Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Where do mites come from? How does a snake get mites? I have a single red-tail yearling. Just noticed it has mites. I have had it for 6-8 weeks. It is by itself and it a clean, disenfected cage. How do I get rid of them?

He probably came with the mites. They are sneaky little buggers and often hide under the rim of the eye where they go unnoticed.

Place the snake on newspapers or papertowels. Go buy a can of provent-a-mite. You can order it on-line. Remove the snake and the water bowel from the cage, spray the cage, wait a few minutes and place the snake and the water bowl back in the cage. Provent-a-mite is supposed to last 30 days but if the infestation is bad, I would redo the treatment again before the 30 days is up. Make sure at the end of the 30 days, to retreat. This will kill any mites that are just hatching out.

another good thing to do to immediately stop the mites while it gives that other stuff a chance to work....as the mites, once under the skin, eat out the snake's internal organs...because it is best to get rid of as many mites as possible before the prevent-a-mite has a chance to kick in.

now, on to the suggestion.
vaseline. yeehaw!
line the inside top 2 inches of the cage with vaseline. helps the mites to stay contained and not hide anywhere else in the cage...house...apartament...etc. and then come back when you aren't looking.
also, coat your snake in vaseline. its a [bleep] to get off but it suffocates the mites that are on the outside of the snakes body while the prevent-a-mite gets the eggs and the ones are on the inside of the snake.

yours truly.

....as the mites, once under the skin, eat out the snake's internal organs

Mites are external parasites that feed on the blood of the snakes. They do not "eat out the snake's internal organs".

now, on to the suggestion......vaseline. yeehaw!

Vaseline can be harmful to the snake's skin if applied this way. Don't do this. While it could be applied around the edges of the cage to prevent spread, there are much more effective ways to control mites.

Before I run out an buy a can of Provent-a-mite, I would compare the price to a can of Black Knight Roach Killer. You can find either/both online or in the kingsnake.com caging classifieds.

Black Knight roach killer is extremely safe for use with snakes (you don't even have to remove the animals from the cage!) and works 100%, usually with just one light spraying. I spray inside the cage with the animals in it (just a quick puff) then around the cage and in the room (of course removing any arthropods I want to keep, such as tarantulas).

NB - Black Knight is different from all other Roach sprays. You cannot substitute another brand. Black Knight is not available in your grocery store, you have to order it online or buy it at an expo.
It is also very safe, having been tested and sprayed on millions of people when used as an airline insecticide.
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Chris Harrison

...he was beginning to realize he was the creature of a god that appreciated the discomfort of his worshippers - W. Somerset Maugham

Ummmm, I am going to disagree majorly here. Black knight is not as safe as you are making it out to be. I have seen snakes die from direct exposure to it. It can cause serious burns to a snake and under no circumstances should you ever spray anything without removing the snake and the water bowl from the cage. There can also be neurological problems associated with ANY insecticide but Provent-a-mite is one of the safest things and is FDA approved for reptile mites.

Now, provent-a-mite works starts working right away. There is no wait time. Mites start dropping like flies.

Like Chris stated, Mites are an external parasite and do not eat the organs of a snake. They can cause the death of a snake but this is most likely caused by anemia (blood loss) from a heavy infestation. They can also carry internal parasites to your snake so make sure you get a fecal exam done on him.

DO NOT cover the snake in vaseline. This will kill a snake. I see no reason to even use it in the cage.

First of all, I was speaking from my experience and some online research I did a few years ago on the safety of Black Knight (vs other pyrethroids). Unfortunately, I have no experience with Provent-a-mite, but I did find an interesting discussion about the safety/efficacy of the two here -
forum.kingsnake.com/python/messages/85069.html.

I have used BK judiciously on a couple of occasions and had no problems. Others report different outcomes and I will certainly be more careful with it in the future.

Provent-a-mite is one of the safest things and is FDA approved for reptile mites.

First of all, as far as I know, it is EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) approved, not FDA (Food and Drug Admin) approved. EPA approval is more likely a measure of the chemical's persistance within the environment and the ozone friendliness of the delivery mechanism than the safety of the exposure.

