=O The black spot!

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Okay...so this is a little weird because I have never read about it or even encountered it before. My friend just recently got herself a little amelanistic corn snake. I checked the little one out for her and even opened her mouth and all looked clear. When we got her home and put her in her tank I noticed she had some black stuff lodged in her teeth. I opened her mouth and seen this. There is even some swelling. I had put her down and a few hours later (after searching this site) I checked up on her and the black spots were gone. Two days later, they are back and have been so ever since. I cannot see any mites on her at all so I hope its not mites.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b336/ilikelandscapes/PictureTYUhh232.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b336/ilikelandscapes/blackmouth.jpg

Her nostrils also had some dirt in them. She is on bark for right now, and her temps and humidity is normal. You guys ever seen this before?

[Tula_Montage]

Looks like mites to me. Get rid of that bark and completely disinfect her enclosure. Keep her on plain newspaper until you have treated her.

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

=O Mites can get into the teeth? Wow! I never knew this. Maybe thats why they disapeared for a while. I will search for mite solutions on here. Thanks a lot Tula!

[Plissken]

Check out her water bowl, especially if you've seen her soaking in it recently. If she has mites, you may well see what looks like a sprinkling of black pepper over the bottom of the bowl, these are drowned mites.

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

she has had the snake for about a week. Will there be mites present in the water so far or should I just treat her anyways. And thanks for the post guys!

[Plissken]

When I got my royal python I discovered mites within 24 hours of bringing him home. Yes, I saw mites both on him and in the water.

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Holy cow. I never knew mites could be in the mouth. They just look like tiny flecks of peper. I couldn't even see anything moving around. What do you suggest to use to kill the mites?

[Plissken]

I believe many people recommend something called Provent a Mite. From what I've heard it's very good. However, I live in England and I couldn't find that one, nor any good substitues; so I went down the route of plain old elbow grease ;) I washed out the tanks, boiling everything as I went, and bathed the snakes. I did this repeatedly for several months.

If you suspect mites, I suggest you switch the snake in to a minimal tank - newspaper substrate and just a bowl and hide or something like that, the more nooks and crannies there are the more places mites can hide their eggs.

Good luck!

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Thanks so much! I will try to look for that product here. I live in Canada so who knows what we may or may not have. So what you did is washed everything and put them on plain lab contitions and then soaked them in water? How many times a month and such?

[Plissken]

There are a couple of other products some may recommend, but their names escape me. From what I understand Provent A Mite is one of the best though, hope you can find it :)

Yep, that's right. I also threw away ANYTHING the python had been in contact with and that I didn't really need - bedding, including the half-used packet of aspen I still had, the snake bag he was transported in, all things like that. Just to be safe. I also cleaned and hoovered the whole room especially the area around the vivariums. Mites are very mobile - they aren't neccessarily just limited to the snake and its furnishings.

I can't remember how many times I bathed the snakes, but I did it at least three times I think. I filled tubs with room tempish water and let them swim for ten minutes. I also carefully dunked their heads under. It sounds unkind, but you have to submerge the whole animal or the mites just climb up to avoid drowning. You should see the mites in the water after bathing the reptile.

I cleaned out the tanks and boiled everything about once a week over a period of two or three months. I kept them in simple conditions until I was 99.9% certain the mites had gone - the last thing I wanted was to make elaborate setups again and then have to dismantle and boil everything again!

This all occured nearly a year ago, and I haven't seen a single mite nor any signs of irritation from either snake in that time.

You quite often won't see many mites - don't assume that because you haven't seen many, there aren't many! For one mite you see, there are usually a hundred more you don't. ;) I found getting rid of the mites hard work and they are quite virilent - the reason why I cleaned out several times is because while you may kill the adults first time, you may not kill the eggs - so what looks like a solved problem is just a problem waiting to rehatch! Make sure to clean out multiple times, or if you go the chemical route follow the instructions carefully. On the other hand, don't be disheartened - they are quite treatable so long as you're thorough.

