mites.

[Lulu Bennett]

I know there has been quite a few threads on this but i cant remember what is said in them.
oh and its not with my garters...YET! so please help before it is.

As most of you know i bought a boa from a young lad that was misstreating it.
It was quite active at first because it was in a new enclosure but it seems to be more and more attracted to his water bowl. (this alone should have been a light bulb in my head). but this morning it finally slithered out of his bowl so i has a look in it and found some quite big black things. i squished one between my nails and found black slime on me.
I was wondering how big mites were? also how do i treat him for them?
thanks guys xxxxxxxxxxx

[Stefan-A]

Could be ticks?

[Lulu Bennett]

what is the difference? what makes you say that? oh and can they get under my skin?

[Stefan-A]

Mites are tiny and run around, ticks are bigger and usually buried under or between scales.

[Lulu Bennett]

can they get under my skin? how would these be picked up? how do i get rid of these?

[Sid]

Lulu, below is a link to previous discussions on your problem. Isolate the infected snake from other ASAP. Any time you handle it wash extensively, all the way to the elbows before handling the un-infected ones so you don't spread them.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/general-talk/341-mites.html

[zooplan]

Ticks have to be picked with a special typ of forceps.
To fight mites there are several ways. All start with cleaning cages and periphery.
While doing this you may give the snake a bath with one (1) drop of soap that will cause some more mites to go off the snake.
Here we have an "insect killer" called Frontline maybe its the same in UK.
You should not use it on the snake because the dissolvers in it are very bad to reptiles.
You can spray it on the walls of your enclosure and let dry out.
There it will work for four weeks or at least until the next cleaning.

[Lulu Bennett]

so there is not a chance it is ticks? i am guessing it is the same treatment?

[drache]

Lulu, below is a link to previous discussions on your problem. Isolate the infected snake from other ASAP. Any time you handle it wash extensively, all the way to the elbows before handling the un-infected ones so you don't spread them.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/general-talk/341-mites.html

yes
and I also change my clothes after I handle a snake with mites and before approaching other snakes
don't worry about the mites or ticks getting under your skin - they're pretty species specific

[Lulu Bennett]

don't worry about the mites or ticks getting under your skin - they're pretty species specific

lol good its just i became quite ichy and i wasn't sure if it was just the thought of it lol

[Lulu Bennett]

as i said though these were quite big, alot bigger than i thought mites were.
i will be taking all precausions anyway although he might have something to say about that as i have not tamed him that much lol
i see some nasty bites coming my way lol bugger!!!!!!!!!!!

[drache]

lol good its just i became quite ichy and i wasn't sure if it was just the thought of it lol

I get itchy when I even think of mites
and when I take care of the snakes that do have them, I always feel like the damn bugs are all over me and I'm gonna spread them to the rest of the world

[Lulu Bennett]

lol rhea. i am glad it isn't just me lol

[Bay_area]

Alright, I am going to let you in on the best most effective way to get rid of mites & it will only cost $5. All major reptile dealers I know use this even when they sell the customer the expensive stuff.

Hearts 2 in 1 powder for cats available @ K-mart. only this brand carries the active ingredient to kill mites. Make sure it is the one for cats & not dogs


1. spinkle the powder in a plastic container with a couple of pieces of newsprint.
2. put the affected snake in the container.
3. Clean out the snakes enclosure the best you can. after cleaning the enclosure, make sure it is dried good. sprinkle the powder thoughout the bottom of the enclosure. Then cover with whatever substrate you use. (I use aspen 1) this will kill the mites that will hatch from the eggs that are in the enclosure.
4. By this time most of the mites should have fallen off the snake. You will see "black specks" in the plastic container, those are the mites. Place the snake back in its enclosure.
5. Dispose of the powder & newsprint in a plastic bag.

I have used this treatment for over 12 years now. Whenever I have acquired a new snake I treat it this way for mites. I have no mite problem & have over 60 snakes. any questions, feel free to contact me.

[enigma200316]

Alright, I am going to let you in on the best most effective way to get rid of mites & it will only cost $5. All major reptile dealers I know use this even when they sell the customer the expensive stuff.

