Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A few weeks ago I was in a reptile shop and picked up a normal hatchling. Since I didn't have any normals, I wanted to add one to my collection. Anyways, about a week ago I picked him up and noticed a little piece of something near his eye. When I took it off,it started crawling on my thumb. My heart dropped, uggh....a mite. After squishing the little bastard, I immediately dumped the aspen bedding and cleaned his enclosure. I keep him in a critter keeper, so it was easy to clean. I examined him closely, but being a normal with alot of dark coloring, it was tough. Last night I picked him up and let him slither through my fingers, and again I noticed one crawling on my hand. Then I held him in a damp paper towel and noticed two more really tiny ones moving. This really grossed me out so I dumped his aspen again and washed the enclosure again. I then kept rubbing him and wiping him until I didn't see anymore. This really bothers me because I have 9 other snakes and never had any mite problems. I have a few questions:

Will they travel from enclosure to enclosure? My tanks are stacked and this one is on top.

I've inspected my other snakes and their enclosures and haven't seen anything yet. Do they lay eggs on the snake or in the substrate?

My main question is: How do I eradicate this problem? What is safe to use? I read the Corn snake manual, but I'm afraid to use pest strips. What other tips may any of you guys and girls have?

Sorry so long, but this is making me crazy and I don't want it to get out of hand. Thanks for any advice.....

John

Yes mites will crawl from enclosure to enclosure,and they lay eggs in both the substrate and on the snake between scales.The easiest way i have found to be rid of mites,especially if you do not have a bad infestation,which is sounds like you do not yet. for now do not use the aspen, line your cage with newspaper or paper towels.soak your snake in warm water to kill any live mites, and then do 2 more soakings about 3-4 days apart to kill off any hatchlings.Be sure to keep the cage clean by soaking it also. You can even use a mild bleach water solution to do this,be sure to rinse well.
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Arlon Delorge
Classic Constrictors

tip for the future, be careful with pet stores
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jake

my addiction:
0.2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1 amelenistic corn snake (maizy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
1.0 albino cal king (zeus)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

As someone else who posted said, mites can and will spread to your other snakes - especially if your cages are stacked. I am not a fan of No-Pest Strips, there has been reports that these cause liver damage and if your snakes are babies, a No-Pest Strip could be toxic enough to make them ill or kill them.

To treat mites I use Provent-A-Mite as directed. I also get a damp paper towel and apply some Nix lice treatment to it. I let the snake crawl through the paper towel, coating it with the dilluted Nix solution (try to keep it out of the snake's eyes and mouth). Then thoughly rinse the reptile.

Repeat this three times at three day intervals. This, along with Provent-A-Mite is a very successful combo. Because mites don't always lay their eggs on snakes, the cages must be treated (with Provent-A-Mite). Simply soaking the snakes will not eradicate the mites.

If I were you, I'd treat every snake and enclosure in the room.

Tim

Third Eye

>>A few weeks ago I was in a reptile shop and picked up a normal hatchling. Since I didn't have any normals, I wanted to add one to my collection. Anyways, about a week ago I picked him up and noticed a little piece of something near his eye. When I took it off,it started crawling on my thumb. My heart dropped, uggh....a mite. After squishing the little bastard, I immediately dumped the aspen bedding and cleaned his enclosure. I keep him in a critter keeper, so it was easy to clean. I examined him closely, but being a normal with alot of dark coloring, it was tough. Last night I picked him up and let him slither through my fingers, and again I noticed one crawling on my hand. Then I held him in a damp paper towel and noticed two more really tiny ones moving. This really grossed me out so I dumped his aspen again and washed the enclosure again. I then kept rubbing him and wiping him until I didn't see anymore. This really bothers me because I have 9 other snakes and never had any mite problems. I have a few questions:
>>
>>Will they travel from enclosure to enclosure? My tanks are stacked and this one is on top.
>>
>>I've inspected my other snakes and their enclosures and haven't seen anything yet. Do they lay eggs on the snake or in the substrate?
>>
>>My main question is: How do I eradicate this problem? What is safe to use? I read the Corn snake manual, but I'm afraid to use pest strips. What other tips may any of you guys and girls have?
>>
>>Sorry so long, but this is making me crazy and I don't want it to get out of hand. Thanks for any advice.....
>>
>>John

John always keep a new snake away from others for at least 60 days.All your snakes will have mites now.I would let the petstore owner know how unhappy you are.If they start the (It didnt have mites here)routine call the local dept of agriculture and explain to the problem to them.
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If lead paint is so deadly why do they make it so delicious?

n/p