Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how did this happen? should i keep using prevent a mite? i have for almost a year now and nothing bad has happend to my reptiles.

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This photograph was originally posted in the Boa Forum by someone else. I believe the consensus of opinion of most of the experienced people who responded (click here) was that this was not caused by Provent-a-Mite. Have you read that thread? If not, it should help you form an opinion on this particular case. If you type “provent” or “mites” into the search function, you’ll find some discussions which may help you form an opinion on this particular product.

I have not used that insecticide, so you can take my opinion for what it is worth. I believe that scar originated with some sort of physical trauma – a thermal burn or rodent bites would be a good guess – perhaps exacerbated by a too-eager debridement of necrotic tissue later. Speculating further, if the owner also sprayed this product on an extensive open wound - well, Good Grief! I have no doubt that people misuse and overuse many products in an attempt to treat their reptiles for various maladies. But a chemical burn would not be high on the list of things I would be worried about when administering these insecticides as a treatment for mites. You can do a little home test by spraying some roach or ant killing products on yourself (pick some intact skin, please) and observing the results. Now, toxicity due to inhalation, ingestion, or absorption through the skin – those are different questions, both in humans and reptiles!

-Joan

I have grave doubts that this type of injury was caused by Provent-a-Mite. This looks to me like a thermal burn, or scarring from some sort of mechanical injury.