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What do mites look like???

JayPoc May 08, 2004 03:02 PM

Ok, so I'm tending to the flock today, and saw something scary on a couple of BPs. I saw just a couple of tiny, white flat bugs crawling around on a couple of the snakes. These are not the red or black bead-like mites I'm familiar with. I don't have any way to magnify them for a better look. Do you think these are some species of mite? Are there any pictures out there on the internet of mites? Thanks! Jay

Replies (1)

ginevive May 08, 2004 03:52 PM

White sounds odd. The mites I've seen were all blackish or reddish.
What kind of substrate are you using? if it's something that's more "natural" like bark or coconut fiber, they may be some sort of larvae (like fruitfly larvae.) If you use newspaper or astroturf, this eliminates the threat of substrate-introduced buggy things.
Another possibility could be some sort of internal parasite. I have seen frogs that had tiny white things crawling in their feces, and they were some sort of parasite.
Maybe someone with a bit more knowledge than me can jump on this one.
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2.2 Python regis, 1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator, and the frogs.

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