Hearts 2 in 1 powder for cats available @ K-mart. only this brand carries the active ingredient to kill mites. Make sure it is the one for cats & not dogs


1. spinkle the powder in a plastic container with a couple of pieces of newsprint.
2. put the affected snake in the container.
3. Clean out the snakes enclosure the best you can. after cleaning the enclosure, make sure it is dried good. sprinkle the powder thoughout the bottom of the enclosure. Then cover with whatever substrate you use. (I use aspen 1) this will kill the mites that will hatch from the eggs that are in the enclosure.
4. By this time most of the mites should have fallen off the snake. You will see "black specks" in the plastic container, those are the mites. Place the snake back in its enclosure.
5. Dispose of the powder & newsprint in a plastic bag.

I have used this treatment for over 12 years now. Whenever I have acquired a new snake I treat it this way for mites. I have no mite problem & have over 60 snakes. any questions, feel free to contact me.


so I'm guessing theres no harm to the snake short term or long!!!!!

[Lori P]

A natural treatment for any type of creepy crawly is diatomaceous earth... then you wouldn't have to worry about chemicals. You'd dust the snake and line the cage with it. Just a thought.

[Bay_area]

so I'm guessing theres no harm to the snake short term or long!!!!!


None that I know of. Even the major reptile stores use this. They may sell the other stuff, but go into their back rooms that is what they use. East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley does sell it on the floor. I know Gillingham uses it too @ GVS in Lodi.
I probly would not use it with herps that eat insects:rolleyes:

[brandon0133]

i had a python with mites,,,if theres alot of them and there crawling all over the snake then its mites,,,im guessing if it was 1 or 2 then it would be ticks

[Bay_area]

i had a python with mites,,,if theres alot of them and there crawling all over the snake then its mites,,,im guessing if it was 1 or 2 then it would be ticks
mites look black & pop when you pinch them:eek:

[rancor_]

mites look black & pop when you pinch them:eek:
this depends on the stage of development they are in, of if they've fed.
What is the active carcinogen in the death cocktail you just listed, I cant find anything online. Cant be Dichlorvos as this does some nasty things to cats that it doesnt do to dogs.
There are MUCH better / safer ways than pesticides, chemicals and poisons....

[brandon0133]

some of the mites on my snake were white and some where black,,,the ones i seen crawling where white and the ones under the scales were little round black bugs

[Sid]

some of the mites on my snake were white and some where black,,,the ones i seen crawling where white and the ones under the scales were little round black bugs
The smaller white one are hatchlings and the black one mature....mites

[Lulu Bennett]

i have been very busy today. i went to the pet store and 'borrowed' some mite spray (a leave on one) and then cleaned out taurus's viv and bathed him (he really didn't like that lol). it took me ages but it is all done now. we will see if they start falling off. this better work before it spreads. :(

[adamanteus]

Let us know how you get on Lulu. I have heard that 'Front-Line' is pretty effective, and that's readily available and easy to use.

[brandon0133]

mite off started killing them right away,,i mean soon as i sprayed it on,,,then i washed him off which he sure did not like,,he tried to bite me,,,python,,,,,,

[brandon0133]

well i was just looking at my new garter and guess what,,,mites,,,soon as i seen them i sprayed all 3 garters that share the inclosure,,,hope to not see anymore,,there little white mites,,,also i wanted to ask a quick question,,i have a what i think to be female garter snake,,shes grown aaaaaalot sense i got her and now shes eating everything in site and acting jumpy which is not normal for her,,she spends alot of time laying with the male also,,,does anyone think she might be gravid? shes about 3 1/2 ft long,,,im guessing shes adult sense shes so big,,the what i think to be male is about 3 ft long,,one has a narrow head and the other has a strong muscular looking head,,,

[Lulu Bennett]

mite off started killing them right away,,i mean soon as i sprayed it on,,,then i washed him off which he sure did not like,,he tried to bite me,,,python,,,,,,

i havn't gone near him since i sprayed him untill i finished work at about an hour ago and i nelt down and looked into the tank and he saw me and slithered over... tried biting me. luckly the glass was in the way, i just hope he didn't hurt himself as i dont fancy going in at the moment. lol

