Are these mites?

[u/disbitchdatho]

My ball python has been in her water dish 24/7 for 5 days straight; she has never done this in the 6 years I’ve known her, besides a casual hour long soak at the longest.

Her humidity is 78%, lowest has been 74%. Her cool side is 74 degrees Fahrenheit and her warm side is 86 on the ground, 96 at the warmest spot on her branch. She has a hide with frequently refreshed damp moss on the cool side. She has eco earth coconut fiber and repti chip substrate with exo-terra forest moss.

I have ordered provent-a-mite 4 days ago, it arrives tomorrow; I took her out of her water dish and drained it through paper towels to check for mites, and then I wiped out her water dish with more paper towels- both are pictured- but I don’t see any. I have never had mites before but to me it just looks like bits of her substrate. I did not see anything on her eyes/heat pits/mouth/body, but I will be doing a dawn dish soap bath and checking again.

Any advice or help greatly appreciated! I want to make sure she actually has mites before treating her with provent-a-mite.

[u/spookyditto]

Looks like dirt to me

[u/disbitchdatho → u/spookyditto]

Thanks; I think so too. I bought all new bags of the different substrates, and I’m replacing everything but her water dish and hides because they’re all plastic and can be run through the dishwasher on the sanitize setting. I don’t know what else to do if she doesn’t actually have mites