Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I take Milo out and put him on my bed post so I don't have to watch him TOO close while he's out.

Q: I've been reading the posts about mites. How do they get them?

He loves it up there

Usually you would get mites from another animal...
Say, you bring home a new snake, and don't quarantine it, and it has mites...soon all your reptiles will have mites...
Or, say you buy a piece of wood or bedding from a dirty petstore that has a mite problem, if any mites are hitching a ride on that piece of wood, you could get mites from there...
Stuff like that. It's pretty much a captive problem...
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-audri
Webpage/Pics

According to most of the manuals I've read mites do nothing more to a snake than agitate and stress it. As most of us know this leads to decreased appetite and eventually, if left untreated, death.

The first snake I ever owned, my ball python, got mites from the wooden half-log the store owner gave me. Being the clueless owner I was I didn't realize that his dirty ass store would result in stressing both me and my snake out.

here's what to do:
1.) find the source (mine was wooden log)
2.) remove the source and treate or throw out (I baked my log at 200 in the oven Under CLOSE supervision
3.) place a mite repellant substance from the store, place it in a jar and poke holes in the lid and leave that in the cage with close supervision and good ventilation (for heavy infestations)
4.) Bathe and extra virgin olive oil the snake once a day until mites are gone (about a week if you clean clean clean)

I stressed, my ball stressed but we made it through. I still bathe and oil my ball and corns about once a month to keep things clean and sheds going well (and they all do now).

no worries with mites, just needs tender love, care and immediate attention.

That's just too cute, Swani!! LOL!