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NO!!! IS it MITES!?!?

Baller99k

Baller99k

New member
I went to handle my 4 month old corn today, he had two little blacks circle bugs on him...

It had to have been mites, I got them both off..

What do I do now? Is it really bad?

could there be more in the tank?

Help me anyone

Thanks.
 
Change the substrate, clean absolutely everything with a good 5% or lower bleach solution and a bath for your baby would do good, too.
Some people recommend baby oil or olive oil, I find a long bath with the appropriate temp works just fine.
 
If in fact these were mites you need to completely bleach out the cage with a 10/90 solution of bleach and water soaking all items in the cage as well as the cage and allowing it to completely air dry on it's own. Look over your snake well with a loupe if you have one especially around the scales by the eyes as well as the rest of his/her body. Were these easy to pull off? Usually mites won't simply come off so I am wondering if these were mites, but a good cage cleaning still can't hurt.
 
They could have been mites, but they might have been little critters that were already living/hatching in your substrate or something else you put in there. They might have come from a neat piece of wood you got outside.. An infested food item.. Mites aren't difficult to get, but they aren't difficult to get rid of if you watch what comes in contact with your snake and its belongings either. My favorite favorite FAVORITE thing to use for mites is jojoba oil (it makes one heck of a cosmetic product too). It is very similar to naturally secreted sebum, so it shouldn't irritate him so long as it doesn't go directly into his eyes.

Get yourself a bucket and a measuring cup (or any container) and fill up all or half of it with bleach, then throw in ten full of water. If you use half or less, you should let it sit until the excess water evaporates. If you use more than half, wipe the sides dry.

Watch for signs of irritation or any more funky little bugs!
 
Hello...
I went through my own bout of snake mites. And yeah, its gross, disgusting and just nasty. There is a product I used that worked completely for me...its called Reptile Relief, and I got it at Petland Discounts. It was a two application treatment (one a week) and it went on the snakes...the directions are on the bottle....and you also can use it to clean the tank.

Because I was so grossed out, I used that in addition to cage scrubbings with rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide (dont use either on the snake...just Reptile Relief on the creature). Ive read conflicting things about oils on snakes....some sites say its fine, others say it can cause a health risk.

I wish you the best of luck, and my flesh is now crawling in psychosomatic sympathy.

Sincerely,
Susan
 
Oh god...Looks Like I have a lot of cleaning to do.

So basically do my usual monthly change in substrate...and bleach everything.

Then check the snake again, and give him a bath.

About the bath, do I put him in something completely covered in lukewarm water at the bottom? or do i give him some area that's dry? And how long of a bath?

Thanks you guys..
 
How many snakes/herps do you own? The WORST thing about mites is how easily your whole collection can become infested. Black Knight 2 is the *best* product out there, but it's been recalled (again) right now. Reptile Relief does work, Reptilebasics.com has the best price on it I've found. There are other products for human lice that are effective, if somewhat toxic.
Mites generally look like a ground piece of pepper, and you'll usually spot them first drowned in the water bowl.
 
Hi there....
Oh my yes, tons of cleaning. I dont envy you. As for the bleach, I advise extreme caution, as snakes are so delicate and sensitive and can be burned if the bleach is the wrong proportions. I found Reptile Relief rather easy, and it is marketed as safe to use...at least, my five suffered no harm from it.

Oh, if you have more than one snake...treat them all, and their cages at the same time...else its possible they can reinfect each other. Mites can hitch rides on things and so travel.

Good luck again,
Sincerely,
Susan
 
Baller99k said:
Oh god...Looks Like I have a lot of cleaning to do.

So basically do my usual monthly change in substrate...and bleach everything.

Then check the snake again, and give him a bath.

About the bath, do I put him in something completely covered in lukewarm water at the bottom? or do i give him some area that's dry? And how long of a bath?

Thanks you guys..
Click to expand...

If you go the bath route, make sure the temp is between 80-82 degrees. It will feel cool to you, so make sure you check it before you put your baby in.
As for depth, just deep enough so the snake can touch the bottom but be submerged, if that makes any sense.

What type of substrate do you use?
Before you put it in, bake it or throw it in the microwave to kill the buggies that might be in it.
 
get a gallon jug of distilled(has to be distilled) water and a 59ml bottle of Nix(stuff for lice).

squirt Nix into the water but go slow Nix is thick stuff. after all the Nix is in put the cap back on and shake to combine...this will take a few minutes as like i said the Nix is thick. then put some in a clean unused spray bottle and spray the snake, its home(the outside too), and its hides.

put the mix in a place away from light as light will break it down.


i used this when two of my boas and one of my corns had mites and it worked great..and is very inexpensive to make.
 
I only have one snake. I use aspen bedding. Before using the new aspen, wuts the best way to clean it? Microwave? freezer?

What could have caused it?

I put in two new decoration statues, I only washed them with water and forgot about bleach...

Or. I put in a new batch of aspen, that had been put in the freezer before, but this was the second batch of it that I had in a bag in my room until next months cleaning and substrate change....

So tomor I am going to clean the tank and all the hides with bleach...then give petey a water bath...and change the aspen.

god dammit.
 
Baller99k said:
Also, how long do i bath him for???


Thanks everyone who is helping.
Click to expand...


For about 20-30 minutes just to be on the safe side.
If it wasn't frozen before, there shouldn't be any mites in it.
I would re-wash everything with the bleach solution though.
Also! I forgot about this part, but take the aspen out and use paper towels for a few days to monitor your snake. You can see the mites on the paper towels.

Were the black dots you saw running around? Were they hard to pluck off?
 
I guessed the typo haha. thx,

I was just going to ask about the paper towels. will do.

All ive noticed so far (without thoroughly looking), was 2 dots on my corn. Both moved a bit when i tried to get them on my finger. I got both off, and one was bloody when i killed it.

This sucks...

Im a first time reptile/snake owner..
 
Well it sounds like you caught them early, so don't get overly stressed about it but make sure you take care of the problem.
They usually have something for mites at all pet stores, so I would look around.
I've heard about the nix solution and a lot of people like it, but it just makes me nervous.
I'd rather use something made for reptiles, you know?
I'm not stepping on anybody's toes, though.
 
Ya I agree, Im gonna clean the tank and everything inside, run my corn through a damp towel, and use paper towels as substrate...

If I see them again i'll buy reptile relief or something.
 
Baller99k said:
Ya I agree, Im gonna clean the tank and everything inside, run my corn through a damp towel, and use paper towels as substrate...

If I see them again i'll buy reptile relief or something.
Click to expand...

Ok, I recommend going to walmart and picking up the Equate Bedding spray, lice treatment. Its about $4 for a 5 oz can. I recommend using this or nix.
Here is the Nix Formula that Jay put up, it works good.

As for washing the snake, yes it helps get mites off the snake. I like using just regular hand soap and use this to wash off your snake. This doesn't harm the animal but helps get the mites off. Do not get any on the snake's head. This should help your pet.

Also remember to treat the cage and around the cage. Mites crawl and move around. So spraying the cage and the area that you had it is a good idea.

Again toss out that aspen. Its cheap I buy huge bags of it for $5. I suggest using paper towel or newspaper for the next few months before adding aspen again.
 
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