Whats wrong?!

[stormi]

okay about 4 weeks ago i noticed that my snake had little black bug on him, I already posted this but didn't get much help, anyway he shed about week later so i assumed every thing was okay.so then today when i went to feed him i noticed his eyes were foggy,he was shedding again! he just shed two weeks ago..is that normal..i feed him 1 every thursday..1-3 day old pinks..hes only 3months old...so i picked him up and noticed twords the back of his body 3 scales where pushed up....does he have mites..if so what can i do to help him..need info please. :shrugs:

[danvega]

Try soaking your snake in tepid (warm) water for an hour or two. If it has mites, the adults will fall off and be visible in the water (little specks with legs). Although, the life cycle of mites lasts a few weeks, so there may be eggs still present on your snake and in the viv. You can pick up an over-the-counter mite treatment at any petstore for $5+. Treat your snake (if you do see mites that fall off), then wash and disinfect your viv and everything in it (change the bedding too).

On a second note, if you just found one 'bug' it could have been a tick, but the raised scales sound more like mites.

Futhermore, young snakes do shed more often than adults (usually every 3-4 weeks). But the irritation by the mites will cause the snake to shed more often (another indication that it may be mites)---kind of a natural defense mechanism that the snake uses to rid itself of mites. Yet, in captivity, if the mites/eggs are still present in the viv, the snake will continue to get attacked (in the wild, they shed, get rid of the mites, and are able to move to a mite-free location). Hope this helps.

[KatieL]

I have a copy of an excellent, inexpensive and extremely effective mite treatment protocol. I will PM it to you as soon as I find it. Actually...i think it may have actually gotten posted on this forum before. I will go find it...

[KatieL]

Here it is:

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showpost.php?p=135523&postcount=1