How, why and where! (warning dead snake pictures)

[x Sarah x]

You don't know how pissed off i am having to do this, we spent a lot of money on a Jungle jaguar carpet at the Maidstone show this year, an 09 male captive bred baby.

It has shed and eaten since being here, and today i have found it dead!

Curled up on the floor stiff as a stick...

This is its covered in big black mites!

They weren't there before and now its crawling with them, what are they and where have they come from, they are not over the tank just covering the snake...

I have a room full of snakes and lizards and now i'm scared they have gotton into any other tanks, it would be physically impossible to remove everything or clean everything in there as theres about 20 vivs with reptiles in, probably more than that of petpals with snakes in and also over 100 tarantulas and other inverts!

I just don't understand where they have come from all of a sudden, what am i supposed to do, and did they kill the snake or arrive after?

[Georgeyboy!]

Im not sure but i'd ardap the shiz out of everything.

[DazedLewis]

I would say they arrived afterwards, but I'm no expert... but I mean, where could they have been hiding?

[Ozgi]

They look like the mites that you sometimes get in tubs of crickets and livefood. When did you last see the snake alive?

[ct8282]

Oh dear GOD. That's one of the most hideous things I've ever seen. Surely they just can't pop up out of nowhere??!! Any chance they had been in then festering and growing unnoticed by yourself?

[x Sarah x]

I last saw it alive the day before yesterday, it may have been dead yesterday as it looked alive curled up on the bottom, but i saw it moving the day before yesterday last.

May i add, the mites appear to be feeding off the snake, when i look closely they are head down like a tick almost as if they are digging into the snake.

[Georgeyboy!]

where would they hide is my thoughts too, i mean surely even handling the snake you'd be able to see them.

The only advice i can give is grab yourself some ardap and get kamikaze on their ass.

[x Sarah x]

I have put the whole enclosure out in the garden, they didn't appear to be anywhere except on the snake.

We have handled the snake before and it was fine, even though a nasty little bugger.

I'm always weary of mites because of the spiders getting those little white mites so i have a very good eye and tend to watch over everything with mites in mind, i never did see a mite on this snake, i'm just gobsmacked and extremely freaked out by it!

[April Taylor]

I am very sorry for your loss

[DazedLewis]

if its been there for two days then that is enough time for those little things to come from the surrounding area for a meal...

I reackon they're just part of what breaks down dead animals, I would be very surprised if they caused the death of the snake.