Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just was in my reptile room and i noticed my mojave had 2 little black bugs on him i was told they were mites how do you prevent from getting mites? and now that i seen them on my snake how do i get rid of them and make sure they dont come back and make sure it dosent get on my other snakes any help would be much appreciated thanks alot

Ahh mites, yes i just got rid of those with my 2 columbian boas. A product i can definitely recommend to you is Reptile Relief, it can be purchased at petco or petsmart. Spray it on the snake directly and rub it all over. It says not to spray on the face but if there are mites present around the eyes and or mouth you can gently rub it along there as well. The directions dont call for this but i also rinsed my snake under the sink to get rid of the dead ones coming off (yes it kills on contact, its a miracle worker). As for the cage remove everything! and throw away the bedding! once its in a trash bag immediately get it out of the house. The spray can also be used in the cage so make sure every knook and cranny is sprayed. wipe it down and then rinse with water. you could probably even fill the enclosure with water and 10% bleach solution. the mites drown very easily and bleach kills everything. just make sure its rinsed well. i used the bleach for the furnishings. dipped all the wooden things in the bleach solution then rinsed with fresh water and allow them to dry thoroughly. i would also keep the snake on newspaper or paper towels until you are sure they are completely gone. however they can all be removed in one step if you are sure to get everything clean!