Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys, got my new snake. It came in the mail and was fine. But on the side of the tank that has the day light bulb and on the water bowl is these little bugs. Don't know what they are, or where they came from. They crew and jump. I bought the snake kit that came with everything. the tank, two lights, bowl, house, and bark bedding. What are they and what do I do?

"They crew and jump"

Not real sure what that means,...but if these bugs can jump, they aren't snake mites. Snake mites are VERY tiny, round and black, and look like tiny crawling specks of black pepper. On the black portion of the snake, their feces looks like tiny white dots all over the snake. They especially like to congregate around the small gap surrounding the eye cap(occular lens scale) and between the gular scales under the throat too, as well as seeing them moving all over the other parts of the body.

It is very likely that those are wood mites from the bark, depending on the source it came from, but ANY bugs are certainly not what you want to see in the caging or on the snake, that's for sure..LOL!

There are a number of ways to get rid of these, so since I have to run out immediately right now, some other's can chime in for the details of dealing with them. If they are another type of tiny bug, the same methods will work for them too.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I agree with Doug. They are probably not snake mites. The problem with many litters and beddings that come with these kits is they are infested with wood mites and other non-harmful bugs. Usually because they sit on the shelf for a long time before sold if I had to quess why. Still, it you suspect they are indeed snake mites, one very effective treatment option is Provent a Mite (PAM). Put the snake in a temporary enclosure (sterlite box, etc.), and remove all the bedding and furniture from the cage. Take the cage and furniture outside and clean well. Let dry. You can put fresh bedding in, but I would recommend ditching the possibly infested bedding and replace with new pine or aspen shavings. Spray the cage and bedding lightly with the PAM. Fluff the sprayed bedding to make sure the PAM gets around and can dry. Let dry for a couple of hours to make sure all the vapors and liquid from the spray has evaporated. Replace the snake and water bowl. DO NOT spray around the snake. The vapors and liquid are harmfull and can kill the snake, but safe when completely dry. It works great for snake mites and probably any other similar type bug. I hope this helps. if not snake mites, usually just replacing the suspect infested bedding and cleaning the cage works too. Bedding is notorious for holding bugs. I used to use rabbit pellets I could get cheap in bulk from feed stores for bedding in my uromastyx and bearded dragon cages. One day after replacing with fresh pellets, little weevil bugs came out like crazy in the cages!!! No more rabbit pellets. I have had this happen with shavings bought at large chains too. It happens!!

Thanks for all the good info. Going to the store to get some aspen, and some PAM.

>>Thanks for all the good info. Going to the store to get some aspen, and some PAM.

Good luck with that! Kevin gave good advice, but I still want to know what "Crew" means?
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Most often seen around the motley morph of cornsnakes. Sometime also seen rowing on the water.

Sorry for the lame jokes!
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Kent

0.1 Hypomelanistic striped cornsnake
1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
2.2 Normal (het hypo, lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
1.2 Gray-banded kingsnakes, blairs phase
1.1 Oregon rubber boas

HAHAAA!!

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

to have their picture! I was never a fan of theirs.
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Kent

0.1 Hypomelanistic striped cornsnake
1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
2.2 Normal (het hypo, lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
1.2 Gray-banded kingsnakes, blairs phase
1.1 Oregon rubber boas

I just snagged the pic off the net and pasted it. I always thought those "hair" bands from the 80's were way too corny.

I was more into Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hendrix, Jethro Tull, etc..

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com