might have Mites! ee!

Was inspecting Chompy today because im expecting him to shed soon (He went into blue on the 18th) and ive noticed some black dots on him...I didn't notice them on him yesterday or the day before when i fed him. My first thought was mites... but i think i'd want a second opinion!.

They dont seem to be moving on him... But there are quite a few (I counted about 7 or 8.) Some dotted around the base of his head and a few down the length of his body. Im fairly certain they are mites, as they're raised up off him.

Is it possible he could of got them from the last substrate i used? I've had him for 3 weeks and ive had no other contact with snakes, and theres no way mites could of got into the house i can think of other than the Orchard bark substrate i bought 2 weeks ago - Which after opening the bag i noticed had small flys crawling around in it... There has been a few brown spots in his water bowl but i've just put them down to small pieces of bark before now.

Oh well, guess i better go do some research on mites then!.

Oh yeah, and if anyone has any tips on dealing wit the mites that'd be greatly appreciated!

You can get them from dodgy substrate.
Look under the snakes head, between the jaws in the folds of scales. They love it there.
If it is mites, use Frontline from the vets. Thats best..
MIKE

Yikes, AJ! There's some good threads about dealing with mites here, but it's never a bad idea to consult your vet. After all, they might have a child about to go to college or need a new car... (that was tongue in cheek based on my recent history! But I'd do it again if necessary, but would grumble about it).

Heh well its defenitly mites... just checked him over properly and the bigger black dots arn't moving much but theres a few small orangey ones thatare moving about quite alot. Poor wee bugger.

i've transfered him back from his larger viv into a little critter keeper which i normally feed him in for now, With just some paper towl on the bottom of it and a small water dish and a few silk leaves made into a hide (Which he's happily climbing all over right now.)

Its funny seeing him in his little keeper box though, Its what i put him in when i first got him and really shows how much he's grown (Granted, its only a few inches but for me its impressive!).

Later on tonight ill give him a quick bathe and pick off any of the pesky little buggers i see scarpering towards his head.

Frontline, the flea stuff? Any particular one of it? The vets around the corner can't help snake-wise as they only deal with your general household pets (ie cats and dogs, they dont even do rabbits.) but they do have a good stock of frontline so i could pick it up really easily.
How would i go about applying it to him?.