both wild and captive reptiles are frequently affected by external parasites . of these , acarids ( ticks and mites ) are the most commonly encountered .
the most commonectoparasite in captive snakes is the hematophagous snake mite ( ophionyssus natricis ) belonging to the macronyssidae family of the suborder mesostigmata ( 1 ) .
unfed females are yellow - brown ; engorged females are dark red , brown or black .
1 ) . the engorged female leaves the host and deposits eggs in cracks and crevices .
the eggs hatch in 14 days , developing through larva , protonymph and deutonymph stages to the adult .
o. natricis has a worldwide distribution affecting mainly snakes and to a lesser extent lizards .
infected snakes often exhibit lethargy , dysecdysis , pruritus , crusting dermatitis ( sometimes progressing to abscesses ) , and behavioral changes ( increased bathing time , rubbing against objects ) .
the mite , which thrives in skin crevasses , acts as an irritant to the snake that can cause parasitic dermatitis , but often leads to increased , irregular shedding cycles ( 3 ) .
o. natriciscan also attack humans , causing popular vesiculo - bullous eruption of the skin ( 4 ) .
a 29 years old manworking in sari zoo , sari , mazandaran , iran , presented itchy papullar eruption of the skin ( fig .
he had noticed small insects fixed on his skin and he had attempted to remove them , also large numbers of these same insects were on a python and its cage in the zoo .
department of veterinary parasitology , veterinary faculty , islamic azad university , babol branch was asked to examine the python .
the snake was a 2.95 m caramel burmese python snake and insects were collected from the snake and its glass cage in the zoo .
the man who feeds and takes care of python with papullar rash was also examined and behavioral changes noticed such as , restlessness , irritation , anorexia , and short cycles of skin shedding in python history .
samples were preserved in alcohol , and then made them transparent in lacto phenol in order to observe them under the light microscope .
they were identified regarding to their morphological characteristics as o. natricis ( geravis , 1844 ) , a snake mite . for diagnosis confirmation
, samples were sent to iran veterinary parasitology museum and deposited with accession number of 733 .
o. natricis is a purely blood sucking parasite of snakes and is of worldwide distribution ( 5 , 6 ) .
the diagnosis of snake mite infestation is usually straightforward : the parasites are easily identifiable with the naked eye or with a magnifying glass .
snakes are uncommon pets but their popularity is increasing . when patients with unusual pets such as snakes or lizards present at dermatology clinics , o.natricis should be considered as a cause of dermatitis ( 7 ) .
 ophionyssus natricis is a purely blood sucking parasite of snakes and of worldwide distribution . 
 infected snakes often exhibit lethargy , pruritus , crusting dermatitis , and behavioral changes . 
 ophionyssus natricis can also attack humans , causing popular vesiculo - bullous eruption of the skin . 
 a 29 years old man working in zoo , sari , mazandaran , iran , presented itchy papullar eruption of the skin . 
 he had noticed small insects fixed on his skin and large numbers of these same insects on a python and its cage in the zoo . regarding totheir morphological characteristics they were diagnosed as o. natricis ( geravis , 1844 ) , a snake mite . 
 it is the first report of o. natricis from iran . 
Introduction
Case report
Discussion