Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a finished garage an i made a huge custom shelf that will be holding all my snake tanks on. so far i had a beutiful healthy high white kingsnake and all ball python that would not eat so i took it back to the pet store a they gave me my money back after i considered my ideas i finnaly decided i was going to get a red tail. so i had a 130 dollars and i was lookin at a petstore in a near by town and i saw they had redtail boa for 130 so i bought it. and i had it fora couple a days ate fine, evey was goin great until i saw it was ridden with mights. i quikly moved the king snake in the house and he had no mites whitch was good. but now my red tail does and the crappy place i bought it from wont stand by there reptile. so in stead of paying 150 at the local petsore for a healthy snake i bought this one whitch really stinks. i am in the process of treating him i threw out all the cage decor and all he has is a water dish and paper towls as the subsrate and i am spraying him with might off . should i countinue to treat him or i Know a place the will take him then i can clean the tank and put somthing else in ther but, will what ever i put in ther get mites to could it be possible that the whole garage could be infester with these little suckers will that ruin any other snake plans i have !!!!! if i get rid of the red tail should i hire an exterminator to spray it then wait a couple weeks untill i can put anymore snakes in there ?

PLEASE HELP ME !!!!!

Mites are treatable!!! You need to find the product called "Provent-A-Mite". Notice it is prOvent not prEvent. Follow the instructions carefully. Treat both the boa and the kingsnake, because mites do travel. Clean the enclosures for both snakes thoroughly, using a mild bleach solution if possible. While the cages are soaking, soak the snakes in a separate tub. Most people recommend soaking the snake in water just deep enough to cover half of their bodies. The idea is to drown the mites that are on the snake. I generally use enough water to cover the snake and supervise closely. Soak the snake for about a half hour. Use water that is the appropriate temp for the snakes enclosure. Put just a small amount of dish soap into the water. This will help break the surface tension of the water and drown the mites. The cage cleaning and snake soaking will only provide temporary relief. You MUST treat the cage with the Provent-A-Mite. Mite-Off and other similar products don't hold a candle to Provent-A-Mite. You can also spray the surrounding area around the cages with the Provent-A-Mite. I generally treat the floor in the room with a spray that is designed for use around children and pets, and usually permethrins, which is what Provent-A-Mite's active ingredient is. The Provent-A-Mite's label says to re-treat in one month. Be sure to do this! If you'll do all of this, your mite problem will go away!

Good luck!
Steve

were can i buy this at

Its not likely that you will find it in a petstore, although there is a local herp store near me that sells it. If you have a store near you, you might give them a call. Otherwise, just google "Provent-a-Mite", and you'll find lots of dealers. I'm leary of recommending a dealer here, since many dealers are on this site, and I don't want to leave anyone out. You can also go to the classifieds section on this site, in the "Supplies, Cleaning, Bedding & Accessories" section. There are dealers advertising Provent-a-Mite there.

One other thing on its use- I think its best to use newspaper or paper towel substrate while treating. It helps to ensure coverage. Just retreat each time you change out the paper (after defecation/urination).

Just another side note - This is why you should always, always, always quarantine new arrivals! We just bought a snake from a very reputable, "big time" breeder, and that snake is quarantined in a separate room from all the other snakes, and will be for another couple months!

Steve

I probably don't have to say this, but to clarify - don't soak the snakes in a mild bleach solution. Just the cages.

There I feel better now. Good luck!

thank you but im goin to soak the kingsnake and see if any mites are fall off if not should i treat him? because i have noticed any mites on him. hes in a the reptile room on the second floor and the garage is on the other side of the house shouldnt i just treat the source of the mites in the garage ?

"until i saw it was ridden with mights. i quikly moved the king snake in the house"

Yup, you need to treat the king snake's cage as well. One can of Provent-a-Mite will easily treat both cages multiple times. If you follow the directions exactly, it won't harm the snake, but the mites can.

Steve

why would you give up on a snake? by giving that ball back to the store do you know what you did? they are just going to sell it again for cheaper, you killed it. mites arent impossible to get rid of, it can be done. and by just giving it back to the pet store or giving it to someone else your not curing its mites, your just continuing a cycle and letting the snake end up with someone who wont know or spreading mites to other snakes.

i think you need an attitude change, snakes arent something you just get rid of because of imperfections. if you buy a car and its not running right are you going to take it back or get it fixed?

you give all snake owners a bad name.
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jake

my addiction:
0.2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1 amelenistic corn snake (maizy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
1.0 albino cal king (zeus)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

the owner of the petstore, who i personally know, took the snake in to her own personal colection to get it eating again i just couldnt do it she has been keeping ball pythons for 35 years i knew if any one could get it to eat she could thats why i didnt want to be selfish and try to get it to eat my self because i tryed so many times and i didnt work. as for the boa i know people who are good with snakes and could clense her of her mits because i knew she was sufering im not just gonna give to the petstore and let it die.

ok, just a mis understanding.

there are people like that, and ive met some, so when you talked about giving them back i just assumed.
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jake

my addiction:
0.2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1 amelenistic corn snake (maizy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
1.0 albino cal king (zeus)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

yea i know its my fault i just should have specified that.

Buying reptiles from petstores is a loser move. Stop it. Find a reputable breeder.

Lets MODIFY that statement shall we?
"Stop buying from BAD pet stores."

Unfortunately, there aren't many good ones out there. Most of them see their animals as stock, and money. Look for a REPUTABLE store (usually a small buisness) with a knowledgeable staff and you won't be let down.

Example:
I bought my first russian tortoise from a local pet store. The owner THOUGHT it was CB, but her distributor was pretty slimy and let her think that without correcting her.
After fidning out he was WC and super sick, she felt VERY bad and actually paid for some of my vet bills. After that, she dropped that distributor.

And if a pet store deals directly with breeders (or even sells his or her own stock) then whats the problem besides paying a little extra?

I am simply stating this because this attitude really irks me. I actually own a nice pet store, and I'm working to keep it reputable and when people start saying, "ALL PET STORES SUCK!" well that just screws alot of the buisnesses that are GOOD.

Look at it this way: Think how pissed off we all get when one retard keeps a cobra or nile croc or something illegally and it gets loose and causes all sorts of harm.

ONE stupid person sets the theme for ALL of us Herpers. Do you think that's fair?

At the same time, ONE bad pet store shouldn't set the tone for ALL pet stores.