Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My boas just came down with mites. I have some cold pressed organic neem that I use for mites on plants. I was wondering if neem oil is safe for bathing snakes in. Also I was wondering if mites are species specific and if they will attack all reptiles.
The solution that I would bathe the snakes in is water, a little bit of neem and dish soap to break up the neem oil. I am open to any and all advice.

Thanks,
Brian from the Redwoods

A good, long soak in water with a little soap in it to break the surface tension of the water. It keeps the little buggers from being able to make air bubbles to breath while submerged. And while soaking the boa, clean the enclosure well, andspray the enclosure down liberally with wal-mart brand equate bedding spray for lice(less than 5 bucks and is the exact same thing as provent-a-mite). This should get almost all of them. Do it again in 10-14 days to finish them off.

Remove and spray down anything wood. If using some kind of aspen or mulch bedding, get rid of it until the attack has been abated.
They can bed down in wood, lay eggs and establish themselves very quickly. I recommend newspaper for at least the time being.

Hope this helps. Good luck....

Jesse
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Jesse Van Atta

"Continuing to cling to the patterns you know, inhibits your ability to discover what you don't know." - Eric Allenbaugh

Thanks, do you know if mites attack all animals including lizards.

Yes! Mites spread quickly and will attack lizzards, snakes and I think even invertebrats and amphibians. I would treat all reptiles as if they had them. Sometimes you can't see them until later into the infestation.