problems with my corn

hello all,

I 've been having having problems with mites on my snake...i kept thinking they i was getting rid of them but them last night i looked underneath my baby corn snake and he had a bunch under his head ...they were kind of embedded in his skin...so i had to sit there and remove all of them with a toothpick...by the way he released his fluids on me while i was doing that..
this was very upsetting for me since i dont want my snake to get hurt or become sick...the only explanation i can get from this is because i bought him from PETCO and when i went there to check on the other ones there they all had mites on them....so please be careful if ur buy snakes from PETCO....
i was wondering if there was anything i can put on my snake to be sure they all die if any or still there on him....someone told me to put him in mineral oil...would this be a good idea?..

thanks for the help
greg

Go to a specialist reptile vet and get your snake sorted out. You'll also want to completely disinfect the viv. You can buy some mite-figthing treatments from various online shops if you want to try something else before the vet.

You need to treat the environment (the cage and all the stuff in it) to get rid of the mites. First, throw away all the bedding that is in the tank. Use white paper towels for right now. You will be able to see any mites that drop off your snake with the white paper towels. I would advise throwing away everything that cannot be safely bleached. Then bleach all the furnishings-water bowls, hide boxes, etc. I would use empty paper towel rolls for hide boxes for the next few weeks while you treat for mites. Replace them every time you treat the cage. Buy some proventamite (use a search engine to find where to order it, if you don't have a specialty pet shop around you). Use the proventamite on the cage and all the furnishings. Be very careful to follow ALL the directions on the spray can. You may need to treat more than once. Sitting there and picking them off the snake is not useful (and is very frustrating). There will always be more that you cannot see. If you have other reptiles or birds, quarantine the snake and care for the uninfested animals first. Then after you get done caring for the poor snake that has mites, take a shower, throw your clothes in the washer with hot water and bleach (if possible) to kill any that you have picked up.
sue