Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im cleaning his tank out today and putting teh wood in the over at 350 for 1/2 hour...is there anythign else i need to do for mites?

i got a bigger UTH so that shoudl raise the temps...i think i have been keeping a little cool for KAa.

Not the cooking spray but Provent-A-Mite. Greatest stuff and it won't kill the snake. I won't promote any one site just state the ones I know: Try Bean-Farm, East Bay Vivarium under Home Remedies, or LLL Reptiles under Vitamins, Medicines & Cage Cleaning.

I have also used Reptile Relief. It is all natural and works fairly well.
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That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.

Go to Wally World.....get the equate brand of NIX.....look at the ingredients in PAM and the Equate....exactly the same for 1/4 of the cost....
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Nick

And it's safe for the snakes?
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That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.

yes...it contains 100% of the ingredients that is in PAM.
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Nick

Thanks, I'll be looking in to that. Cheaper and easier to find. I'm all there.
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That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.

It would be fun to see B.P.(a.k.a PAM Guy)try and go after Wal-Mart like he did Black Knight...

I just went through this It sucks, but I used reptile relief on the snakes and the walmart brand on the bedding and enclosures. i am going to redo everything again in 10 days. But already noone is soaking in their bowls all day anymore. I had a rescue and she is the one that started it all.

I thought you already looked under your microscope and decided you weren't dealing with mites?

One other reason that Kaa may be soaking remember is that he could be getting ready to shed. If this is the case, the whole snake will get progressively duller looking and cloudy. I grew up referring to this state as "blue" because the eyes eventually look somewhat blue when they are fully clouded over. During this stage, snakes generally may be more fearful/aggressive (since they can't see very well), and may be reluctant to eat - but some snakes are perfectly willing to eat at this time anyway. Eventually, the eyes will suddenly clear up while the rest of the snake remains dull about 1-3 days before the snake will actually shed its old skin.

Are you monitoring humidity? You should be. Whether Kaa has been kept at ideal temps or just a little cool, if he is lacking some humidity, that could also cause him to want to soak - whether he is going into shed or not, but even more so if he is going into a shed cycle. Additionally, if you use a larger UTH, you may dry out the cage a little (so IF his humidity is perfect now, you may need to change something to keep it that way with a larger heat pad). If it turns out that you need to add some humidity, Walmart sells cheap little spray bottles in the hair care section. These are great because they are SO cheap, and you know for certain that there haven't been any cleaning chemicals used in the bottle. I use a bottle like this to mist my snakes' cages once or twice a day (more so in the winter because my house gets SO dry!).

Also, some snakes will soak when they feel that they are too warm. I know you keep him at the school you teach at, and the schools I've attended have had some pretty horrible issues with maintaining a constant temp - so if it was a day when your room's heat went 'bonkers,' he may have just been seeking some relief.

These are just some things to keep in mind. I can't tell you if you have mites or not - you have to determine that for yourself. Even if you don't have mites, everybody and their brother does swear by that Provent-A-Mite stuff so it may very well be worth keeping around.

Good luck, and I hope this helps some.

~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

later Kaa went for another soak there were some small bugs...like 3-4 in there.

i dont see any on its body nor do i see anythign crawling around cage.

temps: cool end of tank 80-85 deg.... hot end 87-90 deg
i dont have an issue with keeping the temps in the room they dont get supper hot or cold. the water dish is over teh UTH so it heats and evaporates the water into the air and i live close to the coast so avg humidity is always 50-60%.

can anyone send me a pic of a snake with mites?
will it appear like a cat with fleas...little bugs crawlingall over it?

im goign to walmart to get that cleaner people were talking about today.

My understanding is you won't be able to actually see mites until you have a REALLY awful infestation, OR by fluke chance, unless they are dead at the bottom of the water bowl. It's been MANY years since I have had to deal with mites (THANKFULLY!).

I think Provent-A-Mite and the generic knock-offs are more pesticides than cleaners, but I don't really know, as the last time I had to deal with mites, the best treatment was to use pieces of "No-Pest" strip... which could harm your snake if used improperly.

If you have a decent internet connection (which I don't) you should probably be able to google some images of mites, if not snake mites specifically to see what they look like.

One of the common signs of a snake infested with mites (aside from incessant soaking) is a raised look to the scales that surround the eye - which almost give the snake an expression of "wincing" if you can imagine that. That doesn't happen 100% of the time though.

I think, if you are still worried about it, keep looking at the debris in the water bowl with a microscope, since you have one available, and look up some reference pictures, so you know what to worry about. I'm still inclined to believe that Kaa is going into a shed cycle (from half a continent away, and without any pics at all).

Good luck!

~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

thanks
Kaas skin is turning dull and greying out his colors.
but i keep seeing what looks like little brownish bugs in his water dish.

i will look them up online when i get a chance. thank you

If you have bugs in the cage - you should probably change your substrate anyway - even if they aren't bugs that are feeding off your snake they can still irritate and stress him out - I'm not sure what type of substrate you are using but it's not uncommon to find wood mites or other crawlies in the cypress mulches and other woody substrates. They won't necessarily harm your snake but you should get rid of them anyway.

If you think you have mites the best thing to do is to check out the snake at night - given that he is soaking he might have done a pretty good job of eliminating the easy to see ones. At night the mites are more active - use a magnifying glass if you have one - check around the eye sockets, pits and under the chin - as they tend to stand out more on the white chin.

If you do see mites - I would recommend treating the snake with reptile relief, tossing out all the cage contents (or if you can disinfect or cook it then do so) scrub down the cage and disinfect it - be sure to get the nooks and crannies as that is where they will lay eggs - and then treat the cage, any cage furniture you put in (except the water bowl) and surrounding area with Provent A Mite. Use newspaper until you know the infestation is gone - make sure each time you clean out his cage you retreat everything again for a month or two.

Good luck.
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Tosha