Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just switched over from newspaper to Zoo Meds Repti Bark, and i just found a tiny little white colored insect crawling on one of hides in the snakes enclosure. I'm assuming this is a mite. I checked my snakes out and didnt see any on them. I was thinking about picking up some Natural Chemistry De Flea Reptile Relief, because i'm pretty sure thats all petco carries and that is the only pet store in my area. Should i just get rid of the reptibark and get something like aspen(does this have a lower rate of mite infestations?), or would it be ok if i just sprayed the repti bark with the mite spray as well as all of the hides and the snakes. I've never had to deal with this before, so any input would be greatly appreciated.
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1.0 Normal Cornsnake
1.0 Sumatran Short Tail Python

Mites are black not white. What you are probably seeing is a wood mite or this is what I was told they are anyway. I have never seen them actually crawl on any snakes themselves but they do get in some wood substrates. I try to stay away from any kind of bark for this and ease of cleaning reasons. I use aspen myself and it works great.

Probably some sort of insect that came inside the repti bark package. Depeneding on what bark it is sometimes parasites and bugs come inside of them from the pet store. Heck just a few days ago I went to a pet shop looking for some potential new substrate and saw little bugs crawling in and around the repti bark. Aspen is the safest other than newspaper and papertowels but I think insects can equaly have good hiding places in it. Look for a product called prevent a mite. It kills most insects whether its a mite or not and is safe if used correctly.

Two questions: if i do get the spray and spray the bark, is it going to be ok or should i just throw it all out and how good is aspen at holding in humidity. The main reason i got the bark was that it said on the bad that it hold humidity well. Thanx alot for all the help.
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1.0 Normal Cornsnake
1.0 Sumatran Short Tail Python

never had mites so I'm not much help there. But I do use reptibark and am pretty happy with it. Holds humidity pretty well, and I like it because it gives a dark backround for my lightly colored snakes. The only problem I have had with it is it has a LOT of dust. This can get into sores a snake may have and it is a pain to clean! When I build my custom cages I am using astro turf! Which brings me to a question of my own, could I put an UTH directly under the astro turf as long as I used a rheostat?
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Wilson" (Castaway)
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"

I really don't know, some people soak bark in water mixed with soap and 5% bleach solution, then they dry it and let it air out before using it. That will get almost anything living out of the bark, whether its parasites,insects or whatever. I personally don't do this so I wouldn't know. Also I would just stick with the repti bark, it holds humidity but corns dont need that much humidity anyway when they aren't shedding. Aspen is great, doesn't hold humidity well but can be spot cleaned, I wouldnt worry that much about humidity unless your snake has problem sheds. Me? I use newspaper...

Thanx for all the help...i got the bark more for my blood python but am using it in both for aesthetic reasons...i will try using a spray to kill whatever is in there...hopefully they are wood mites or a non parasitic kind but i better error on the side of caution...if the spray doesnt work i will try the bleach one...again thanx alot for the help
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1.0 Normal Cornsnake
1.0 Sumatran Short Tail Python

Take your snake out of the enclosure. Spray Provent-A-Mite in the bark and mix it up. When the bark is dry, like 2 hours later, put the snake back in. It will keep the mites away for 2 months.
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Mike
http://www.freewebs.com/badyear2005
Check it out ^ Loss for loss for my year.