Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Guys;
My one year old Columbian does not as a habit spend to much time in his water, but for the last 2 weeks has been in it considerably, maybe even more thant 8 hours a day. He refused his last meal and seems to have reduced activity. I noticed a mite on him a week or so ago and promptly cleaned the entire cage, disinfected it, changed all the bedding and made sure he had none left on him. Since then, he has continusouly soaked and I notice small dots in the water bowl when i change it out. I think he is somehow soaking to kill off these mites which could be the dots im noticing in the water. I am wondering where these things are coming from if I cleaned everything out. Also his eyes were the opaque color that they usually are before a shed, so I thought he maybe soaking for his shed. However since his eyes were opaque they have cleared and maybe a week has passed and he has NOT yet shed. I am very concerned and any advice would be welcome and greatly appreciated. Thank you )

Soaking and cleaning the cage will not get rid of the mites. Check out the vpi.com site topic "the war on mites" to get some effective treatments to totally eliminate the mites. Snakes with mites will soak to try to relieve the irritation caused by the parasites biting and will shed more often to get rid of them in the short term. Living in a cage- the mites just crawl back on the snake when ever it leaves the water dish and after it sheds so you have to kill all the mites and their eggs that keep hatching after you clean the cage. I have used Black Knight spray very effectively to treat both enclosures and snakes. Check out the site and do a search through the forums here on Kingsnake and you'll see lots of alternative treatment options.
Good luck!
Lora

Great help, Thank you !