Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was handling my snake today and notice very small black bugs like ticks on her. please help me as i dont know what they are let alone get rid of them.

thanks for your help
SPC Danny Tejeda
US Army Reserves
0.1 Pastel Ball Python

These are most like snake mites. See the many threads below in regards to treating such.
If you run into any roadblocks, let us know

Ian

ok thanks

so i have her soaking in a betine and water solution. just wiped down the tank with soapy hot water. now filling up and letting it sit with bleach for a while. will i still need to use the flea collar? also how would i target the thermo and humidity guage? the woods also baking in the oven. first time snake owner had her for about 3 weeks and now is that noticed this issue. she eats fine and looks perfectly healthy aswell as keeps gaining weight.
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Thanks for you time
SPC Danny Tejeda
US Army Reserves
0.1 Pastel Ball Python

It is good that your snake is otherwise looking healthy. Add a touch of dish soap to your bath; it helps break surface tension to better drown the hiding mites. This will largely reduce numbers, but will take a bit of luck to get them all. For best, quickest results, use a chemical anti-parasite. I wouldn't choose the flea collar method is it has more potential to overdose your snake. Provent-a-mite seems to be the most readily available product; you could probably buy it from the same petstore that will sell you the flea collar. Follow the instructions on the bottle.

Remember that mites travel, and you need to treat both the snake, and the environment to get rid of an infestation.

Ian

thanks much. today i got mite off by zoo meds only thing i could find till thursday when my LPS can get it in stock. added new substrate sprayed down the tank and substrate. she ate a small rat like nothing is wrong with her. waited a while and sprayed her down aswell. during the clean up and the bath i didnt see any mites floating around so im guessing i caught it at an early stage. but thanks very much for your input and help! very much appreciated
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Thanks for you time
SPC Danny Tejeda
US Army Reserves
0.1 Pastel Ball Python

NIX em. Just remove water bowl. Lightly spray entire cage once.

Worked great for me on two occasions. Once with BP's and again with nigritus.

Mike

I should mention that if this is a neonate snake, overdosing is a real concern, so follow instructions very carefully, and allow lots of ventilation.
Only use paper towel for a substrate until you are certain the mite problem is gone. Anything else will just be a great place for mites to hide.

Ian

When treating smaller snakes, and especially neonates, with PAM, Equate, NIX, etc., a slightly different approach can be used. The first and obvious rule that should be strictly followed with the use of any of these chemicals is to not spray it directly on the reptile. This also applies to the substrate as well with these very small snakes. The substrate can absorb the spray and hold it for extending periods, slowly releasing it over time. Lab studies during the initial development phase of even PAM showed that it did cause the death of some very small reptiles when it came into direct contact with the body. Most survived but there were a few deaths recorded. With larger reptiles I feel it is fine to follow the directions with regards to spraying the interior of the cage and letting it dry, and keeping water bowls out for a day or so. However, with neonates and smaller snakes, I feel it is best to allow the PAM, or other product, to stay in the cage for about an hour after spraying and then wipe the residual up with paper towels before putting the animal and substrate back in. This has proven safe and effective in eliminating mites on even very small neonate snakes. The other procedure that should be used concurrently to enhance the elimination process is to lightly spray the exterior of the cage as well, and not wipe it off, and allow the residual to kill any mites moving from or into the cage. This completely eliminates any possibility of direct contact with the chemical for really small reptiles, and although it takes a little longer to get rid of all of the mites, it does so just as effectively and much more safely with these very small snakes.

Kelly

Ok will do cause I put Eco earth coconut bark and just noticed that they are back I tried mite off by zoo med since I can't get provent a mite till Thursday. And that didn't work I guess so paper towels it shall be. Would it wise to spray the carpet around the tank aswell..... also what is a neonate? My pastel is roughly 3 to 4 months old according to the person I got it from
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Thanks for you time
SPC Danny Tejeda
US Army Reserves
0.1 Pastel Ball Python

A neonate is a very young animal. Your snake is no longer a neonate, but still young enough to be quite cautious. See Kelly's protocol towards treating these young animals.

Yes, I would spray around the enclosure, but cannot guarantee that it would discolour it. Nevertheless, mites do travel, and carpet is an excellent hiding place. Perhaps keeping the PAM on the outside of the enclosure without rinsing it off will be enough.

i just want to thank everyone for there input specially ian who described everything for me. after about a week of daily newspaper change and spraying RR like a mad man i believe i have eliminated the little critters! now its a wait and see deal havent seen one in about 3 days now so hopefully all is good!
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Thanks for you time
SPC Danny Tejeda
US Army Reserves
0.1 Pastel Ball Python