Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey folks, I think that questions about mites have to top the FAQ list. Done searches, read lots of stuff here at kingsnake. Now I have a few questions that haven't been answered...

The situation: Hubby and I have spent the last two weeks moving. We've had little chance to give the snakes the sort of attention they deserve as we've been a little distracted. Last night I was admiring our Spilotes, and I noticed that she was literally COVERED in little black/brown bugs. Mote of sand size. AND she's Blue AGAIN, having only shed about three weeks ago and eaten only once since her last shed. (Her appetite has been very small). I'm thinking that I picked up the mites by buying bedding from a store whose snakes always look near death row. Big mistake, one I won't make again. BUT, alas, now I have this problem.

So my questions:

Provent-a-mite .... is this available at "chain" petstores like Petsmart or Petco? Or do I have to leave my snakes suffering and order online?

Ivermectin paste turned into a .1% spray... I heard a suggestion in my reading of the archives that you can take ivermectin paste for cattle and turn it into a spray for your snakes. I happen to have a tube of this paste, whihc is why I ask.

Dog/Cat Flea/Tick collars. I've heard these can work too... but how? Same with no-pest strips. I know the one snake is infected, but I haven't explored the other snakes thus far. I plan on treating all of the snakes, including the neonates if necessary. just to be safe.

Any advice, pointers, etc would be most helpful. I've had snakes almost two years, and this is the first time I've had any sort of parasite problems!
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~Sasheena

Sasheena..you have mail.

I avoid all of the Flea/Tick collors, and commercial spray preparations because of possible toxicity.

I have had good success on the 2 occasions that I had to treat for mites (because of bringing in substrate or cage furiniture) using the Ivomec .1% spray. Ivomec is known to be toxic to Drymarchon, although I think a topical spray that diluted should be safe.

I have not had to deal with mites in years but, I have had good luck with kings, milks & rosy boas by placing 35mm film cannisters (with small holes in them) filled with small strips of no pest strips in the cages.

Eric

I recommend you try one of the two treatments that are known to be useful for mites that are also known to be non-toxic. That is not true of Ivermectin spray or No-pest Strips.

I would shell out the ~$20 for a can of Black Knight Roach Spray. It is extremely safe to use and extremely effective. You simply spray the cage with the snake in it, spray a quick puff in your snake room, and the problem will be gone.

You cannot buy black knight in stores. You will have to get it from a herp supplier (look on the classifieds under cages and supplies). One can is expensive, but will last you forever. You cannot substitute any other insect spray for Black Knight!

Provent-a-mite is another treatment that people like, but it doesn't have the history of toxicology testing that Black Knight does and therefore hasn't been proven as safe. Black Knight was designed to be sprayed on people so it has been very thoroughly tested for toxic effects - there are none to vertebrates.

Just for the record, over the last 25 years I have used Ivermectin, No-pest strips, soapy water, Sevin Dust, and every other "remedy" I could find. Once I bought a can of Black Knight, my problems were solved forever.

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Chris Harrison

the pest strips work but you gotta take their water out or the snakes will be poisoned if they drink. provent-a-mite though is far and away the best product for this malady i've ever seen. it is killer stuff and safe! call around, you'll probably find it or just go to the next show in your area......

Well the next show isn't for a few more months, and while some of the stores might have the provent-a-mite stuff, I'm going to go with the ivermectin which I happen to already have on hand. It will be suitably diluted and if not totally effective it will probably provide relief to my poor Spilotes. She's been a problem since I got her, first because of her deformed mouth, and possibly she even had mites when she arrived. She's been apathetic, disinterested in food, and shedding too frequently. (I got her in mid-june and she's shed twice and is already blue again). She looks bad and I do not want to lose her due to something like mites. When hubby comes home today he's going to empty her cage of all substrate and clean it thoroughly with a bleach solution. I'll soak her, and might try some olive oil as temporary solution. I'll apply the ivermectin spray to ALL of the snakes, and they are all going on straight newspaper subtrate until this is cleared up.

Anyway, I very much appreciate the advice. It's been a traumatic, and exciting, couple of days. (Yesterday whilst moving our possessions into our new house I slipped and fell... landing ON one of our snake cages... a ten gallon aquarium. The lacerations to my rear did not require stitches, but the broken foot sure puts a damper on things like caring for 30 snakes in this situation.

Sorry I'm rambling. Must be the pain killers.
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~Sasheena

I haven't tried Provent-a-mite, mainly because I haven't had mites since it came out. I'll give it a shot if I ever need it, though. I saw some at a show the other day, seems like it was around $20.00 a can?

I went to check on my Spilotes, planning to remove her from her substrate and replace it with newspaper, and to give her a good soaking, and she was dead and stiff... still crawling with mites. Other than one of my hatchlings that didn't make it this is the first snake I've lost, and my heart is broken for the poor girl.

And for those who wonder why I didn't change her substrate as soon as I noticed the problem... Last night I stumbled and fell on a ten gallon aquarium, needed stitches and broke my foot. I've been either at the emergency room or sedated and unable to work with a hefty fifteen gallon aquarium. I'm so completely saddened by this.
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~Sasheena

Sorry to hear that, Sasheena.

