Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was cleaning tubs today and saw little black specs moving around in the water bowl and so now i am scared. the only thing i have heard to do with reptiles with mites in rinse them with mouthwash but i dont know what else to do. i dont want this to spread to my other reptiles any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Jeff

I would not recommend mouthwash!!!!!!!!
I used reptile relief right on the animal and treat the enclosure with prevent a mite. If you have other animals close by or in a rack you will need to treat them all. After treatment I would keep them on white paper towels for easy detection.Usually multiple treatment will be required due to the mite life cycle.I have not had any mites in years but this would be my recommendation. Good luck and get busy killing them life suckers!

I just dealt with this problem. Search the web for "snake mites" and you will get many different ways to deal with them. The one i used has done a great job. The treatment uses Nix, Sevin dust and lots of patience. Good luck.
Cody

I never heard of mouthwash before? You have gotta wonder who is the first person to try these exotic treatments,,,"like maybe I will soak him in mouthwash...yeah, let me try that"...

I would try and find either Provent- A-Mite, or I have heard good things about NIX from Wal-Mart and it is like %5 the cost of P.O.M.

Read the directions for PAM if you go with this product. I havent had this problem in 3-4 years, but I would remove the animal from the enclosure and spraye enclosure down good. You can take Provent and spray it on a clean cloth and gently wipe the animal down as well. It is VERY important to air out the enclosure very well before re-introducing the snake.

Keep in mind that this initial treatment will kill all the living mites, but not the eggs. They will hatch out over the next week or two and you want to retreat at some point.

You should go to V.P.I., the Barkers web-site and then look under publications. They have an article about The life history of snake mites that is a must read.

Good luck.

p.s. Reptile Relief sucks also, dont even waste your money on that crap.

the Mouthwash technique was told to me by a guy who owned a reptile shop in dallas a few years ago

Thanks for the advice guys!
i talked to a friend of mine and he recomended "equate bedding spray lice treatment" it has the same active ingredient "permethrin" as prevent-a-mite but cost 3-4 bucks a can so i am trying this he has been dealing with reptiles for quite some time so i am going to trust his word on it

Here's what I did.
Dump all the old bedding. Wash out cages with dishsoap and really hot water.(Hot water kills the eggs) Line cages with white paper towels.(lets you see any mites easier)Spray the toweling with PAM.(provent a mite, not the cooking spray) Spray the area around the cages with PAM also. Let it dry and wait for the fumes to dissipate. Before you put your snakes back give em a good soak to drown as many of the little SOBs as possible. Then after drying them off I used frontline spray. Frontline kills ticks as well as mites. I think they are both arachnids.
You don't need much. I sprayed a little on a cloth and wiped the snakes down with it.
I have not seen a mite since. I let my friend use my pam and frontline on his boa. He has not seen a mite either.
MITES SUCK

Dave