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Coby has ticks or mites - inc Very detailed pics

R

R B Customs

New member
Hi guys,

I've had my corn for a few days now, and after my first mite scare ( which turned out to be an aspen mite) I have been a little on edge.


I noticed the other day that he had 2 raised scales under his jaw, I figured it could be because he keeps trying to squeeze in andf out of little gaps, and maybe off brushing against his coconut hide.

tickexample2ro1.jpg


When i got in from work today, i had a look and he was coiled up, and i saw another raised scale about 1/4 down his body, and quickly took a photo.

After looking at the next few pics, you will easily see that this is the same critter, feeding off my snake, you can see the legs.
tickexample1fu9.jpg


Is it a mite or a tick?

At the time, Coby was sitting on his tree, so i oulled the tree out, with him still sitting on it, and just then i saw somethign crawling on the leaf.
I managed to track it down, and got some photo's...

tickforrealhf5.jpg

As you can see, it appears to be filled with blood, and looks the same as the on ion the above picture ( it probs is! )

I took the snake out, removed the bedding and put him abck in a spare viv, I inpected the bedding ( kitchen roll at the moment) andd it took me a while but i did see something move! heres the pics...
emptytickbn4.jpg


It is the same as the critter above, but does not seem to have fed off the snake yet. It was smaller, faster and harder to photograph. and i swear i saw this thing crawl through one side of the kitchen roll, through to the other! no wonder they can get under snakes scales.


For now i have completly cleaned and scrubbed a new viv with reptile disinfectant, scrubbed a resin hiude to within an inch of its life, and 'nuked' a bowl of fresh aspen shavings in the mircrowave with some water added untitil i could hear it sizzle. I have let it cool and placed it in the fresh viv with the frsh hide and bowl.

I also have the whole viv sitting on top of a sheet of foil, with a bead of vasolean all the way around it so absolutly nothing can crawl into the viv... nothing.

before i put him back in i gave him an inspection and could not see any raised scales, or attached mites.

I'm gonna give the shop i got him from a call tomorrow as i really dont think it is very cool to get a hatchling snake with so many problems :(





please note:
The pictures were taken with a 1:1 macro lense, so the tick / mite may look big!, also remember that it is a hatchling snake, so the scales make the cdritter look even bigger. the critter is absolutly tiny!
 
Can you count the legs? It looks like a tick to me, now. Better than mites, I guess.
 
Nanci said:
Can you count the legs? It looks like a tick to me, now. Better than mites, I guess.
Click to expand...

it is VERY hard to tell, In most pictures, it seems like there are 6 legs, and 2 feelers at the front.

but in others it look slike there are 8 legs, and 2 feelers at the front.

very hard to tell though. Mites have 8 legs, ticks have 6?
 
I dunno, but mites/ticks are a pain in the arse to get rid of...
Just make sure not to buy from that shop again as the other snakes or pets probably have them too...
 
SnakesRule1234 said:
I dunno, but mites/ticks are a pain in the arse to get rid of...
Just make sure not to buy from that shop again as the other snakes or pets probably have them too...
Click to expand...

I hope we can get him sorted, And I hope I have at least prevented anythign from spreading too fast until i can look at him tomorrow after work. I'm going to have to bath him again. He just want shoot over the side of the tub, as if trying to escape. any tips?

Just had another look at him and cant see any raised scales anymore, and no irritation or anything.
 
LBoz said:
Check this treatment method out for mites!

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52545&highlight=homemade+mite
Click to expand...

Thanks for that!

I have read about Nix before probably here:
"There exists a popular reptile care site on the Internet that discusses the toxicity of Nix...":laugh:

However, having read through that guide,. and the tiny concentrations needed. It is worth a try for sure.
Is 'Nix' availible in the UK? or is it an american product, if not... is there an alternative? And when the Author says to spray it all over the snake and the tank, does it need to be rinsed afterwards, or can it be left to dry?

Thanks for the help guys, You're really helping to put my mind at rest.

kcaven:
Thanks, I really don't seem to be having much luck with this little fella do I ! It's not exactly something you can take back to the shop for an exchange either. Just I dont feel happy having to deal with this on the 5th day of owning a snake! theres no other reptiles in my house, where on earth could snake mites have come from!

I'm sure the little dude is worth all of this fussing over.


Thanks again,
Rick ( and smurfy)
 
Smurfy! What a cute name!

As for Nix in the UK, maybe someone over there knows, but the active ingredient is Permethrin (1%) so look for that in the available lice treatments in your local pharmacy.

And yes, spray the snake and substrate and let it dry. No rinsing is necessary.
 
LBoz said:
Smurfy! What a cute name!

As for Nix in the UK, maybe someone over there knows, but the active ingredient is Permethrin (1%) so look for that in the available lice treatments in your local pharmacy.

And yes, spray the snake and substrate and let it dry. No rinsing is necessary.
Click to expand...

Smurfy is my girlfriend... she is regestered here somewehere... I guess I just do all the talking lol. Coby is her snake too, just he lives at my house, and his food has to stay at hers

the most popular lice treatement over here is full marks. I've never heard of Nix.
I'll have a look at the active ingredients though...

Thanks
 
It's not a cream like a tube, but yes, a heavy type of solution. If they have the same ingredient, it should be save if you follow Jay's formula mixture correctly. Good luck! I just recently thought I had a mite infestation. I hope this works out for you. Bringing home a new pet and finding those problems is not fun.
 
Just wanted to point out that's NOT the same active ingredient, Nix has Permethrin, Full Marks is Phenothrin!
 
Good catch! I missed that. Although they're both pyrethroids, you might want to see if you can find a permethrin based treatment so you can follow Jay's forumla to the letter.
 
That looks like a tick----mites are much smaller than that.

Just give your snake a good once over---you don't need to do a nix treatment for ticks....just pluck em off.
 
seems like you've already got advice for irradicating these little pests, but to prevent this in the future, any substrate you are to use in the future can be stuck in the freezer for a few days, in order to kill any "buggies" that might be in there.

it doesn't happen often, but you can sometimes get aspen mites, which is no fault of the pet store, but it does happen. it never hurts to be safe, just put that aspen in the freezer!
 
One thing that I heard that you can use for ticks (on yourself or anything else) is soft soap. Just put a small glob right on the tick. They will not be able to breath and will pull out--I think vaseline will work too. Both of these would be safe for the snake.

Nancy
 
Hi guys,

Its been a few days now, Coby seems to be free of ticks.
There are no raised scales anymore either.

I'm going to leave the tank on the foil + vasolene barrier for now aswell... just incase!

I have a feeling that the coconut hide that i got him could have carried te ticks in the first place ( even though it got soaked in disinfectant before being put in the tank! )

I'm still keeping a very close eye on him though, as i know there is still time for ticks or mites to 'hatch'


Coby himself seems fine, he is eating fine, he hides or sleeps most of the day, and wakes up at around 11PM and goes bonkers... very active. I havnt seen him sitting in his waterbowl yet, so that could be a good sign too.


thanks again for the support... Ill keep everyone posted..

Rick
 
Hello everyone new member here who has never posted on a forum before, ever!

Im Cobys other owner and until tonight we've had no more problems ... when Rick, (a.k.a RB Customs) saw a mite :(

Just wondering which type of Nix to buy as when looking on the website i saw there is a creme rinse and a spray, which should we use?

Well that wasn't as scary as i thought haha i wish id posted on here sooner :)
 
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