Got this boy 5 days ago, hes a superconda hognose. Are these mites or just pattern
?
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Gonna say pattern here, as it’s just inconsistent dark specks on the midst of the scale rather than digging into the seams, where they’d go to access the skin and get to blood. If you’re still worried, watch (or even take video) to see if the spots move at all. Or give him a good soak - if they’re mites, some will drown and get left behind in the water.
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Seconding that they’re likely pattern spots. Mites will move, and stick out away from the snake if they’re on the scale or bulge the scale out sometimes if they’re underneath it. A soak would be a great idea, if they are mites most will drown and if they’re not mites you’ll see that they don’t move and are still there when he’s out of the soak.
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That’s pattern, not mites. I personally wouldn’t recommend a soak as you’ve only just received him and there’s no point in stressing him out.
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Also concur this is pattern. I have a female with black speckles just like this and it still gives me pause every time I look at her.
As an aside, IF you ever have to deal with mites hognoses are highly sensitive to chemicals and you cannot use regular treatments like PAM.
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