http://www.anapsid.org/mites.html

If you consult the table near the top, you'll see a rough timeline of how long the mites can live in each stage. Basically the adults are easy to kill because you can see them. They move and will most likely stay on your snake. Bathing the snakes will get rid of most of them.

The eggs are hard to get because they lay them in tight spots that may go uncleaned even after extensive treatment of the cage and items. Once they bear fruit, you are screwed as they'll come back quickly and unless you plan on putting your snake under a microscope daily, you'll never know until it's too late and they have taken over again.

The site above lists a lot of ways to get rid of them. Cleaning the tanks and anything in them is crucial. When I had them, I had great success using Hypoaspis miles.

http://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/hypoaspis.html

They are little predatory mites that are harmless to snakes but are voracious when it comes to actual snake mites. They will hunt down the eggs, the mites, and devour them. They are amazing little creatures that will scour your snake and enclosure.

They leave in humid spots and are shipped in peat and moss. Provide a suitable environment for them and they'll do the job without needing toxic chemicals or a lot of effort on your part. Basically just keep them alive as long as you can. When they run out of snake mites to eat, they'll eventually just die off.

I swear by them!

[ Show Entire Thread ]