View Full Version : Please tell me I don't have mites!!
Please tell me I don't have mites!!
Hey all....I just fed my snake and put him back in his tank. Realizing I forgot to clean out his bowl, I looked in it and there were dozens of tiny black specks. I got a few out on my finger and squished them, but no blood appeared. My eyesight is not the best, but they didn't appear to have a uniform shape, and they had irregular margins. He just shed completely day before yesterday, and during handling I looked him over to be sure it was complete. I didn't *notice* anything on him, but I wasn't really looking for them. Do mites typically end up in the water and drown? I looked at his old skin and there's nothing on it, but again, it was over 36 hours ago, so they may have crawled off. I took a flashlight and looked over the tank and saw nothing. I use Aspen...can mites be in the substrate itself? Possibly just random dirt? I do have three large dogs, so keeping the hair in check is a constant battle.
I've read the Homemade mite remedy (and many thanks to the author!!) and maybe I should just do a preventative treatment once his meal settles. Just wondering if I should be looking for something else, or if aspen is dusty like this or what? TIA for any thoughts or suggestions.
mynamesrick
06-03-2008, 11:51 PM
did you manage to take a picture of did you just clean them out?
No, I just cleaned them out. I forget that I just got a new camera that would actually be able to show the tiny specks. I'll check it again in the morning, and I'll take a really good look at the snake after he digests. I'm not going to do anything about it until then anyway, I was just wondering if the water is typically a place that they might collect? Or if Aspen has a tendency to be dusty like that? I also have a really large piece of driftwood in the tank, but it was nuked prior to placement. The more I read, the more I think that it's NOT mites since I tried several of the specks and didn't get a blood smear from them, but again, they were in the water. *sigh* My ambien is kicking in. I apologize if this makes no sense.
tricksterpup
06-04-2008, 12:06 AM
First off, you don't have mites, your snake does.
I say when in doubt treat your cage and snake. I prefer washing my snake in luke warm water with generic hand soap. this will help get rid of any mites on the snake. I don't like harsh chemicals on my pet. Treating the cage should be helpful enough.
I would wash out the cage very well and then treat it with your remedy. I hope you are talking about Jay's Mite remedy using Nix. It works pretty good.
I would use newspaper for substrate until you can get this clear. Its not an easy task but you can do it.
Also, do regular checks on your snake by using a white damp terry cloth rag or dish cloth. This will also help you spot any mites on your snake when they rub off.
First off, you don't have mites, your snake does.
Ha! I knew someone was going to call me on that! :)
Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely do that. And yes, I was referring to the Nix formula. I saved the formula, and I will definitely treat just in case, especially since it's safe to do so. I'm just a bit surprised that I hadn't seen this before. It was really obvious in the water bowl, and I always look in the water to see if there's waste in it as he does have a tendency to use that as a depository. :rolleyes: I've had him for over a month....woudn't I have seen them prior?
I'm sorry for all the questions. I really did search the forum prior to posting, and found a lot of info, but not exactly what I was looking for.
TWGarland
06-04-2008, 04:12 AM
I've heard people say they think their snakes got mites from a bad batch of Aspen, so it must be a possibility, and might explain why you've only just noticed,
and yeah you do find drowned mites in the water bowl, thats often what people describe that they notice first.
A very good place to look for them is under the chin, just gently hold your snakes head, and have a good luck for those black speckles.
All the best with the treatments you've been given.
Tom
Thanks, Tom! I'll check him out well when he's out and about after digestion. Whether he seems to have them on him or not when I check, I'm going to go ahead and do a preventive treatment. He was in the petstore for two days, but he was also a co-habbed snake by the previous owner. I should have just done it way back then.
Interesting about the possibility of it coming from the Aspen, though. That would be frustrating. I use that for the kids' hamsters as well.
TWGarland
06-04-2008, 10:02 AM
Thanks, Tom! I'll check him out well when he's out and about after digestion. Whether he seems to have them on him or not when I check, I'm going to go ahead and do a preventive treatment. He was in the petstore for two days, but he was also a co-habbed snake by the previous owner. I should have just done it way back then.
Interesting about the possibility of it coming from the Aspen, though. That would be frustrating. I use that for the kids' hamsters as well.
