Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just woke up this morning to a BIG mite problem with my blood! He/she was spending allot of time in the water bowl, but I didn't see any mites. Then he was getting ready for a shed and was hiding. I removed the hide to look if he shed and it looked like I rolled him in coffee grounds! I have never seen mites like that before. I haven't had mites in my collection. My brother's snake had them but his has not been in my house and was nowhere as bad!

When I got him he looked a little thin but I didn’t notice any mites. I have noticed he spends most of the time on the cool side of the enclosure. After a soak and a mite treatment he defecated (I hope) a strange very hairy little thing (I fed him last week). If I didn’t know better I would have thought he regurgitated his last meal. I’m wondering if he has been trying to keep cool to get the mites off. I don’t know, it’s just a thought.

I can’t believe I didn’t treat him for mites as a preventive measure when I got him, but he looked clean. I have other snakes in the room so they are getting the treatment (completely desensitizing everything and spraying for mites) tonight.

I’m not saying where I got him but I’m sure you can look down the page and find my previous posts and figure it out.

Other than that my blood has been doing fine. He hasn’t put on the girth I would like, but at least he is eating. I’m not happy, It’s a lot for a new baby to go threw.

bottom line, mites suck. i am not sure where you got the snake, but you could have gotten mites literally from anywhere...carried it home from a pet shop, reptile show, friends house, or your snake could have came with them at no extra charge.

How do you plan on destroying them? I am interested in your attack methods...

As far as girth, i think some bloods and sst's have higher metbolisms than others, i have an albino male i produced, and i feed him extremely large meals, and whithin a few days, it looks as though he never ate the thing....
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www.redpython.net

I dread when it is my turn for this to happen. I use provent-a-mite about every two months just to be sure but I have been even more lazy about it recently. Think I will spray my cages just in case. Thanks for the wakeup call Sir and much luck to you in your devestation of the infestation. I loathe parasites!

May I ask what the active ingredient is in provent a mite..
Tim

I had this happen with a boa. The source I got her from had a good reputation. The snake was underweight and just dull looking. No mites though...Or so i thought. I believe they treated her before sending, which killed the adults and hid the fact that she still was covered in eggs.

Mite eggs hatch around 2 weeks after being layed and can survive most traditional mite treatments. It is crucial to retreat 2 weeks after the initial treatment.

Do you feed live or F/T? If live, they may have hitched a ride on the rodent.

Are the mites that infect snake collections the same as you
mite find on your chickens or a bird in your yard ?
Or is it another species of mite ?
Tim.

I feed F/T...The mites didn't come from anything in my collection...They came from the eggs that hatched on the snake.

All new specimens should be quarrentined for aleast 30 days..
The more animals that have mites the bigger your problem..If your a show enthusiest don't visit your snake room until clothing and body are clean..If your a vendor and visit a show with animals to sell the animals taken should be separate from those who stayed home..If I can bring home a leopard gecko that I didn't leave with then mites are definitly possible.. They suck the snake and make the keeper grouchy..I do not know what is available to the keeper today but the idea is to dry up the lil sucker..a mild soap will do this,diatomasious earth(ground shell) may work..Believe it's used as an anti caking ingredient in foods..I'd be interested in knowing what is used and safe..Just in case, seeing as I'm just starting to build a collection..No pest strips are toxic and deadly..I would not suggest their use certain species will belly up when used..
Anyone knowing the utmost safest ingredient to use ??
I'd like to know..
Tim..

There are several products on the market made for this purpose. I'm sure you can find them in the classifieds.

I am VERY cautious with any treatment because during my mite fiasco, my ball python had a seizure right after treatment. I was using reptile relief and don't think it's a problem with the product. I think that particular snake was sensitive to something in it. I used all precautions and he was the only one to show any adverse reaction.

The RR did the trick in 2 applications.

Mites are the bane of snake enthusiasts and largely unavoidable if you are a show/shop stalker. Not everyone has good clean husbandry and interaction with there environments can lead to an infestation. I use Provent-a-mite with great success and have for many many years.

