mite possibility

[imh0813]

So I was observing my BP closely this morning, and looking around the tank and on the water dish saw 2 almost microscopic little things moving around the water dish (not floating in the water, crawling around the top). As I have seen mites before on my environmental science class' boa I knew that they were mites. I took him out and checked him out, looking around his face,mouth,nostrils and did not see anything. What should I do? I want to try and prevent them from getting to him. I have cypress mulch as a substrate, one of them half log hides, and a cork bark branch in there...

[rabernet]

Snake mites will look like pepper flakes in the water dish.

If you're not sure - I'd put her on papertowels for now so that you can see if you see any black pepper flakes (or poppyseed looking mites).

Provent-A-Mite is a herper's best friend. I keep a can, and I pre-treat all new additions' enclosures.

You can buy it at http://www.pro-products.com

[imh0813]

great thank you! And yes they are definitely mites, but so far I've only seen two. But I definitely wanted to know a good mite product so thank you for that

[JAMills]

PROVENT-A-MITE

What kind of inclosure do you have?

The best think to do is remove your snake and soak whille you clean the cage.
Soaking your animal will assist in removing mites that are on it.
Don't put any treatment in the water they are soaking in because your snake will probably ingest some of the water while in there.

While your snake is soaking it is time to do a thurough clean and treatment of the enclosure an accessories.
- Get rid of the bedding/substrate
- remove any accessories and soak in a diluted bleach mix (couple caps of bleach to each gallon of hot water)
- Scrub enclosure inside and out with same kind of bleach mix and then dry
- Scrub accessories that have been soaking then rinse and dry
- Provent-a-mite
- Spray inside of enclosure and allow to air out and dry
- Spray accessories (NOT THE WATER DISH) and allow to dry
- Add new bedding/substrate, spray with Provent-a-mite and allow to dry
- Put accessories back in
- Dry snake with white paper towels and look for black dots in water and on towels

- ** This part I have done with no ill effects but some may not agree **
- Spray Provent-a-mite on paper towel and allow snake to slide through (Avoid the Head)


- Repeat treatment in 20-30 days to kill any eggs that may have been missed and hatched.

Proactive measures can save you the headache of dealing with a problem.
I treat my snake racks and surrounding areas every 60-90 days with Provent-a-mite
Probably over kill but I have not had a mite issue in a couple years

QUARANTEEN NEW ANIMALS AWAY FROM YOUR COLLECTION AND TREAT AS IF THEY HAVE MITES EVEN IF YOU DO NOT SEE THEM!

Hope this helps!

[imh0813]

just ordered my can of PAM...thanks A LOT!

[stevenkeogh]

Best way to find mites ON your snake is to rub your hands on the snake up and down. Check your hand. If there are mites on your snake they will be gathered on your hands.
Also as mentioned, paper towel substrate with no furniture but a water dish is recommended.
When treating though remove the water dish for 24 hours to prevent the snake from soaking.
-Steven