does my boa have mites?

[danthony428]

okay, i havent seen any little bugs or anything in the water, and he hasnt been soaking at all or anything, but everytime me or my girlfriend hold him, we are like itchy wherever he was, is this a mites problem, or whats going on do you think, if its mites, should i just go to petco and get reptile relief spray, or what should i do to take care of the mites problem before it goes crazy

[The Snake Guru]

Well the itching is rather odd, Take a real close look with flashlight around the head area, the eyes, nose, ect. mites will congrigate in these areas.

Reptile Relief works really well, just make sure if you are going to treat it, pull all the substrate out and only use newspaper, or paper towels until the treament is done. Also Replacing the substrate with white papertowels will help you identify a mite issue...much easier to spot them on white backround.

Good luck man! Let us know what you find out.

~B~

[danthony428]

Well the itching is rather odd, Take a real close look with flashlight around the head area, the eyes, nose, ect. mites will congrigate in these areas.

Reptile Relief works really well, just make sure if you are going to treat it, pull all the substrate out and only use newspaper, or paper towels until the treament is done. Also Replacing the substrate with white papertowels will help you identify a mite issue...much easier to spot them on white backround.

Good luck man! Let us know what you find out.

~B~

ya im pretty sure he has a case of mites, im going to go get reptile relief, and clean the hell out of his cage too, thanks man

[~Sweet Devil~]

One way to tell for sure...is if your boa is soaking a lot in his water. Look for little peppery flecks in the water. Or take a clean, damp, white cloth and let him run through your hands on it...any mites on the surface will come off and look like itty black pepper flecks. If so, reptile relief works ok to get them off, but you'll need something that kills the mite problem in the cage before it spreads to your other cages & collection.

[The Snake Guru]

Well on the plus side, Reptile Relief is gentle enough were treatment can be done even if it's only suspected. Just make sure any wood pieces or pourus materials in the cage get thrown....mites can hide in the smallest of cracks and get missed by the treatments then you'll have a reoccurance. Good luck!

~B~

[n5zow]

Can someone post a pic of a snake with mites? I would be interested in seeing that.... I hope I never see them for myself. Just would like to see them so I can identify them....

[Lorelei]

Being able to see the mite on a snake in a pic, probably isn't easy - but here is a pic of a mite magnified. It just looks like a little black pinhead.

http://www.boa-constrictors.com/Bilder/mitesKalleBerglofK.jpg

[The Snake Guru]

Yeah, trying to get a pic of a snake with mites would be near impossible....they are so small, they would just look like freckles on the snake's pattern. LOL

~B~

[Ionlylookinnocent]

id say to be safe, treat the snake for mites. My two boas when i got them had mites....i treated them like this:

-Soaked them in warm water (enough to cover their bodys) with a teaspoon of baby oil or mineral oil (will suffocate the mites)
-threw out the substrate/bedding
-Cleaned the cage and decor with half listerine/half water solution (will kill anything+smell like a hospital!)
-replaced with paper towel(so you can see the mites if they exsist) as a bottom for temporary until the mites cleared up....
-Used Equate/RID lice treatment (same as provent-a-mite) and sprayed down the cage and all around the cage and decor
-Used Reptile Relief on the snakes themselves (i got bit by my boa while applying it with a paper towel, i suggest spraying it in your hands and rubbing it on the snake as moves along through your hand)

I did this twice over a week and a half period... if you dont get it the first time, re do everything until it clears up, but usually one time is fine. If the snake soaks in its water dish, you need to redo the treatment.

Now..im mite free.. and there not soaking, and both have shed since (the oil will make them shed... but it may not be a good one)

[n5zow]

Being able to see the mite on a snake in a pic, probably isn't easy - but here is a pic of a mite magnified. It just looks like a little black pinhead.

http://www.boa-constrictors.com/Bilder/mitesKalleBerglofK.jpg


Looks like a tick really..... Grrrr..... I hated those damn things. I would walk in a field and and up with half a dozen on me.....

[Mike Greathouse]

-Soaked them in warm water (enough to cover their bodys) with a teaspoon of baby oil or mineral oil (will suffocate the mites)

Now..im mite free.. and there not soaking, and both have shed since (the oil will make them shed... but it may not be a good one)

I would caution against the oil treatments. As stated, the snakes will suffer from difficult sheds for anywhere from 2 to 6 months after such a treatment.

Replace the oil with a few drops of dish soap. The soap will break the surface tension of the water surrounding the mite and allow them to fall off and drown.

You will still want to treat for mites on both the snake and in the enclosure, but this is an excellent first step and will generally remove a good number of the offenders.

Good luck with your boa.

[n5zow]

Being able to see the mite on a snake in a pic, probably isn't easy - but here is a pic of a mite magnified. It just looks like a little black pinhead.

http://www.boa-constrictors.com/Bilder/mitesKalleBerglofK.jpg

I have a question..... What are the ingredients in Reptile Relief? Because I have a product called Mite Off.....The Active indredient is Sodium Laurel Sulfate at 0.1 percent......


Scott

[herpivore]

Yeah, trying to get a pic of a snake with mites would be near impossible....they are so small, they would just look like freckles on the snake's pattern. LOL

~B~

Correction = moving freckles :)

That's one thing I love about albinos - even the really big snakes are light enough that any mite stands out against the scale color! (that, and they're easy to find if they escape!)

[Lorelei]

Active Ingredients
dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate 2.1%
undecylenic acid 0.5%
Other Ingredients: 97.4%

[n5zow]

Thanks Lorelei..... Thank you for your reply.....

[Lorelei]

You're welcome :)

[dmnall]

I would caution against the oil treatments. As stated, the snakes will suffer from difficult sheds for anywhere from 2 to 6 months after such a treatment.

Replace the oil with a few drops of dish soap. The soap will break the surface tension of the water surrounding the mite and allow them to fall off and drown.

You will still want to treat for mites on both the snake and in the enclosure, but this is an excellent first step and will generally remove a good number of the offenders.

Good luck with your boa.

Soap works great, but not necessarily the oil will cause a bad shed though.. My boa when I first got her from a petstore was loaded with mites pretty bad and I did not know it.. At the time the only reptiles I had was a 5 foot blackthroat monitor who was clean from any parasites. She had a bad shed from not enough humidity but then I used mineral oil to suffocate the mites. Luckily I have not had any mites ever since... If you are using too much oil yeah, but even my arav vet, suggested the mineral oil as it will kill the mites as well... I have used both, and I prefer the oil because the mites will be coated and rinse the snake off no more mites... Reptile Relief works but not 100% it will take a few treatments before it eliminates the mites. I like the equate and using Listerine/water mix... *Equate around the cages and clean the cage with the listerine/water mix*.. Have to give Sam Bearden aka Juggalo and Jim Bebo Mason props about the the listerine/water mix...*

Charlie