Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I found the dreaded little black specks in several water bowls tonight. Pulled out the old microscope just to make sure and they are definitely mites. I have some reptile relief and provent a mite on order now, but any suggestions for what to do to tide everyone over until I get that in? I've read a ton of old posts and have heard everything from lice spray to hartz flea and tick powder. I just cleaned everyone out tonight, but now I plan to go clean them again and give everyone soapy baths which you can see from my signature line will not be a little undertaking. Can I cry now? :/ lol, I'm not that big of a baby, really!

p.s. I've kept a close eye on my collection and have always kept new arrivals quarantined for at least a month from everyone else and have never seen a mite. Where do these buggers come from? I recently switched everyone over to aspen bedding from papertowels, but not sure they can be carried in bedding?
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Amber

1.1.0 Colombian Boas (coming soon!)
1.0.0 Suriname Boa (coming soon!)
Balls:
1.28.0 Normal
1.1.0 Pastel
1.2.0 100% Het Pied
1.0.0 100% Het Albino
0.1.0 66% Poss. Het Albino
Corns:
1.1.0 Amber Corns
1.1.0 Butter Motley Corns
1.1.0 Crimson Corns
1.1.0 Ghost Corns
1.1.0 Hypo Corns
0.0.1 Normal Corns
1.1.0 Okeetee Corns
1.0.1 Snow Corns
1.1.0 Sunglow Motley Corns
Milks:
1.1.0 Hypo Honduran Milk Snakes
0.1.0 Pueblan Milk Snake - Marishka
1.1.0 Sinaloan Milk Snakes
Other:
2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
2.0.0 Ferrets - Bailey & Keyta

Be carefull when using insecticides especially if not made "for reptiles", remember it is a poison and mites really wont kill a snake but are a nusence!

Whenever I have had mites I soak the snake in a warm bath with some Ultra Ivory dish soap. The Classic Scent in the white bottle. Clean the cages really good too. I soak every few days or till they are gone. Normaly I've only had to soak once. I only use the Provent-a-Mite as a last resort thow. Hope this will help some.

Blake Deffenbaugh

Nix is used for head lice. I haven't had mites in 10 years or more. Put a little Nix in a spray bottle. Use about the same amount as you would use shampoo to wash your hair. Spray everything. Inside the cages and outside. Soak the snakes if you want to get the mites off of them. Remember it is rather easy to get rid of the mites on a snake compared to getting rid of the mites in the cages and room. Keep spraying outside the cage as a barrier. I don't think the mites came in the aspen, probably your snake friends.

Just wait for the stuff you ordered,DO NOT soak them in soap you will dry out there skin...if your mite spary has been ordered and payed for you should have it in a few days,they will not hurt the snakes....cleaning and washing the bowls and containers will get rid of the ones not on the snake...good luck...ive had luck in the past with a cut piece of pest strip wrapped in foil with a few holes poked in foil,never hurt any snakes and was the old way to get rid of them years back

The reason I said to use Ivory soap is because thats what Bob Clark told a good friend of mine. I read the email because I didnt think he would say that. I read it, he said it, so I've used it and its worked ever sence. You dont use a boat load just a little so you can see it in the water. But I do think the pest strip thing sounds like a good idea and will probably give it a try next time.

Blake Deffenbaugh

Hey guys –

I believe the idea of the dish soap is to put a couple of drops or so into the soaking water. The soap overcomes the water tension and just makes it easier for the mites to sink and drown. Sounds like a plan! Used that way, it certainly won’t harm the snake – not like those potentially disease-carrying blood suckers you’re trying to eradicate.

Now that No Pest Strip – THAT you should think twice before using. It would be way at the bottom of my mite treatment list. Try the safer stuff first.

-Joan

>>Just wait for the stuff you ordered,DO NOT soak them in soap you will dry out there skin...if your mite spary has been ordered and payed for you should have it in a few days,they will not hurt the snakes....cleaning and washing the bowls and containers will get rid of the ones not on the snake...good luck...ive had luck in the past with a cut piece of pest strip wrapped in foil with a few holes poked in foil,never hurt any snakes and was the old way to get rid of them years back

If you use provent a mite make sure you follow the directions VERY CAREFULLY it has to dry and the fumes can actually kill your animals...I recommend spraying it outside but the thing that stinks about Wisconsin weather is you cant really get it to dry outside right now... I picked up 3 rehabs which I have quarantined for about 2 months now an I bought the:

Provent A Mite and Reptile Relief 8oz Combo
size: 6oz provent a mite, 8oz reptile relief
Ultimate mite protection! Provent a mite for your cage, and reptile relief for your animal! (6oz provent a mite, 8oz reptile relief)
$23.50 each (lllreptile)

i was intimidated by the provent a mite because of the label so i just used reptile relief for the time being seeing i didn't have anyplace to spray the provent a mite and the reptile relief worked pretty good all things considered...of coarse your not going to kill them all on the first spray but the numbers drop big time ...just wait they may be back a few weeks later..but the numbers drop... i sprayed my snakes enclosures about 2 x's a week for several weeks and im pretty happy..i think I've seen one mite in the last month and that was in a 20 gallon tank...the Rubbermaid's stay pretty mite free thank god... there no doubt provent a mite is better for the enclosure but it's not always the easiest to use...mites are easy to get off of snakes its just keeping them off and getting them out of the cage...keep the cage as simple as possible while treating it.

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we're here because a hobby became an obsession... if only every one had this much fun

some days your the dog, some days your the hydrant...don't know who started this saying but it's the truth

Thank you for all of the suggestions. Right now I have about 33 snakes resting in warm soaking tubs with a small amount of dove mixed in. I still have yet to see any mites actually on my snakes, but I did find a few more in my pastel's water dish this morning. We are currently scrubbing down the boaphile sweater racks with Dawn w/ bleach alternative. Once those racks are done, I'll move on to the hatchlings, and then the ball rack, and then the breeder rack.... What a weekend!