[adamanteus]

It sounds like quite an aggressive Boa you have there Lulu. I thought they were usually pretty docile, maybe he doesn't like you!:D

[Lulu Bennett]

It sounds like quite an aggressive Boa you have there Lulu. I thought they were usually pretty docile, maybe he doesn't like you!:D
Charmin!!!
To be totally honest i actually thought it had calmed down for a while, especially when i bathed him but maybe you are right! i honestly thought i could help him.
But he hadn't been held in a good 5 months and the pet shop had told Jordan (the 15yr old i got him from) that he is just to put the food in the tank, so for a good while he hadn't eaten because he couldn't see movement. then he had one mouse 2 weeks before i got him and that was it untill i started feeding him every 5 days to fatten him up again. and to top it all off he has got mites and probably feels very uncomfortable to say the least.
i really want to help him and to find someone that can love him the way i love my babies, but noone seems to want him...
where do i go from here?

[adamanteus]

Can't you find a buyer? I thought they were popular snakes still.

[Lulu Bennett]

Can't you find a buyer? I thought they were popular snakes still.

I had to be honest and tell then it bit me on my first day with him and no one is now interested. i have advertised on here and a few other sites but still no-one wants him and to be honest i am not suprised.

[brandon0133]

put a glove on when u hold him,,,hes upset,,,let him know its ok by holding him with a leather glove on

[Cazador]

Just a reminder that most mite treatments only kill the adults & hatchlings. It takes hatchlings about 2 weeks to reach reproductive maturity, so in order to be effective, you must apply two treatments at 10-14 day intervals. This kills the adults with the first treatment, and it kills any hatchlings about 10 days later after they've hatched but before they reproduce. Persistent treatments like Frontline work in a similar manner, but they actually penetrate the snake's skin and permeate to the adult and developing mites in order to kill them. Proper doseage is essential.

Rick

[brandon0133]

if ure calm with the boa he wont bite u,,u need to hold him,,,if u have to get a glove on and a long sleve shirt so if he does bite it wont hurt,,i ran into the same thing with mine,,now shes fine,,no more biteing,,just got to show her whos boss,,lol,,i think if u show her that biting dont hurt u and it wont deture u then she will stop biteing,,,but i could be wrong its just something i tried and it worked for me

[Lulu Bennett]

i read the instructions and it said the same as you, between 10-14 days, so i will be doing that.
also brandon, i have given him much through and i will NOT give up on him. i am to stuborn(Im Taurus, hence his new name) i will not let him get the better of me and i will not let him get looked over when he could have the chance of a happy life. thanks for sharing your experience, i really appreciate it xxx

[brandon0133]

that sounds awsome,,i was not going to give up on mine either and he turned out great now

[drache]

this is an odd sort of question perhaps
are mites somewhat species specific?
the one time I had mites spread into other tanks, they only spread to other garter tanks, not to the kings or hogs

[Stefan-A]

I don't know much about mites, but it does happen in nature that organisms choose a species depending on what is available and where they themselves have come from. If garters have proven to be good hosts, why gamble and try a king? It could also be something about garters that make them extra easy.

But I doubt they would be unable to infect another species if necessary.

[adamanteus]

As far as I'm aware, snake mites can infect any snake species (Ophionyssus natricis). I might be wrong though.

[drache]

that's what I thought as well
it just seemed odd at the time
perhaps they have a preference - something like the kind of snake they grew up on

[brandon0133]

well my garters have them now,,,my boa had them before and now the garters,,, my corns and new python dont have them so ive been lucky so far,,trying to wash my hands alot when touching them,,all the way up to my shoulders,,,going to get some more mite stuff today,,,these mites are tiny and white,,i dont see any adults

[adamanteus]

that's what I thought as well
it just seemed odd at the time
perhaps they have a preference - something like the kind of snake they grew up on

To be honest, Rhea, I think you were just plain lucky!:)

