this a a feed store or at Petsmart. Hope this helps a little. This information should be accurate, but you might want to go to Merial's website to make sure. :-D

[Marla]

Becky, thanks for the great tip!

[green_man]

I would say the ticks were originally with your substrate. Then you put the new wood in and they went in the wood. Then you cleaned the tank and put the wood back in?

ANYWAY. Frontline sounds like a good product. Check it out.
My snakes have never had ticks but I have had a couple get some mites. I always clean the tank thuroughly. Use paper towel substrate for a while (it helps you see the ticks and gives them fewer places to hide). I also use a product called Snake Oil. It says it helps with: skin problems from cuts, scrapeds bites, and mites. I dont know how well it would work with ticks, but it really does help with mites. Might wanna give that a shot.
Good luck! keep us updated!

[SatanicIntention]

Sure, not a prob. Frontline is a GREAT product IMO, a tad expensive, but for how well it works, you can usually see buggies dropping off of your little herp friend in a matter of 30 minutes to an hour. At least that is how it works with dogs, but they are warm-blooded, so it might go through their system differently than through a snake. But good luck with it if you try it.