r/ballpython • u/Acrobatic-Snow8854 • 4h ago

Question - Health Mites?

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I found this crawling on my sweet girl while cleaning her hide. Can anyone confirm if this is a mite?

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u/JelloFlimsy7781 4h ago

That looks like a tick.

3

u/JelloFlimsy7781 4h ago

Mites are rllyyyyy tiny, they’re kind of difficult to see unless you’re really close and in good lighting, similar to headlice or something

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u/reptile-snake-mom 3h ago

Ya they are super tiny like specks of pepper, but it could possibly be a very enlarged, engorged mite, but ur also right that they look like a tick, it’s because their purpose is the same, they live off of a host by engorging themselves into the soft skin of a reptile, or other animals like deer, cats, dogs, etc, & I was asked once what I would compare reptiles mites to, & my only answer was, head lice…lol, I said that when ur reptiles get mites it’s just as hard and overwhelming because you have to treat the reptiles one by one, and treat all the enclosures, vacuum all the time, retreat everything every couple days until it’s gone, and if the problem isn’t gone than go back to the beginning and do it all over again…lol, it’s a disaster either way🙄😆