[brandon0133]

i just got done treating my 175 gallon tank,,boy that was a few hours of work,,,,i had to take all the dirt out and i removed the turtle tank also,,,which required moveing all the water out first,,then the wood chips,,which i got rid of it all,,,everything was removed,,then i sprayed mite spray all in the tank then new bedding,,,i removed the snakes first of course and sprayed them with mite spray and ran warm water in the bath tub,,u should have seen them swimming around,,it was awsome,,anyways,,cleaned them up and put them in the cleaned up tank,,will continue to spray the tank untill no more are seen,,which i dont see any right now,,took about 14....10 gallon bags of dirt and wood chips out,,there big rock and all other things in the tank,,took atleast 3 hrs of work,,lol,,all the fake greens were scalded in hot water for about 1 hr then sprayed off with hot water then put back in the tank

[Sid]

i just got done treating my 175 gallon tank,,boy that was a few hours of work,,,,i had to take all the dirt out and i removed the turtle tank also,,,which required moveing all the water out first,,then the wood chips,,which i got rid of it all,,,everything was removed,,then i sprayed mite spray all in the tank then new bedding,,,i removed the snakes first of course and sprayed them with mite spray and ran warm water in the bath tub,,u should have seen them swimming around,,it was awsome,,anyways,,cleaned them up and put them in the cleaned up tank,,will continue to spray the tank untill no more are seen,,which i dont see any right now,,took about 14....10 gallon bags of dirt and wood chips out,,there big rock and all other things in the tank,,took atleast 3 hrs of work,,lol,,all the fake greens were scalded in hot water for about 1 hr then sprayed off with hot water then put back in the tank
Best of luck. The main thing is to followup as you are already planning. I'm having a minor problem with two of my enclosures, but looking like it's now under control.

[brandon0133]

looks at the size of my tank,,lol
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_5361.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_5359.jpg
my garters
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_5353.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_5355.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_5356.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_5358.jpg

[drache]

To be honest, Rhea, I think you were just plain lucky!:)

I think you're right
I forget sometimes what a lucky person I am
I should be more appreciativei

[Lulu Bennett]

i thought i would be safe rather than sorry yesterday.
I bathed and treated all four of my garters.
(the marcys loved the bath lol but the tetras hated it and kept propping themselves in the corners of the bath just out of the water, then the marcys would swim over and knock them in lol it was soooo funny.)
anyway i cleaned both vivs and now they have their hide and a bowl of water in there. i feel so crule doing this to them but i would never forgive myself if i did pass them the mites.

[drache]

I've been going the totally non-toxic route with my little mite outbreak here and it seems to be working
I haven't seen any fully grown mites for a while in any case
since the treatment doesn't tox the snakes and some of them seem to enjoy it, I'll just be continuing with the treatment twice a week for a month or so
it just involves very thorough tank cleaning, bathing the snakes and slathering them with oil
it feels a bit like running a snake spa
btw - I got this little bottle of snake oil and it's so nice, I've started using it on myself

[CrazyHedgehog]

mites look black & pop when you pinch them:eek:

I saw a tiny white dot running around on one of my snakes heads, I have seen white things before on the glass of another tank a while ago...
In both cases, I have cleaned the tanks thoroughly, sprayed with household flea spray, and then cleaned again.
The snakes, I have used frontline, dotted onto a cotton cloth and then wiped the snakes before putting them backin. seems to get rid of anything moving.

But my question is...everyone keepstalking about red or black moving objects... these are tiny, only just visible, and quite distinctively white! Are they mites? are mites colour co-ordinated?:rolleyes:

[drache]

when they're little, they're white
then they grown via brown to black
and when you pop them they're red inside (blood)

[Lulu Bennett]

when they're little, they're white
then they grown via brown to black
and when you pop them they're red inside (blood)

When i popped the one i found in the water bowl on my new boa, it was black inside???:confused:

[drache]

When i popped the one i found in the water bowl on my new boa, it was black inside???:confused:

hm
interesting
can't say mine have popped red every time
sometimes it is just a black smear
perhaps those are ones that have been dead for a while - or hungry
maybe the red ones have just feasted on snake blood