Good luck. I hope I've helped, let me know if you have any more questions :cheers:

[Kudama]

I wanted to thank everyone for their advice, and thanks to Okeetee_Corn_Snakes for making the post for me. The snake in question is the one I recently required. Upon reading the replies, my fience and I immediately checked the water and though we didn't think there was anything at first, when we looked closer, there are indeed the dang "pepper specks". I'll definately get to work here on treating everything and I will look for some additional supplies from the store today once I get off work.

Thanks again! :cheers:

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Hey Tara! Glad to see you have made an account on this site. Its a wonderful site and dion't let the mite experience get ya down. However...Please talk to me before you go buy product form Curtis again lol! :grin01:

Thanks again Plissken for all of your help!

[Kudama]

LOL thanks Grace.

And speaking of Grace, Grace and I just finished treating the tank, cleaning it out and giving little snakey a bath. There happened to be another black spot under her chin just under a scale. We decided to see if we could pick it out and we managed to and what would you know, the little buggar was still alive and survived the bath. But he's gone now. So it's definately mites.

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Yes...Its true the little thing was moving. I once treated some African house snakes at Petland when I worked there. We soaked them in mite solution and then picked the mites out with a small plastic card. Please tell me if this is right or wrong. I have never dealt with mites before and I was only going by what my manager had said. She was probably the smartest reptile owner there, having several different snake species, turtles, beardies, frilled dragons and many types of fish. And also a firm believer in Kathy Love.

I read on a thread here that you need to dunk the head of the snake in the water. I felt uncomfortable doing this but most of the mites are on her head, mostly in the mouth region. How long can I hold her head under for? Anyways thanks again for the information!

[Plissken]

I don't think picking mites out with a card would be too effective. You can't see all of them and you will miss some. Mites also get right under the scales, and I'd be worried about hurting the snake. :shrugs: Bathing should do the trick of getting the mites out. If some survived the bath maybe you didn't bathe her or submerge her long enough?

It's hard to say exactly how long to hold the heads under. I guess I did mine for about thirty seconds or so, maybe more. I know it doesn't seem very nice, but it's for the snake's own good. :) It's unlikely the snake will drown... they seem to be able to swim underwater with out too much trouble. :shrugs:

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Yea I didn't know if the card thing was good or not. When we did it at the store (mind you it is a pet store and we all know how that goes :rolleyes: ) we bathed them in some solution. I cannot remember what it is called, but my manager at the time had said to pick the dead mites out from under the belly scales in case they caused infection. Thirty seconds eh? I held her head under for three seconds at the most. I was kinda worried I would end up drowning her. It would be a nightmere to watch her all of a sudden gulp in water and then have her go limp.....However those stupid mites in her mouth! I do not want her to end up with infectious stomatis as well. Oh well time to dunk the little creature! lol. I hope it works!

Ps. I think tomorrow Tara is going out to find some mite solution for the little girl.

[Plissken]

Don't worry. My snakes are still with us after their head-dunking experiences :grin01: I really don't think three seconds is nearly long enough, though. I know mites are teeny, but they can probably go more than 3 seconds without air. Just a guess there, but since you found still living mites on the snake, the evidence is all there really. :shrugs:

Relax. A snake will not drown in thirty seconds. Mind you, thirty is just an estimate - I don't remember exactly how long I held them under - but I do know that three isn't enough.

It's easier if the snake doesn't mind water. Connor hates it and he freaked out like I was trying to kill him. Chester just sat there and looked at me like he was wondering where his rubber ducky was... needless to say he was the easiest to bathe and dunk. :grin01:

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

LOL thats exactly how I felt! Like I was trying to kill my friends snake! How long did you let them soak for and in how deep of water? Our little dudette was freaking out like crazy. Thats mainly why I wasn't dunking her so long. She is a new snake and I am worried the stress will get to her. Meh..she seems to be doing fine. Time for more dunking in a few days lol. Wait till I tell my parents what I have been doing all night!

