bugs in the water???

[raiders3521]

advice anyone? my son has a year-old corn & lately I've been seeing tiny little brown bugs in the water bowl. I clean it out & give fresh water & the next day there they are again! Can this be dangerous to the snake? Help! I don't know much about snakes...

[graffixcs]

This is a difficult question to give an exact answer to. Without seeing the bugs it could be any number of things. First off I would suggest a complete cleaning of the enclosure. Remove everything and use a disinfectant (reptile safe of course). The bugs "may" be mites that will need an easy and innexpensive treatment, they may have come from a foreign article of "furnature", the possibilities are endless. Inspect the snake closely to see if there are any of these bugs on it.

I would suggest that after a complete clean, keep a sample in a ziplock baggie or container and consult a vet or a knowledgable pet store/snake keeper in your area if you have one available.

Don't panic, parasites are treatable.

[Lennycorn]

Yes,
I don't any info on the but..they could be mites. Wipe snake down with white towel and see if you see bugs on snake.
look up mites on the search section. I remember seeing a few post on this subject. and more folks will chime in so with better advice.
Don't fret, if it is mites, it's very easily solved

Good Luck :cheers:

[daisy]

I agree with Lenny. My first thought here is mites. They are treatable, but unfortunately, I have no experience with mites, so can't offer any sound advice. It's been discussed alot on here, so a good search will help. Others will also throw in their 2 cents.
Good luck!

[raiders3521]

I don't see any on the snake, only in the water bowl. and if they are mites, how did they get there? we only have one snake, we've had him for a year, and I just noticed this...do I take him to a vet or can a local pet store help me?

[graffixcs]

These bugs may have come from cage furnishings or bedding materials. Have any of these been added recently? I would strongly suggest a complete cage cleaning. A local pet store may be able to help, but obviously only if there is someone there with herp experience. It is worth at least a phone call.

[Lennycorn]

What are you using for substrate? My mind is going but I do remember another post about folks here freezing the substrate to kill bugs. have you change your recently. And can you describe the bug, size etc. That might help to understand the problems. Pics ??

[colinmcc]

My first thought is substrate.

You using repti-bark by any chance? Straight out the bag that often has little bugs (and I've had the odd BIG black beetle as well) in it. Not harmful to the snake but you don't want them spreading out of the viv either.

As mentioned above, apparently freezing the repti-bark first will get rid of them.

[DAND]

What do the bugs look like?

[raiders3521]

they're very tiny & light brown...I looked very closely last night & didn't see any on the snake...I'm thinking it is because of the substrate...I'll clean everything out & se what happens, & i will definitely freeze it first...thanks for the help everyone!

[Taceas]

I'd venture a guess and say a wood mite. Which could have hitched a ride in a wood based substrate or piece of wood furniture that was stored near other wood materials. Wood mites feed on decaying wood and pose no danger to a snake. That being said, theyr'e still a nuisance. But without any definite description its hard to make an educated guess.

The water bowl is a frequent place to find them. They get thirsty and fall in, and the slick sides of the bowl prevent their crawling back out. Wood mites and snake mites do this. Also if they're snake mites, the snake will soak in the water to try to drown them off. So I'd look throroughly all over the snake paying extra attention around the eyecap and in the main cleft under the chin where skin is exposed.

Reptile Relief is a God-send. I bought a snake about 3 years ago infested with snake mites, only found it out after I get the snake home. 3 treatments of spraying the snake down with Reptile Relief and letting him sit for 30 mins in a bare container and then wiping him down to remove any Klingons.

You can also use it to clean your viv for mites/ticks/bugs. Just clean the viv's litter out and remove everything and spray it down all around the lip of the cage (I assume you're using an aquarium), down the corners to get around the silicone seals, and let it sit for 15-30 mins and then rinse it out with a hose and dry as normally.

Its pesticide free and works by basically drowning the bugs. It coats their external openings for their breathing and suffocates them without harming your snake. You can spray it directly on the snake, or apply with a rag.