Help identifying mites!

I got this new little guy the other day and can not tell if he has mites or not. It is hard to tell as he is a banana and they have spots naturally but some of them look odd and different colours he also looks like he has a few old blood spots on him and a tiny scale raised bump on his spine. You can not even see it in the picture its only noticeable to the touch. I gave him a soak in fresh warm water for 20 minutes then cleaned it out added fresh water with dish soup and soaked him again. Little speckles left in the water but just looks like dirt to me. I would love some advice


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It’s going to be difficult to identify whether he has mites from photos.

I suggest taking some paper towels and wipe him down. Check to see if any dark spots are left on the paper towel.

Good luck.

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Good idea thank you i will try that tomorrow i think i stressed him enough today and hes in blue. I also cleaned out his enclosure and have him on paper towel now to monitor.

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If you see (moving) spots on the paper towels and when you press on them and you see red, those are definitely mites! (They don’t necessarily have to move either). :blush:

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You can hold him and look down the edge of his body. Look from the tail end closest to you…mites crawl under the scales and you can visibly see black specks under a slightly raised scale.
If they are indeed mites, occasionally you’ll find one or two crawling on him and on your hands after handling him.
Hoping for the best and you don’t find any.

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Thank you i will definitely do this

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I agree with what everyone else has suggested.

Honestly to me he just looks like a banana who’s getting more freckles. They show up more over time and they can start as a tiny pinprick and get larger or darker over time.

Since the little one is so new I would still suggest quarantine. It’s always good just in case regardless of if you have other reptiles or not. Also easier to disinfect as a precaution

If for some reason he does have mites, I have found that when the snake goes into shed it becomes more apparent, but that may just be my experience with infested corn snakes.

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Yes thats the thing with bananas it makes it harder to tell. So far i think im in the clear ive been inspecting every tiny dirt particle that has come off him and nothing has moved yet lol. Also hes in shed so i cant wait to see how he looks afterwards!

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He is a very handsome boy you have there @eyeashleigh! I have a banana that actually looks quite similar to yours and he has a few speckles as well. Hopefully your guy is mite free which he probably is.

Congratulations on your newbie! :+1::blush::snake:

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Thank you so much! Ive been wanting a banana for a couple years now and am so excited i finally have 1 as my second snake. I love caring for these guys and watching them grow its so rewarding.

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Hello, If it helps at all, i made a topic in this a while ago with some really good pictures from my experience.

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Thank you for sharing it reallt does help

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Then it was worth throwing myself under the bus xD haha.

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Never!!! :blush:

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