Thanks again Plissken for helping us out so much and obviously watching this thread!

[Plissken]

Lol, I let them swim/soak for about ten minutes each, in about 2/3 inches of room temp water. The python had more than Connor as he's much bulkier. Make sure it's deep enough to get the whole snake under. Bathing may be stressful for the poor snake, but having mites is too I should think :shrugs: Just remember it's all for her own good. ;)

By the way - if the snake seems stressed out in the water, try holding her (if you're not already.) I found that Chester became frantic when I took my hand away from him, but if I cupped my hand under his belly (while he's still in the water, of course) he calmed down immediately. Try experimenting to make it a bit easier on the little thing.

My pleasure! I abolsutely detest mites from my own experiences with them, and I'm only too happy to try and help you deal with them. :cheers:

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Yea...Ten minutes sounds right! I think what worked best was holding her directly. She was so mad at us!

That little story about your snake Chester sounded so cute! Its like he was upset every time you took your hand away! lol he made your hand a security blanket.

I like your Bp. I wish they were legal here. What morph? Royal?

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Obviously I do not read sigs before I post questions! Ignore that last question! lol :grin01:

[Plissken]

Yeah, I preferred to hold mine directly, but Connor got even more upset (he hates me at the best of times, never mind when he thinks I'm trying to drown him ;) )

I know, it was pretty cute to see. He's like a big kid, such a softie :rolleyes: Lol thanks, I'm glad you like my BP. I love the daft thing to pieces. Why aren't they legal where you are?

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

I have no clue why Saskatchewan is making everything illegal! *cries* I guess people just abused their rights for owning big snakes. All boid species are illegal and there are so many other rules regarding pets as well. Ugh! I hope peta is not talking to our government.

[Plissken]

That's a shame that all boids are illegal. What about things like Rosy and Sand boas? Are they illegal too? What bugs is me that these laws always seem to be so poorly thought out, banning things that aren't in the least dangerous or threatening :shrugs:

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Yea...When they say all boids they mean all boids. However the cost of houses here is way better than if I were to go back to Manitoba and buy there. I would also keep a python or boa sneakily but that would be irresponsible on my part. If it ever got sick there is no vet to take it to. And I believe its a 2000-5000 dollar fine and your snake gets executed if no Zoo wants it.

They also do not allow some petstores to sell turtles. However I think thats just petland because its Alberta owned. They are also trying to pass a new lay stating that all large dogs like pitbulls, mastifs, rotweilers and German shepherds need to be tied up with a muzzle at all times even in your own back yard and apparently there is going to be a 500 dollar fee a year to keep them. Stupid eh?

[sargeoif]

they all so make a spay called reptile relief, you use it to clean their enclosures and you spray alittle on a rag and wipe the reptile with it, works pretty good.

[suecornish]

Regarding the mites. I had good results using head lice shampoo for humans. It's called Nitz but seeing that was expensive I got the store brand. I mixed the bottle of shampoo (4 oz) in 1 gal distilled water. I then got a treatment tank (an old plastic betta fish tank) and put 1 cup of warm water and 1/4 cup of the lice shampoo solution and then put Gaia in. I let her stay in about 5 min. and then put her in just plain warm water while I treated her tank and "stuff" with a stronger solution which was about 10 minutes. When I took her out of the plain water the bottom was covered with eggs and dead mites. That was the only treatment which was in March and she's been mite free since then.

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Holy shat! That actually is Ok to use on snakes? As long as it is diluted enough? Wow I am glad to hear it works. Whatever gave you the idea to use human product?

[sargeoif]

Well sawn dish soap does works as well pops the air bubbles and they pretty much drown, did that with my boa when I got him and hes mite free but thats before I even heard about the reptile relief spray.