Don't let yourself get to that point! Quarantine or at least isolate the new animal from the collection to be sure it is parasite free.

I soak new animals in a 5 gallon white bucket with just enough Nolvasan in the bottom to cover the snakes back. This will immediatly drown enough mites if they are present to reveal them in the bottom of the white bucket. Then I will spray the cage they will be in with Provent-a-Mite with the water bowl removed. This can be used on the cage furnishings and substrate. Let the cage sit closed up for 20 mintes. Then allow the cage to air out for 10 minutes before placing the water bowl and the snake back in. This stuff kills the mites when they crawl off the host to lay eggs. I keep them on newspaper with the bare minimum of cage furnishings to allow for easy cleaning. If you have a confirmed mite infestation constant cage cleaning and the use of chemicals will take care of the problem. The thought of my having to treat a large venomous collection for mites makes me shudder!

Rattlesnakes do not usually like to soak and the rattle may separate when it gets wet.
-----
Tim Cole
www.Designeratrox.com/
www.AustinReptileService.net
www.AustinReptileExpo.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
Conservation through Education

[ Show Entire Thread ]