Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a freind that uses P.O.M. in his collection of herps. Ive never personally used the stuff, i always keep my tanks clean, and if i have a mite or 2, i soak the snake, and clean the enclosure. However he aquired 2 hogs, after a while in there homes, he noticed a few mites.

Rather than using my method he took his 2 east hogs out and misted the enclosure with POM according to the manufactures reccomendations. After a week or so one of the hogs started twicthing wildly. I witnessed this,and have never seen anything like it. It was like a nerve disorder. After a while the snake died.

Another week went by, and the other had the same problem. He took this one to the vet, and the vet euthanized the hog. He had no explantation to what had happend. These 2 hogs were eating and had had them for over 5 months. So my question is does POM affect them diffently than other herps???

thanks

Mike
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My herps..
1.1 Amel bloodred corns
1.1 reverse okeetees
1.0 normal corn
1.0 Anery
1.2 Amel corn
1.1 Jasper county Okettee's(YES true locale specimens)
2.0 American alligators
0.1 Northern Copperhead
1.2 Timber rattlesnakes(canebrake phase)
2.3 black rat snakes
1.1 Eastern box turtles
0.1 shtc leopard Gecko
0.1 Red tal boa
0.2 eastern hogs

There have been several reports of hoggies have adverse reactions to PVM. Sorry for your friends loss.
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Jenea
Guardian Reptiles

"When your memories are bigger than your dreams, you're headed for the grave" Author unknown

Yes-all xenodontine snakes seem to have a special intolerance for pesticides. You can use POM with hogs, but take special precautions. Allow the enclosure to air out and dry COMPLETELY before returning the animal. I would wait a half hour at least. I would also withhold water for at least a day.

Also remember that juveniles are even more sensitive than adults
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Brad Chambers

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

I had a pair of plains hogs die after useing PVM. The day before I got the snakes I sprayed thier enclosures with it, so they aired out for over 24 houres before I put the hogs in them. By the next morning they were twitching wildly, I took them out right away, but they died later that evening. I've used PVM for years every time I get something new to ensure I never have a mite problem, but I will NEVER use it in hog enclosures againe.

Dan

Wow.. had no idea...

He said that the enclosure had aired out for a few hrs.

Oh well..

thanks all

Mike
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My herps..
1.1 Amel bloodred corns
1.1 reverse okeetees
1.0 normal corn
1.0 Anery
1.2 Amel corn
1.1 Jasper county Okettee's(YES true locale specimens)
2.0 American alligators
0.1 Northern Copperhead
1.2 Timber rattlesnakes(canebrake phase)
2.3 black rat snakes
1.1 Eastern box turtles
0.1 shtc leopard Gecko
0.1 Red tal boa
0.2 eastern hogs

I have been using it as a preventative in my collection that includes 40+ easterns and southerns. I also used it when I was into westerns and mexicans. Never had a problem with the stuff. What I do, is that I put the bedding in a rubbermaid and spray it in there. I then air it out in a seperate room or outside. A lot of people drench their bedding with the stuff or spray it on the glass of their tanks where snakes will lick or drink the stuff.

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www.gradeareptiles.com

I had two eastern come in with mites pretty bad. I really do not like the chemicals, so I gave them a warm water soak in a diluted listrine bath. After this, I gave them a light rub down with mineral oil. Repeated this a week later, and no more mites. It is easy, and it took care of my problem without any harsh chemicals. For those wondering, I read this technique in a vet manuel.
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Jenea
Guardian Reptiles

"When your memories are bigger than your dreams, you're headed for the grave" Author unknown

Great post guys and really timely info, as I am snake-sitting my friend's '06 female W. Hog that had mites pretty bad. I bleached the tank and sprayed it w/ anti mite spray. By the grace o'God I didn't put her in right away, and let the tank sit outside.

reako45

I would point the finger at the bleach
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www.gradeareptiles.com

>>I would point the finger at the bleach
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Not trying to be too picky here, but bleach is good........ if used properly. Bleaching containers is an industry standard for many herp and aquariums in zoo collections. Even amphibian containers get bleached often. I'll add to that by saying that the containers are also soaked in dechlorinator, and air dried. Of course porous items such as branches should be dealt with more carefully. But for most glass and plastic containers, using the APPROPRIATE amount of bleach and carefully rinsing and drying will cause no ill effect.
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Virginia Herping
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VaHS
Virginia Herpetological Society online store
http://www.cafepress.com/vaherpsociety

"The irrational fear of snakes is the only excuse a grown man has... to act like a complete sissy" - Colchicine

i got to say i love bleach . used properly of course and if in doubt air dry your bins or branches outside in direct sunlight and it will help in the disipation of any excess bleach. also i use prevent/mite but only spray the edges of my racks to stop mites from migrating if i have a problem and use the soaking and mineral oil method as well as using natural chemistry reptile relief with great sucess and no ill effects to date.

I know this might be confusing since some people are abbreviating Prevent A Mite as PAM, but you can actually use PAM Cooking Spray to treat snakes with mites. Take the infected snake out of the enclosure and bleach the enclosure properly (~10%bleach solution). Put the snake in a temporary enclosure and spray the snake with the PAM cooking spray heavily. Let the snake sit for about 30 minutes before wiping off the spray. Repeat this for 2-4 days and the mites will have drowned completely in the cooking oil, with no ill effects to the snake whatsoever. In case people think I'm nuts, I got clued into this technique by a friend of mine who worked for years as a Zoo Veterinarian and now does almost exclusively reptiles. Hope this helps!

>>i got to say i love bleach . used properly of course and if in doubt air dry your bins or branches outside in direct sunlight and it will help in the disipation of any excess bleach. also i use prevent/mite but only spray the edges of my racks to stop mites from migrating if i have a problem and use the soaking and mineral oil method as well as using natural chemistry reptile relief with great sucess and no ill effects to date.
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Snake Inventory
1.2 Bairds Rat Snake
5.11 Ball Pythons
1.3 Boa Constrictors
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas
0.2 Cal Kings
1.2 Carpet Pythons
26.38.4 Corn Snakes
1.2 Dumerils Boa
1.0 Eastern Fox Snake
1.1 Green Tree Pythons
1.0 Grey Banded Kingsnake
1.1 Hog Island Boa
1.3 Jallisco Milksnake
1.3 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.1 Mandarin Rat Snake
1.3 Mexican Black Kingsnake
0.0.1 Northern Water Snake
1.1 Red Milksnake
1.1 Ruthvens Kingsnake
2.5 San Luis Potosi Kingsnake
1.1 Spotted Pythons
1.2 Taiwan Beauty
5.5 Western Hognose

Man i wish i caught this article and read it before i used PAM on my hog's. I had 2 easterns die i suspect from the same problem as everyone here mentioned and also a friend of mine had one eastern die from using it. I followed the directions completely and even let the tank dry out longer than recomended.