I plan to spray the PAM (once it comes in the mail) outside onto paper towels and let them dry for a while before putting them in with the snakes (not the hatchlings though). I will not be taking any chances with that stuff. And I've heard too much conflicting advice on the pest strips to even go that route.

Thanks again for the feedback!
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Amber

1.1.0 Colombian Boas (coming soon!)
1.0.0 Suriname Boa (coming soon!)
Balls:
1.28.0 Normal
1.1.0 Pastel
1.2.0 100% Het Pied
1.0.0 100% Het Albino
0.1.0 66% Poss. Het Albino
Corns:
1.1.0 Amber Corns
1.1.0 Butter Motley Corns
1.1.0 Crimson Corns
1.1.0 Ghost Corns
1.1.0 Hypo Corns
0.0.1 Normal Corns
1.1.0 Okeetee Corns
1.0.1 Snow Corns
1.1.0 Sunglow Motley Corns
Milks:
1.1.0 Hypo Honduran Milk Snakes
0.1.0 Pueblan Milk Snake - Marishka
1.1.0 Sinaloan Milk Snakes
Other:
2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
2.0.0 Ferrets - Bailey & Keyta

>>Well, I found the dreaded little black specks in several water bowls tonight. Pulled out the old microscope just to make sure and they are definitely mites. I have some reptile relief and provent a mite on order now, but any suggestions for what to do to tide everyone over until I get that in? I've read a ton of old posts and have heard everything from lice spray to hartz flea and tick powder. I just cleaned everyone out tonight, but now I plan to go clean them again and give everyone soapy baths which you can see from my signature line will not be a little undertaking. Can I cry now? :/ lol, I'm not that big of a baby, really!
>>
>>p.s. I've kept a close eye on my collection and have always kept new arrivals quarantined for at least a month from everyone else and have never seen a mite. Where do these buggers come from? I recently switched everyone over to aspen bedding from papertowels, but not sure they can be carried in bedding?
>>-----
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>>Amber
>>
>>1.1.0 Colombian Boas (coming soon!)
>>1.0.0 Suriname Boa (coming soon!)
>>Balls:
>>1.28.0 Normal
>>1.1.0 Pastel
>>1.2.0 100% Het Pied
>>1.0.0 100% Het Albino
>>0.1.0 66% Poss. Het Albino
>>Corns:
>>1.1.0 Amber Corns
>>1.1.0 Butter Motley Corns
>>1.1.0 Crimson Corns
>>1.1.0 Ghost Corns
>>1.1.0 Hypo Corns
>>0.0.1 Normal Corns
>>1.1.0 Okeetee Corns
>>1.0.1 Snow Corns
>>1.1.0 Sunglow Motley Corns
>>Milks:
>>1.1.0 Hypo Honduran Milk Snakes
>>0.1.0 Pueblan Milk Snake - Marishka
>>1.1.0 Sinaloan Milk Snakes
>>Other:
>>2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
>>2.0.0 Ferrets - Bailey & Keyta
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Amber

1.1.0 Colombian Boas (coming soon!)
1.0.0 Suriname Boa (coming soon!)
Balls:
1.28.0 Normal
1.1.0 Pastel
1.2.0 100% Het Pied
1.0.0 100% Het Albino
0.1.0 66% Poss. Het Albino
Corns:
1.1.0 Amber Corns
1.1.0 Butter Motley Corns
1.1.0 Crimson Corns
1.1.0 Ghost Corns
1.1.0 Hypo Corns
0.0.1 Normal Corns
1.1.0 Okeetee Corns
1.0.1 Snow Corns
1.1.0 Sunglow Motley Corns
Milks:
1.1.0 Hypo Honduran Milk Snakes
0.1.0 Pueblan Milk Snake - Marishka
1.1.0 Sinaloan Milk Snakes
Other:
2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
2.0.0 Ferrets - Bailey & Keyta

Well, since I am having sooooo much fun here. I thought I would share my day through a few pictures.

First off, the now evacuated racks:

Some of the kids chilling out in their "ivory" baths:

Just a few of the many drawers that me and hubby scrubbed today - my hands look like they belong to a 100 year old woman.

Lesson 1: Mites suck
Lesson 2: The bigger your collection of snakes, the more mites suck.

Hope everyone else had a good weekend!
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Amber

1.1.0 Colombian Boas (coming soon!)
1.0.0 Suriname Boa (coming soon!)
Balls:
1.28.0 Normal
1.1.0 Pastel
1.2.0 100% Het Pied
1.0.0 100% Het Albino
0.1.0 66% Poss. Het Albino
Corns:
1.1.0 Amber Corns
1.1.0 Butter Motley Corns
1.1.0 Crimson Corns
1.1.0 Ghost Corns
1.1.0 Hypo Corns
0.0.1 Normal Corns
1.1.0 Okeetee Corns
1.0.1 Snow Corns
1.1.0 Sunglow Motley Corns
Milks:
1.1.0 Hypo Honduran Milk Snakes
0.1.0 Pueblan Milk Snake - Marishka
1.1.0 Sinaloan Milk Snakes
Other:
2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
2.0.0 Ferrets - Bailey & Keyta

Mix in a small amount of sevin dust into the bedding. I do it with all my animals and I never see mites...and when one of my Green Tree Pythons did get mites, it didn't spread to any of my other animals.
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Female Ball possibly gravid from 66% poss het axanthic
Trio black rat snakes placed together 12/14/05

Chris LaViola
CMLReptiles
Website under construction
CMLReptiles@aol.com