First, a quick note about my collection. As some of you may remember from my post, I got a new pair of snakes (Cuban boas) back in August. I kept them away from my other collection until about a week or so ago when I finished building their new cage. I usually pretreat for mites, but was out of the spray when I got these so didn't. However they were kept in quarantine and there was never any sign of mites. They are now in a homemade melamine cage, which sits below one of my Vision cages on a metal rack.
Okay, now to the mite question. These Cubans, along with a hatchling creamsicle corn, are the first snakes to come into my collection in a year...and none of these new snakes show any sign of mites. However, a couple of nights ago when I fed all the snakes in my collection, I find these small, blackish-brown, teardrop-shaped insects all in the Vision cage with my pair of Bci. They're about the size of the head of a pin and are on the sheets I use as substrate, in the water bowl, and a few are visible on one of the two Bci. There isn't a single one in the Cubans' cage or any other cage in the house, three of which are immediately adjacent to these two cages with the Cubans & Bci. Even though there isn't a single bug to be found in the other cages, I'm going to treat them, too, just for information.
Could these be mites? I haven't had mites on any of my snakes since 1991, though my best friend got them on some African house snakes she bought a couple of years ago. These bugs are much bigger than I remember the ones that got into my collection or that came on her house snakes. I mean they are still pretty small, maybe the size of a flea or seed tick...but not as tiny as I remember mites being. Is there anything else they could be? I haven't changed or added any cage furniture or setup, other than to put this pair of boas together for breeding purposes and the cage with the Cubans is about ten inches below the Vision with the bugs...but none in it. Any ideas?
Raven
