Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my python has a small external parasite problem and i am looking for suggestions on what products i should use. what has worked for you? you're help is much appreciated. thank you.

Its something that a lot of people warn against it but personally I have had one problem with mites and I simply used Vegetable Oil. I found a suitable sized bowl put some vegetable oil in (so it comes about halfway up the snakes body), put the bowl into the bath tub and put my BP in. I left her in there (obviously don't let the snake out of your sight)for about 15-20 mins. I just dripped the oil over her with my fingers, using a cotton bud for the head and eyes until she was completely covered (be careful around the nostrils as the oil can apparently block them). I then took her out LEAVING THE OIL ON HER and put her back in the cage. I saw plenty of dead mites for about 2-3 weeks but never saw a living one again (the vegetable oil drowns them) and after her next shed I never saw a mite again (dead or alive). Obviously BEFORE replacing him / her in the cage, the cage will need thoroughly cleaning out. I used a highly watered down disinfectant. Make sure you get into all the crevices of the cage and clean all the 'furniture' using boiling water because if there is any mite left alive you will be confronted with the same problem again a week or two later.

Some people do not like this method but just thought I should share what worked for me. I am in the UK and there are not many products on the market for this type of problem but if you are in the US I think there are quite a few things you can buy specifically for this.

Please note that if the problem with your snake has is 'ticks' I do not think this would be appropriate (I believe they are to be pulled off using tweezers) but I have never had to deal with ticks on a snake.

Regards and best of luck
Ben Sambrook

i'm having trouble finding commercial products at the pet stores near me...

what's the difference between a tick and a mite?

A mite is a very small parasite and you will see literally dozens / hundreds (depending on the scale of the problem) of them crawling around the cage and on your snake. They are about as big as the full stop at the end of this sentence and they can be black or red.

A tick is quite a bit bigger (about as big as a zero - 0). These will be attached to your snake and I think they are usually white / grey in colour. I think the problem with removing these is the mouthparts can get stuck in the snakes skin when you pull them off.

If it is ticks then your probably best to write out another post asking for treatment on mites as I haven't dealt with them before. If you don't get any responses on this forum try posting on a couple of others (corn snake, snake general etc.) as the treatment should be the same whatever the species.

I am not very experienced with these problems but if you need any more assistance do not hesitate to ask me.

Regards
Ben Sambrook

i think i have a mite problem because i've seen a couple tiny reddish bugs crawling on him.
what a pain in the neck...

thanks for your help.

you can find info on snake mites at our site, proexotics.com, and vpi.com. there is a lot of info available to help you learn about your new adversary.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles