Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well my recent behavior question has been answered with the discovory of mites. there were only 3 or 4 under the snakes jaw and i have yet to see them in the cage, but were there is one there are a bunch more. my question is i have a big bag of the aspen bedding like 5 feet from were my cage was, should i throw out the unused bedding? the bag was closed with a chip clip over the opening, but i know that doesnt seal the bag.
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0-0-1 green iguana
0-0-1 normal ball python
0-0-3 fish
and we had a pet mouse......untill stripes was hungry

if you can spray each cage you put it in with Provent-A-Mite before you put the snake back in it you should be fine to use it. That is what I did after my recent encounter with mites and I have had no subsequent problems,
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Happy Herping,
Jody Barnes
Royal Kreationz

My snakes aren't fat, they're big boned.

thank you, im going to pick up some proventamite tommorow and treat, just got done with bleach cleaning everything.......sucked.... not as bad as when the iguana got mites though......that was a full blown infestation. there is a pet store i will no longer i will be going to. both outbrakes can be traced back to that dang store.
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0-0-1 green iguana
0-0-1 normal ball python
0-0-3 fish
and we had a pet mouse......untill stripes was hungry

guy at reptile store treated snake with frontline flea tick stuff that is used on dogs and cats. swears it works. did i waste my money?
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0-0-1 green iguana
0-0-1 normal ball python
0-0-3 fish
and we had a pet mouse......untill stripes was hungry

very interesting let us know how the animal does. That guy might be smarter than he gets credit for. I wonder if you treat your snakes with a puppy dose once a month like a dog if that would work. If it does, holy cow. I will use it religously.
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Happy Herping,
Jody Barnes
Royal Kreationz

My snakes aren't fat, they're big boned.

i will ask him how dilluted it was tommorow. it was in a little spraybottle and he put it in his hands and rubbed the snake down. i thought it was interesting. they charged me 10.82 though, so i hope it works. i could have just treated it at home for that. he feels a lot different after the treatment though. he was smooth and silky before and now hes well not smooth and silky. i dont have experience with snake mites though, its a bit different than when my iguana had it, i was able to put him in water and the mites would let go or drown. he said it wouldnt work like that on the snake.
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0-0-1 green iguana
0-0-1 normal ball python
0-0-3 fish
and we had a pet mouse......untill stripes was hungry

what about the anti mite can that you put on a birds cage to keep mites out. will those work with snake? i know people have tried them with iguana and some had no problems and some had the iguana just drop dead for no aparent reason years down the road and blame the mite product. i was just wondering. it seems like it might work, anyone tried?
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0-0-1 green iguana
0-0-1 normal ball python
0-0-3 fish
and we had a pet mouse......untill stripes was hungry

You can also use sevin dust. It's sold at Paris Farmer's Union and feed stores of the like. Only use the 5% concentration. It's cheap and you only need to use a little bit. Use a feather duster to kind of stir it up and make it cloud up so it gets into every little nook and cranny. It can get on the snake too but you don't want them to ingest it. Remove the water bowl(and bleach it) Also don't leave it clogging their nose or eyes ( this normally wouldn't happen anyway) let it sit for about 24 hr. then wipe out cage and replace bowl. Repeat if nec. in about a week. Sprinkle around the room if possible (read warnings) this is a pesticide used in gardens. It is very effective. This is what Kath Love used when she got an infestation with her corns a while back. Don't breathe it in. I actually just used this. I've been struggling with mites for 4 months- and it seems this has worked. Problem is they lay eggs everywhere. Good luck.Oh- there are a few snakes that cannot tolerate this but balls are ok. I think house snakes and brb's have had reactions.

I will probably get hate mail for this, but in the spirit of Christmas let me pass along the following information.
Go to your local Tractor Supply store.
They carry a permethrin based livestock dust that is half the concentration of other popular products. It comes in a 1 lb shaker container (like table salt) that costs about $5 bucks. I use this stuff on the bedding of ALL new animals before introducing into my collection. a 1 lb can should be sufficient to treat 100 CB70 sized trays.
They also carry a water based goat and dairy spray (make sure you don't get the oil based stuff) in the identicle concentration of other popular products. I believe it costs around $16 a gallon.
Good luck
Grant