Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently bought some moss for my snakes terrariums, and today when I was cleaning out my corn's tank, I discovered a little bug...I've never seen a mite before and am not sure whether this is one or not. If so, is it possible that it could've come in on the moss? It's about a millimeter long, light brown, and looks like it has two body segments...with the head being smaller than the body. Recommendations?

mites are like poppy seeds with tiny little legs.......

all one segment..........

......2 segmented bugs came with moss......

squish it and forget it........

(unless you wanna eat it?.......and not win $50,000 from JoeR.)

..........relaxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks! I totally freaked out anyway, and went straight to the store for some sevin dust (right after I threw away everything in the tank, except for a plastic plant and his water dish, and baked his hides) =) I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep it around "just in case"...appreciate your input!

its all that studying...affecting your brain....that little bug was probably just imaginary. Did it talk too?

Just kidding of course...

Trust me, if you had mites...you'd know it. I've never heard of anyone just finding one (although its possible).

Good luck with the rest of school.

- Jason
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www.members.aol.com/northeastsnakes
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0.2 Green Tree Pythons
2.2 Ringed Pythons
2.3 Ball Pythons
1.2 Hog Island Boas
1.1 Argentine Boas
0.1 Solomon Island Ground Boa
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas
7.8 Corns (various morphs)
1.1 N. Pines (Pituophis)
0.0.1 N.Diamondback Terrapin

more or less a pain.....I have some big melamine cages that hold the mites....and they have been in them for albut 10 years?...(all started with babysitting a boa and a burm)....they are controlled well...but never actually go away completely.....

now...I never used sevin dust and never will.....why sprinkle chemicals on a snake or it's cage?....and pest strips vanished from the world more or less......(another chemical that'll cause brain damage to snakes.....and what about humans?....)

.....I use hot water to wipe out cages.......usually.....

once in awhile a little bleach in the water.....

I set a cup of bleach into the cages when they are empty...(3 snakes...4 cages....and I put all 3 in one cage alot...breed...saves cleaning too......JCP..6 footers.maybe 7.)

.........I give them 4 gallon buckets...they soak all they want...and kill almost all the mites......(there is always one or more pregnant mite stuck in their nostril though.LOL)...

anyways.......

quit baking hides........cook me some brownies instead.....goey ones.............

JY

While i respect the fact you wont use pesticides on your reptiles your never going to get rid of your mite problem.Ive never had a reptile fall ill using sevin dust period.After the initial dusting,I just keep a little under the newspaper/
substrate to pick off the straglers.This strategy has always worked for me.At 7 bucks a can It cant be beat...Paul.

never had a problem?...noone?.......

it kills bugs....bugs are animals..snakes are animals.....

something in it must be bad enough?.....

I know......

I am just whining a little.......

........tried Proventamite....didn't do chit..........

.........pest strips years ago....didn't do much either.........

...........mites don't bother me...........

snakes ...if they are brain dead from a chemical..?..how would you tell..........they act so stupid anyways.?.......

really...........they couldn't complain...and they cannot cough.....(even though people on KS always say their snake is sneezing....(never heard a sneeze or a cough...or a hiccup ..or even passing gas....)

rant over......JY

I dont know if prevent a mite was around during my last infestation or not.Some people say it works.The chemicals in prevent a mite are harsher than sevin dust.Sevin dust is a bug killer for garden pests.I read a research paper on it' and some college campus in Canada paid students to eat it.While non were poisoned by it, it's something i wouldnt of tried.The farmers around here have used it for years to kill pests off livestock and even there dogs and cats.While i wouldnt feed it to a pregnant woman or make a slurpee out of it myself,it is still cheap and very safe to use.Im just rambling myself and people can use whatever they want...Paul.