Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had trusted a friend when I took in their ball pythons and it turns out, they have mites. A chain of events (bringing out of brumation and introducing mating pairs), has led to an infestation of about half my adult snakes.
I have had mites once before from a snake that I brought home from a reptile show. That was in one hatchling rack and I was able to contain it well. I treated it with "Natural Chemistry De Flea Reptile Relief", and it worked well. This time the infestation is much worse.
Does anyone have any tricks or products that work well. I am cleaning, spraying, soaking, and much more, every day.
Any help would be great
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"I will conquer my procrastination problem...Just you wait!"

I believe I read on cornsnakes.com (search there to be sure) that someone was using Nix, the stuff for lice in very dilute doses and it worked well. I am not sure of the ratios though. I am just repeating what I read somewhere. Good luck, hope everything goes ok!

Thanks.
I found some info, am ordering provent a mite, and I can get ivermectin from my vet.

For anyone else that needs it, here are the links to the two things I found most useful.

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

http://lllreptile.com/info/library/general-care-and-husbandry/-/dealing-with-snake-mites/
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"I will conquer my procrastination problem...Just you wait!"

>>Thanks.
>>I found some info, am ordering provent a mite, and I can get ivermectin from my vet.

I would have suggested the Provent a Mite
Just follow directions exactly and you will not have to soak and scrub etc. It works very nicely.
I tend to spray sheets of newspaper and let them dry outside then use them to change out cages til everything is known to be clean.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

I had a very bad experience with Provent-A-Mite. My hognose had a very bad reaction to it. It convulsed for 2 days and is still very wrong. He was in a Neo cage and I waited 6 hours before putting him back in his cage after it aired out including waving a magazine in the cage many times to air it out. He is still in very bad shape. He still will just roll over on his back and is in generally bad shape. He is basically a retarded snake. It is really very sad. I had come very close to putting him down multiple times. Luckily he has been eating enough to stay alive, but he is very small for his age. This happened over a year ago.

The company that makes PAM didn't know what to say, and a big breeder I talked to said he doesn't understand it either since he uses it and doesn't really air things out after use.

I know a lot of people have been very happy with this product, but it is very sad to see what has happened to my snake because of it. I hate being the guy with the "retarded" snake that everyone laughs at.

Just be careful.
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2.1 Corn (Anery Stripe-Ripple '06/Amber-Jack Straw '06/Amel Motley-Cosmo '03)
0.1 Baird's Ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
1.0 White Oaks Grey Rat (Tennesse Jed '04)
0.1 IJ Carpet Python (Cassidy '04)
1.0 Western Hognose (Samson '05)
1.1 Shepherd mix (Dylan 7yrs, Porter 2yrs)

You should be commended for caring enough about your hognose that you didnt put him down. "Quality of life" to an animal with a brain about the size of a pea doesnt mean that much; the fact that it still eats shows there is some fight left in him. Even if he does succumb to his condition you'll still be able to say "I did my best".

Instead of being "that guy with the retarded snake" you're really "that guy who cares enough to do his best for a sick snake", and many kudos to you for that :*)

I have to agree about your 'retarded snake.' Kudos to you for not giving up on the poor little fella...

Thanks for the heads up
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"I will conquer my procrastination problem...Just you wait!"

A few months back I picked up a baby corn from a pet shop(I know, not a good idea). Anyways, he apparently had mites. I never had the problem before and I tried a few different solutions. I thought I was succesful, only to have them reappear a few weeks later. While still battling them, I came across a product in Petco, figured I'd give it a try. Well, it's been well over a month and I haven't seen any. Luckily they never spread to the other enclosures. The name of the stuff is Reptile Relief, it kills mites on contact as well as other parasites. You can use it to clean the enclosures and you can spray it directly on the snakes. A little tip: it says not to spray the head area (nose, mouth, eyes), so when the rest of the snake is covered, the mites that are not killed instantly, will flee towards the head area. You can pick them off with your finger or a damp tissue. There's a few other warnings about using the product, so just follow the directions. The company that puts the stuff out is Natural Chemistry. They have a website naturalchemistry.com. Hope this helps, keep us updated!

