Mites Ticks And Popeye

[Benson_and_Hedges]

I was looking at my ball pythons last night and noticed these little bugs, no bigger than the comma on your keyboard crawling around the snakes and into the substrate. I saw about 4 of them and tried to catch one but i couldn't. They ranged in color of clear, gray, and white.. one was brown i think. They had three legs on either side a almost tear-dropped shaped abdomen and a little head. I'm pretty sure they're ticks. Probably got in there from the live mice i had fed them not too long ago.
I have no idea how to cure this. Everything just says how to get rid of mites and not ticks.

Also, one of my snakes eyes is bulging out with a little white ring forming around the eye. I think it might be popeye.. I'm really scared. I don't have the money to bring them to the vet and my parents wont take them. They don't even like me having the snakes.

I'm so confused.

[mr~python]

my snakes have never had mites(so i couldnt tell you what they looked like) but what your describing sounds like fleas to me. ticks would be a lot bigger then the comma on a keyboard.

[tigerlily]

More than likely it's mites. Fleas hop, and they're a bit bigger than a mite. In either case mites and ticks are actually both arachnids and can be treated with Provent a Mite. Here's a link - http://www.mgreptiles.com/proventmite.html

As for the eye....you really need to see a vet. Talk, beg, bargain with your parents or the vet but I'd try everything to get him there.

[Adam_Wysocki]

Eye swelling can be a sign of a bad mite infestation ... mites love to live and eat in the soft tissue around a snakes eye.

Also, it isn't likely that the mites/ticks came from your live mice. It can happen, but there many other ways you could have gotten them as well. You might want to take a closer look around the place where you got the snake.

-adam

[Neumann]

If you use Repti-Bark (or any fir chips/bark) for bedding, it can sometimes come pre-loaded with harmless little critters known as book lice or bark lice. We found them in our royal's cage one time. Our daughter used her digital microscope and a encyclopedic animal book to identify what the critters were. We then took a micro digital image and had an entomologist confirm that she was correct. Kids are awesome! Anyway, they're very, very small, white/light colored things. They can also occur if your cage is too moist, developing mold, which is their food of choice. Perhaps that's all it is? If so just clean and sanatize everything to the max!

As a side note... now I always freeze my bark for 24 hours, killing any bugs, before introducing it as bedding.

<EDIT>
Here's an image to help identify Psocids (Book Lice)
http://sgrl.csiro.au/storage/insects...s/psocids.html

[Benson_and_Hedges]

Neumann, that's exactly what they look like. Well, that's one problem i can cross off my list. Looks like i bought Reptile Mite and Tick remover for nothing :\.. it might come in handy in the future although i pray that i will never have to use it. Yeah, i use coconut bark and that's probably where they came from.

As for the snakes eye i'm gonna see what i can do. I'm thinking maybe i can make it my christmas present.

"Hey mom, i know what i want for christmas"

"..what?"

"Bring my snakes to the vet"

"Oh Jesus!"

That's how the conversation will go.. i bet you.

[Razaiel]

Or you could maybe ask for Christmas money in advance? (My kids often do!) Is it possible you could get a part-time job (I'm sorry I don't know how old you are) so you can pay for these things when they arise? It's sad that neither of your parents like snakes - maybe you might find one of them more sympathetic than the other. When my daughter got a snake her dad was absolutely against the idea - HATES them - but I grew to love the new baby and would do anything to make sure she stays well Best of luck.

[tigerlily]

Tis the season to earn a little extra money raking leaves, and other such things. Soon to be shoveling snow for a lot of you!! There's always a way.

[frankykeno]

You might want to check with the vet clinic you use. Some vets might let you clean cages, wipe down exam room floors, clean walkways, cut grasss around the clinic, whatever to build credit with them. Not only could it help your vet expenses but you'll get exposure to vets and vet techs which is never a bad thing plus something for your resume (remember employeers value volunteer work too!). Never hurts to ask.


~~Jo~~

[Benson_and_Hedges]

no no no.. i have a job and only like, $400 saved in the bank but i doubt that'll be enough for the vet visit. I was looking up some reptile vets in my area and called to get an estimate and just for the visit it would cost $250 for each snake. And with Christmas coming i have to use the money i saved for presents. I don't know what to do..


Me and my BF went to PETCO and bought some mite and tick spray and i used it on the both of them last night and amazingly, this morning, when i took Benson out his eye had totally cleared up. I'm not going to take any chances though.

I asked my mother about it as an X-mas present and she said sure. This Christmas is gonna suck but my snakes health is more important than a new computer.. right?!? :\