Very frustrating! :angry01: I'm guessing its a hazard of buying shredded aspen from reptile based businesses, since the mites are snake specific they must have got into the aspen from other snakes. But for the same reason your hamsters will be ok. Thats my understanding of it anyway.
Fingers crossed your mite-less!
All the best
Tom
Piper
06-04-2008, 10:14 AM
I agree on using newspaper or white paper towel as a substrate for a few weeks. It will allow you to see any mites more easily, besides checking the water dish.
I freeze all my aspen for several days & the petshop bag goes right in the garbage downstairs.
Here's a info link about them:
http://www.anapsid.org/mites.html
ghosthousecorns
06-04-2008, 10:18 AM
Whenever i see a black speck I inspect it with a magnifying glass. Usually it's just a bit of substrate or something. If you have a whole bunch of them that doesn't sound promising, though.
Thanks again, everyone. Freezing the Aspen? Didn't even occur to me. I do freeze my dog food prior to opening, so hey, what's one more bag of stuff in my freezer? ;)
Snake Dave
06-04-2008, 10:43 AM
Just out of curiousity here, do you have any Exo-Terra Jungle Vines in your viv? Because I have those, and I thought I had mites once but it turned out to simply be bits of the vine that had fallen into the water bowl, LOL.
That said, it could quite easily be mites, and you've already had some great advice, so good luck! :)
Dave, I do have those! And actually, I was re-arranging it a bit during cleaning to hold the plants a bit better. Duh! Maybe that's why I wasn't getting blood from the "mites" in the bowl!!
Well, guess Cornelius is going to get a wipe down and close observation whether he likes it or not! Better safe than sorry, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you're correct! I'm getting the Nix formula today and will also be freezing the aspen just in case. I'll let ya know tomorrow what I find out!
Roy Munson
06-04-2008, 10:57 AM
You've been given some good advice, Lori. I might also add that usually mites like to hang out around in the space between a snake's eyeball and eye socket, and in the groove that runs down the middle of the chin and lower jaw. I hope you don't have a real problem. Either way, good luck!
Thanks, Dean....I hauled out my giant magnifying glass this morning, and have been doing the Sherlock Holmes routine around the tank, but he's still in his hide so I can't see him at all. Nothing in the water bowl this morning, but I'll give him a good once over tomorrow. Thanks again for all the advice and tips, folks!
Susielea
06-04-2008, 04:19 PM
Another thing that I do to check for mites is, take a moist white paper towel and let your corn crawl through it, while gently but firmly grasping it around him (do this after he's digested :) ). If there are mites present, you will usually get at least a couple come off on the paper towel and it will be easy to inspect them on the white background.
Good luck, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Dave found what the problem is and you don't have mites :)
Thanks, Susielea...I'm going to do that tomorrow. There were no specks in the bowl this morning, but looking just now, there are. However, the vine is also twisted in part directly above the water. I'm hoping Dave is correct, also, but we'll see for sure in the morning. Thanks for the well wishes. I'll keep you all posted, and thanks again for the great tips and advice!
So since he was out and about today, I did the washcloth trick. There were tons of specks in his water bowl, but only two on the cloth after I let him slide through it. They also weren't moving. It's just tiny specks. Shouldn't I expect them to be crawling or something? I couldn't really smash them much because they were so tiny, but there were no blood streaks either. I'm really thinking that this is aspen dust OR like Dave said, specks from the vines or driftwood. I looked around his eyes, under his chin, on his belly, etc with the magnifying glass...nothing. I think I panicked over dust. Thanks for humoring me, but also for the great advice. I'm sure I'll need it at some point in the future.
SnakesRule1234
06-05-2008, 08:58 PM
I've had mites a couple of times (I truly do have the best luck :rolleyes:) and whenever I looked at the paper towels and stuff the mites were moving and were big enough to kill and see the blood.
I think, in your case, it's not mites. But, I could be wrong so it'd be better to keep on checking.
Does anyone have a pic or two of mites? I have not been able to find any.
SnakesRule1234
06-06-2008, 03:51 PM
Google works...
Link. (http://www.boa-constrictors.com/com/Haltung/Milben.htm)
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