John

ya, that is the stuff that I used the first time. Real happy with it. This infestation is much worse, and I need more options. I like the idea of having the news paper soaked and then dry.

Does anyone know if the stress of the mites might cause the snakes to not want to breed?
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"I will conquer my procrastination problem...Just you wait!"

What has worked very well for my large collection was RID (I believe that's what it is called. It comes in a whitish spray can with a red stop sign on it that says "RID".) It is a lice spray that people use on their furniture when they have lice problems. This stuff has the SAME EXACT ingredients as Provent-a-mite and works the same (Yes, I had both cans and compared). You can get it at any WAL MART and it is MUCH CHEAPER than that other stuff - plus you can go get some right now and start your treatment. I have even used that stuff on my ( very expensive) Eastern Indigo when he had mites once. And Indigo snake skin is much more porous than most snakes and they are much more susceptible to any changes in their environments than any corn snake (Corns are tough, that's why I love them).
You remove the water dish and spray the entire inside AND outside of the cage including the substrate inside. Then wait until the stuff is dry. I usually wait about four hours to make sure. Then put the snake back in there. I don't put the water bowl back in until the next day just to make sure. Repeat treatment at least one more time, about a week later. This has eradicated ALL the mites out of my collection, and all my snakes are happy and growing. (Even my Indigo is only three years old & well over six foot long and very healthy - I've had him since he was a hatchling). And I have lost zero snakes so far...
Hope this helps - it sure did for me!

Zee

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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

Thanks for the info. Wish i would of had it last night before I spent $60 ordering proventamite!! lol. I will check it out. I also got some good info about how to contain the mites from moving cage to cage.

The responses that I have received have been Great. Thats why I love this Forum.

Thanks so much, again!!!!
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"I will conquer my procrastination problem...Just you wait!"

Hey Misty,
I asked about mites a while back. Below is what was told to me. The guys that suggested this have cought and kept wild snakes in the past and have had large collections, mostly CB. I hope that you get the problem under control. If the other things haven't helped out, maybe this will.
Rob

"I would save your money (and toxicity) and buy some Hartz Flea and Tick Powder for cats. It works better than anything I have ever used, and it only cost a few dollars. I actually started using it when I was at a MAJOR reptile breeding facility/petstore here in CA. I was about to buy some Provent-A-Mite ($20.00/can) when one of the keepers told me they used the flea and tick powder for everything in the store. He said, "Yeah, the spray works great, but this costs much less and works just as good." They offered the powder in the store as well. It made me think, "Why would he offer me a product that costs alot less?" As it turns out, he was being honest! LOL That is one sure way to get me to return as a customer.

Powder everything, remove the water bowls and leave them for a few days. All the mites will be gone. I also use this as a "maintenance" item as well. Dust a little in the bottom of the cage as a preventative measure. I RARELY (if ever) get mites. Of course, with any new animal, it should be dusted before entering the snake room.
That has been my experience. Good luck."

"Fipronil based products used in moderation are proven to eliminate mites with out harming your snakes. However you must use the proper concentration and not over do it. Hartz Flea powder is fipronil based as well. Most flea and tick products are."
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"I reject your reality and substitute my own" Adam Savage
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn
0.1 Creamscicle corn
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine - Spaz
1.1 Bearded Dragon - Gomer & Piggy

I was just talking to a vet and they said be careful with some of the powder flea and tick stuff as it can cause neurologic issues in the snakes. Thanks for the input. I have put a dent in the mite population already. I think with a few subsequent treatments, we should be back under control.

Thanks again to everyone that responded. I am always open to more info, if anyone else has more tricks of the trade.

I tell ya, after this, I am definitely a "quarantine everything" type of person. I won't be able to stress that enough from now on! lol.
I just pray it does not ruin my breeding season.

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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"Life is Killing Me"