RTB tic problem

[GOB]

Hi Guys,

I recently bough a red tail boa, she's 8 months old now, when I got her i noticed that she had small ticks crawling on her, after removing them I saw that there was a whole infestation in one of her hides, long story short I got rid of all the old substrate cleaned the whole enclosure out as well as all the hides etc. I've got her in a different enclosure now with new substrate, hides, branches etc but the tics seem to be back, she seems to sort them out herself by soaking for 2 - 3 days but they keep coming back.

How do I get rid of these little pests?

Thanks

[Mitton]

They are not ticks, they are mites and her soaking does not get rid of them unfortunatelly.

Do a search for mites here on the forum, you will get loads of info on how to get rid of them, it is not an easy thing to do.

Also do a search for Vapona.

[GOB]

Hi Mitton,

thanks for the reply, however I doubt these are mites, from what I've read mites are very hard to spot and they are white, the things crawling on my boa are very easy to spot, black and round and when you squeeze them between your finger tips they pop just like tics you find on dogs.

please feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.

[Mitton]

Google snake mites. They are black and look like small tics.

[Whitelipp]

Hi GOB

As Mitton mentioned these are mites. They are black yes. The problem by leaving the problem to "go away" by itself is that the mites tend to go under the snakes scales, in the eye sockets and this causes irritation and stress to the snake.
Just brows the forum there are many remedies and most of them work.

[GOB]

Google is our friend thanks for the info guys I really appreciate it. I'll do some research and kill them bastards

[Tars]

Best way to handle this is in my opinion, at least it worked for me, get some "spray on" Frontline, spray on a cloth and gently wipe the snake from head to tail, make sure it doesn't get in the snakes mouth as it is very strong and dangerous, but works like a charm for mites, once done, put the snake in a tub without a water bowl for 24 hours.

You will have to replace everything in the enclosure again, for now I would suggest to not put in any substrate, just go with newspaper for a month or 2 until you are sure the mites are gone!

Make sure you clean the whole enclosure properly before putting the snake back, check all crevices and holes, clean with hot water and soap solution.

You might want to clean the entire surface around the tub and give the carpet or tiles a good vacuum as mites travel quite fast.

Good luck, they are a evil bunch!!!

[GOB]

Awesome advice, thanks a lot!

from what I've read most people recommend the front line spray, the timing is pretty perfect as my boas enclosure is due for a clean.

Right! now where are those mites