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mites :(

F

Fletcher

New member
I saw a mite on Phoenix's head today when he was peeking out from one of his hides, and I took him out to see if I could find it/them and even after a couple minutes of looking closely and from multiple angles couldn't find it again. I also let him slide through my fingers to see if any would come off and none did. A couple questions:

1. Are there places on corn snakes that mites tend to prefer? I'd really like to see a mite again just to confirm that that's what I saw in the first place, but...
2. Is the fact that I couldn't see any a sign that it's not a big infestation at the moment, or am I just not looking hard enough, or...?
3. Phoenix is out of blue but hasn't yet shed; does that affect the way I should approach this?

General advice is also appreciated; I know there are treatments that can be bought, but maybe one is better than another; I've also heard that it's easier to switch to newspaper/paper towels rather than aspen during treatment. Any other tips would be great!
 
Update: I've looked more closely at his head, around his eyes, on the underside of his jaw, and I still don't see anything. Part of me wants to think what I saw was a fruit fly (I've been seeing them in my room the last few days), but that feels like wishful thinking...I just don't know how to confirm that it's mites, I'm worried that even if I take him to the vet maybe he just won't have any on him?? But I guess at that point I would just have to clean the tank + decorations.

Another question: how large are mites? I remember seeing legs but the pictures I'm seeing online don't seem to show them being big enough for easily visible legs...
 
I would give your snake a bath to see if it in fact has mites. A 15 minute bath in water deep enough for the snakes body to be fully submerged but shallow enough for it to keep his head above water. If he has mites then they will drown and you will see them in the water. Adult mites are a little larger than this period .
 
+ 1 re: daddio's advice. The other thing you can do is switch substrate to pure white paper towels, another way to see mites easily and easy to disinfect if need be. If there are mites, any wood decoration(s) are highly advised to be thrown out, mites can seek long-term refuge within wood including their eggs.
 
Thanks, guys! I was planning to do a just-in-case cleaning of the tank this weekend anyway, so I'll give him a bath at/around the same time and switch to paper towels.
 
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