You will find many opinions on what you can use. In my experience this was the best product so far. The key is that it works beyond the application. Read the instructions. Do not spray ON the animal only in its enclosure and do not re-introduce the the water bowl or the animal until the spray has settled.
Pro-Products

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Support your local herp society
www.chicagoherp.org

That morning I used a manual method; I soaked him and then wiped off the bulk of them. Then I hit my local reptile expert and got a bottle of this stuff that smells like cloves. It says that it is nontoxic and can be used as often as you like. I washed and sanitized my whole collection (as a preventive measure) and treated everything! It only took me 4 to 5 hrs. I’m going to repeat treatment 2 times a week (because I don’t know what stage the eggs are in) for a month and repeat once a month for 3 months. I have someone that will let me use some Prevent-a-mite. Since the stuff I’m using is nontoxic, I’m thinking its safe to use with the other stuff…I’m going to check to make sure of cores!

Thanks for your input everyone!

Provent-a-mite's active ingredient is permethrin. (0.50%)
I only use this because I know that with one treatment it will work. It may be expensive but in the long run it is cheaper. I have had hogs get mites, and I simply removed all of the animals and water from the enclosures, then lightly sprays the substrate (1 second per sq foot) and sprayed the molding of the tanks. Replaced animals and water after 30 mins and the was not a single live mite the next morning. The good thing about it is that it lasts up to 30 days, minimum 2 weeks(as long as you do not change your substrate within that time)
I also want to state that there is such a thing as a wood mite that will not harm your snakes. Usually come in aspen bedding. I spray and kill them anyways.
Humm I think Provent-a-mite should sponser me
Nick

The active ingredient you mentioned is a natural pestacide,coming from a flower..Don't remember what flower but
it can be found in our bug sprays and that for the dogs and horses..I would still like to hear of something less severe..
Surely Someone has studied such..The mite just needs to be
dissecticated/ dried up..

Ding ding the light came on, that flower is the crysanthium, probably misspelled..
Tim.

You are right, it is from Chrysanthemum. Some one else mentioned diatemacious earth. That is an interesting thought. The way that works on insects is that is cuts them. Not relly sure if it works on mites. Or how it works around animals.
I am a manager at a garden center and we sell it but it really is not effective for long. Once it gets wet, it is useless. I know that you can also smother mites with oils. However, I still think provent-a-mite is the best answer.
Nick

...is a shot of ivermectin by your herp vet. I have done this before with a burm and some red tail boas. I think took it in for 3 visits, once every week and the problem was eliminated. It's only like an $8 shot. The mites came from the burm and went to the boa cage that was right next to it. After that I have been using Provent-a-mite.
Nick

Who did you go to, De Anza for the shots? I think I’ll take your offer of a treatment next week first, the stuff that smells like cloves doesn’t seem to work well. I found some mites on him last night. That’s after washing every thing in the dishwasher, scrubbing the tank in the shower, sterilizing everything, soaking and treating the snake, and treating everything before it went back in. I’m using towels instead of chips until this is over.

PS: You should post pics of your new blood!

Never mind the PS, I just found your pic.

I went to kirwood animal hospital. It is on campbell ave near san tomas aquino rd. This was years ago, I hope the vet is still there that was good with herps.
Nick

Man, that "Juristic" clove stuff doesn’t seem to do anything! It says you can apply it as often as you want because it doesn’t do anything! I have cleaned out his enclosure 3 times and treated everything 3 times, and everyday I see mites on him! I have even treated 10' around his cage! I HATE MITES! At least the rest of my collection looks free...for now.

A mite is a fragile creature,without water/moisture and its
blood host (no pun intended) it dries up and dies..Are you pulling the animals water ? day or two with and without?
Anybody Know of a college with the study of entomology or the study of Bugs..Years ago I used something called California
pet spray with limited results..Ivermect can be gotten as a
injectable from your feed store and made into a diluted spray..
Drugs/poisons that we use today cross over from one creature to the next,flagyl is used in humans to snakes..Theres something that will suit our needs,wouldn't it be great if it turned out to be salt water or bedding on minute rice..lol.