You guys sounded so excited about this too.. I had the same thing happen to a red-tailed green ratsnake.. Was this Spilotes supposed to be CB? I'd be pretty angry at the seller right now if I were you.

We were very excited, she was such a sweet snake, so much fun to watch. I am quite upset at this time. I do not know what caused her death, whether it was the mites (though I haven't really heard of many people discovering mites and then having the snake die within 24 hours BECAUSE of the mites), or if she had other interior problems. I wanted to give the breeder the benefit of the doubt, and for the moment I still will, but my belief is starting to run thin. Once I got her and noticed the problem with her mouth I vaguely recalled reading in the classifieds about a snake that was wildcaught (I do NOT buy wild caught animals) that had the very deformity she had. There was even a picture. But I looked at the picture, noted it being wildcaught, and went on my merry way. But I've always harbored a suspicion that perhaps she really was wildcaught. First holes in the sides of her mouth, then mites, then she is dead inexplicably. The breeder did give us $80 (she cost $125) credit when he found out about her deformity, and with that credit, just to get the whole thing finished, I ordered a Royal Diadem Ratsnake yearling ($50 plus shipping). He arrived well packaged, just as she was, but with a hole in his belly. The breeder says it should heal. I'm starting to feel taken on this occasion. I've contacted him with the news that she died. The hole in the ratsnake's belly (skin and scales but not inner membrane) is expanding. I really just want to have one decent healthy $125 snake from this deal. AND I don't want to have the heartache of sick animals that require special care.

It's all very distressing. She was my husband's favorite snake.

I've attached a picture of the belly of the replacement snake. (note this is NOT the umbilical sight as you can tell by the position of the vent in this picture)

>>You guys sounded so excited about this too.. I had the same thing happen to a red-tailed green ratsnake.. Was this Spilotes supposed to be CB? I'd be pretty angry at the seller right now if I were you.

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~Sasheena

That sucks... Sounds a lot like my 'CB' red-tailed... The mites and the death were probably only loosely related. And heck, maybe it was CB, but it should NOT have had mites. If I had mites in my collection, no animals would leave the house until I was 100% sure they were gone. Makes you think twice about buying things online, my healthy to sick ratio seems to be about 50/50 right now... SIGH...

That hole look like a birth defect... I really hope it heals over but at the best the snake will have a big scar...

Sasheena,

Very sorry to here of your recent disasters. I can only tell you, as I’m sure you know, that as keepers of animals we are givers of food, habitat, and security (well-being).

Sometimes it just does matter how hard we try it is just life circumstances taking control. Many of the older form keepers here have dealt with life and death and with the anguish of things we cant control. Dean lost a very old king, I’m sure that hurt, Carl a prized female Eastern. Several others also have had thing go wrong and with that the life of the kept is lost.

I can only say that in the past it bothered me more to lose one of my animals in my keep because I blamed myself for the loss. Now I learn the reason for the loss and correct it to become a better Keeper.
I can reflect on your loss because like you my animals are my pets and my ability to take care of them I take very seriously, as do you…. Dann

Sorry to hear about your injury and the loss of your Spilotes. Hope you have a speedy recovery,
Chris

Pro-vent a mite is sold by many suppliers. The Bean Farm Sells Black Knight and Provent.

Provent is FDA proven to be effective treatment for turtles. There are thousands of folks who have used it for their snakes so you can feel pretty safe that it is also safe for your snakes. It is a substance that prevents to production of chiton. Baby mites cannot metamorphose and die.

Black Knight kills the mites where they stand. It's a beautiful glorious thing to behold. I've used it on the 2 occasions that a snake in my collection got mites in the past few years.

My treatment for mites: Remove the snake from cage and put it into a large tupperware/rubbermaid container and spray the Black Knight onto the snake. Treat the cage itself with Provent ACCORDING TO THE DIRECTIONS ON THE CAN.

This kills the live mites, then it kills any mites as they emerge from the egg. I've had mites spontaneously appear in my collection 2 times in the past few years. I think the mites came from eggs on a flyer from a reptile dealer. I had no other contact with snakes and my feeders are f/t.

Black Knight and Provent work miracles at killing mites. Soapy water is good to kill anything directly on the snake, and it has the added benefit of making the mites suffer before they die.

I think Black Knight and Provent should be in every snake room so it can be used immediately when mites are seen. Nip it in the bud...

Doug T

Thanks for the information, I will certainly buy some of these two products for future use. I've been examining all of my collection and have found no sign of any sort of mites. I still plan on disinfecting EVERY cage thoroughly and putting them on papertowel substrate. I've been especially attentive to the other four snakes I got from the same breeder, but none of them are showing any signs of mites and have actually (3 out of 4) been on papertowel so I might have noticed by now.

It's a hard lesson to learn and though I don't think that the snake actually died solely of mites, just seeing them in my collection gave me the headsup to know it can/will happen and I should not expect to be mite-free forever. Having the preventative measures at hand can make all the difference in the world.
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~Sasheena