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Shop's liability for snakes sold ??

1K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  SnakeBreeder 
#1 ·
Hey.

Just wondering if anyone had any experience or advice on this situation .

Our friend has just bought and brought home a lovely little Royal python from the local pet store for her daughter's birthday . She chose it herself weeks ago and was clearly overjoyed . She has just handling it for the first time and when she put it back she noticed some little black specks on her hand .. moving around ... they were crushed and were full of blood .
Pretty sure that it's full of mites , I advised her to ring them immediately and they told her that the 'snake guy' is back in work on Saturday and he will resolve the issue .

The girl and mum are both dissappointed , worried and upset for the little guy even though I've said that it will all get sorted ...


Any idea what they are likely to suggest ...??
Are they likely to give them a can of mite spray or lend them a can or take it back until it's clear of mites ??
 
#2 ·
Snake mites in pet shops is quite common, they get them cleared and then another delivery of substrate etc will infest them again. I treat any purchase from a pet shop just in case.

It might be worth complaining as you should get all the treatment for free.
 
#3 ·
To be honest, and speaking completely impartially... I'd just suck it up and deal with it myself. Pet shops must have to deal with mites on and off constantly, due to the very nature of the business of reptile-owning customers coming in every day and re-introducing infestations.

I'd just chalk it off as one of those things and treat it myself - in reality its the same issue as buying a kitten with fleas, it's not the end of the world really.
 
#5 ·
I know that mites seem like a really big deal first time around, but I would use it as a learning opportunity. When I pick up an animal I then consider it mine and my responsibility.

In your situation I personally would order a can of ardap, when it arrives take the snake and waterbowl out of the viv and put the snake in a tub on its own somewhere warmish. Put the water bowl in a bucket of water to soak - any mites will drown.

Then give the inside of the viv a good spray - make sure you get into the joints, corners and glass runners then close the door of the viv and leave it for several hours, then open the doors and leave it to air. After about 24 hrs you can pop the snake back in and then after another 24 put the water bowl back in.

That should sort the mites completely - if you have a bag of substrate that you havent used yet get a piece of paper and spray it with ardap and pop it in - this should make sure that your Substrate will be mite free next time you change it .
 
#6 ·
as a shop owner we will tell people we get mites the bad stigma that used to be linked to them has gone realistically its the same as dogs with fleas ,we treat mites in the store you think a section has cleared 3 weeks later the buggers are back ,its more to the point that you do what you can if we see a mite the snake gets treated tank cleaned etc when we sell a snake it gets wiped down with front line ,I personally don't believe it comes from substrate as wholesalers generally keep them in a cold store room no where near the animals and lets face it what do mites need ,warmth,humidity,blood there is none of that in a bag of lignocel :2thumb:
 
#10 ·
For a shop to be telling customers they have mites is a rare and brave thing, you have my respect : victory:
The thing with mites is that they basically belch blood they have fed on with one host back in to the next host. This is how they carry disease between animals. I like the flea analogy but malaria carrying mosquitoes would be mine.
I have seen first hand that mites travel in bags of substrate. I bought a bag of wood based substrate from a well known reptile shop in the north east and was not using it straight away so put it at the bottom of an airing cupboard. They had broken down a bale of substrate and repacked it in plastic bags and then sealed the bags with that red tape sealer stuff. A week later I went to use it only to see mites moving inside the sealed bag!
Obviously it went straight I the bin at the bottom of the garden.

I wish I could get mites :(
Get yourself to the Doncaster show. There were more than a few mentions of mites after the last one.
I could do with some snake mites to test a substance I have been told about also :blush:
It is none toxic and even comes listed as a food grade product. You can put a spoon full in a glass of water and drink it, it is so safe!
Should be completely safe for all reptiles.
I've just received half a Kg of the stuff to test.
I'm putting it in some hatchling boxes, like a substrate, to see there are no problems.
I'm about to test it with springtails as well.
If anyone is interested let me know via PM and I'll keep you up to date with the testing.
 
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#7 ·
I know I am risking an infestation. But none of mine have ever had mites, even the Leos have not had them.

I do have woodlice and springtails in all the rubs/vivs tho:whistling2:
 
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#12 ·
Best chemical free way of getting rid of mites is buying a tube of tiny insects that will eat them. I, however, cannot remember the name of these things. They eat the mites then die off due to lack of food. They do no harm to the snake.

These insects are sold to gardeners to get rid of various little critters that eat plants.

Anyone help with the name??
 
#13 ·
Best chemical free way of getting rid of mites is buying a tube of tiny insects that will eat them. I, however, cannot remember the name of these things. They eat the mites then die off due to lack of food. They do no harm to the snake.

These insects are sold to gardeners to get rid of various little critters that eat plants.

Anyone help with the name??
Hypoaspis Miles. The problem is keeping them alive long enough to do their job.
 
#15 ·
I've used hypoaspis about four times now. I've found them VERY hit and miss, sometimes they're great other times they seem to have no effect. I imagine they would work well in a bioactive set up but perhaps not so suited to those who use more basic, dry substrates. If you can use Callingtons that is by far the most effective way to kill them in my experience. However I try to avoid Callingtons with small snakes and it can't be used with Natrix and Thamnophis.
 
#16 ·
Gents If your looking for predator mites you alway tarrus mites, :whistling2:
 
#18 ·
I used to sell Taurus mites worked ok first of all then people were complaining met the guy from Taurus in Holland told him what was going on his answer was " if they are killing 85% of the snake mites that's good enough " I could not beleive my ears I told him that was not good enough he just walked of
 
#17 ·
I must be very lucky, but so far I've never had mites, and I'm back and forth to the local pet shop a lot. The corn and the falsie both came from (different) pet shops and were both clear of the little buggers. At least I don't have to worry about substrate; not likely to find snake mites in a bag of horse bedding!
 
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