title asks it all really. i was cleaning out my snake's home today and i saw a tiny (literaly extremly small) little bug running on the tissue. is this a snake mite? i have looked on my snakes body and all seems to be fine, i can't see anything such as mites etc

Look in the water bowl they look like this Mites in snake's water dish

The snake will also spend a lot of time soaking in the water. The other way would be to dampen a bit of kitchen roll and allow the snake to run through your hands and see if anything comes off.
They look like little bits of pepper.

I only know this because its what ive been having to do yesterday.

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another good way i use is to take a digital photograph in macro mode of the snakes eye (this is the first place mites tend to head) then zoom in, you will see the little B******S around it.

Thanks so much!

yup seems to have mites then!!! grrr, how do i get rid of them???

Believe it or not with other mites........they are called Defender mites do a quick search for them and the link for the shop should come up i think its something like defenders.co.uk
Thats what we have ordered and we have been told they will do the job, just waiting for ours to arrive.
If you have other snakes you can bet it wont be long before the mites are on them as well :(

Good luck

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order some provent a mite from the USA it works a treat.

This may help. It's a thread on going on the Ball Python Forum;

Mites !!!!

hmm interesting,i've looked at my snake again and there is no sign of them. the things i saw on the tissue where wayyyyy smaller than that i'm dead confused now.

I did pop into a reptile shop and they said because my snake is still a baby, i can't use any medications on it. so i have to bathe it in warm water and put olive oil on it's skin. but looking at those pictures, i don't think they were mites

they are small at first when they hatch and your pet shop are talking b******s, i've used provent a mite on newly born garters and they are way more delicate than a baby royal ,as long as you follow the instructions on the can it is fine. Mites might be small but if left untreated can cause serious health issues.

When I had a case of mites (from a local rep shop!) this is the process I used and they disappeared first time.....

1. Break down any vivs/rubs and ditch everything (branches, substrate,fake plants etc).
2. Frontline every viv/rub thoroughly.
3. Frontline each snake - basically sprayed the frontline on a dish cloth and pulled the snake through it (minding mouth, eyes, nose and vent).
4. Soak each snake in a water & olive oil mix for 10 mins, if the frontline missed any this will get them.
5. ARDAP every viv/rub/rack nook and cranny thoroughly. ARDAP all around the vivs/rubs/whole rack including sides/tops etc. ARDAP the floor around the base of the vivs/rubs/racks.
6. Wait 1-2 hours then replace all snakes in the vivs/rubs using only kitchen roll as substrate for the next 2 weeks.

You'll need the 250ml frontline from your local vets (around £35-£40) and 1 or 2 cans of ARDAP £12 per can off fleabay. All depends how big your rep room is. My advice would be to treat the snakes that have the mites, any near them then take all your reps out and ARDAP as many surfaces as you can including ALL vivs/rubs/racking. ARDAP has a 6 week life span so breaks the life cycle of a mite.

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