I looked up some tox data on both chemicals -
Promethrin (PAM) - www.cdc.gov/niosh/rtecs/xy42fc70.html
Phenothrin (BK) - www.who.int/ctd/docs/whopes/new_docs/new_specifications/dPhenothrin_WHO_Evaluation.pdf

The LD50s and LC50s for these chemicals and general warnings seem to be about the same (at least for mammals, birds, and fish). I wonder if the difference between people's experience with BK vs PAM is really a dosage issue (is BK more concentrated?).

Again, I have no experience with PAM, but it does sound like a good remedy if used judiciously (an effective mite remedy should only have to be used once on a collection assuming adequate quarantine methods are used!).

In regard to the suggestion of using Ivermectin spray - Ivermectin has been shown to be harmless to some reptiles and extremely toxic to others. I steer clear of it!
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Chris Harrison

...he was beginning to realize he was the creature of a god that appreciated the discomfort of his worshippers - W. Somerset Maugham

OOPS, EPA is correct. Too many stinking government departments with three letters initials.

There is a safety factor with any type of "medication" no matter what the animal. Whether it's an antibiotic or a spray for mites, or even supplements. You have to exercise caution with anything. Personally, ivermectin is too touchy for me. The reactions that some animals have to it, make me nervous. There is also not a large safety margin with Ivermectin as there is with something like Panacur. If you screw up a tad with Panacur, chances are it won't hurt the animal. Screw up with Ivermectin and your animal can die. When my math is good, it's pretty darn accurate but every once in a while, when I am doing dilutions, I mess up. Even though I double and triple check myself, I prefer something with a built in oops factor.

Chris is correct in that Ivomec has been found to be toxic in some reptiles (probably all to one degree or another). It is particularly toxic to Chelonians. I would not advocate using it for any purpose with turtles or tortoises. However, in a .1% spray used for mite control, there is probably more no more chance of toxicity with Ivomec than there is with any other mite control preparation. This is diluting 1cc of Ivermectin Injectible in 100cc of water and lightly misting the cage with it. It is being applied topically and very very small amounts, if any, would be ingested. I certainly would not recommend using it for gravid females in any case. I have used it a couple of times in the past with excellent results and no toxicity, even in animals where toxicity has been reported with injectible or PO Ivermectin. The thing about Ivermectin is that the dosage is critical, a little on the shy side and it's not effective, a little on the heavy side and it can be fatal. I have never heard of anyone running into problems using a .1% solution for a mite spray...if anyone can direct me to evidence of this happening I will certainly reevaluate my techniques.

I DO NOT use Ivermectin for injection or PO administration in reptiles when there is another safer drug available. It may be indicated for use in cases of filarial nematodes or nematodes that are not sensitive to Fenbendazole, but normally there is a drug available that is as effective as Ivermectin and has a wider margin of safety for eliminating internal parasites.

I'm not going to get into the safety a efficacy of the commercial preparations, because I wouldn't use any of them. I would use a .1% Ivermectin solution as a spray, which I know to be effective and safe from personal experience. Whatever preparation you decide to use, as long as it is tested as safe for use with reptiles, is up to you.

Chris is right (as usual) about the nature of mites and Lunar-Reptiles is right about the problems of anemia associated with mite infestations. One other danger, especially with boids, is that mites can carry and vector the virus that causes Inclusion Body Disease (IBD).

Forget about the Vaseline. It is unecessary and probably unsafe (as Chris pointed out) for use directly on reptiles. It will make a bigger mess than it's worth for preventing the spread of mites. Simply remove the snake and any cage furnishings, treat the cage with whatever (safe) preparation you choose, make CERTAIN that the furnishings are mite free and return the snake and furnishings to the cage on PAPER substrate. Mites can hide in the mental groove, labial pits (on pythons), cloaca, lips, nostrils, between the scales (especially the belly scales) and eye cuticles of the snake. Before you return the snake to the cage, soak it in warm water for a half hour or so. This will drown some of the mites, float some away, whatever, but it will remove the majority of the mites on the snake. There may still be eggs under scales, etc. so some will hatch out for the next few days (or weeks) so you want to keep an eye on them. That one reason for using paper in the bottom of the cage. it makes them easier to see and doesn't provide a lot of good hiding places for them. If you are useing the Ivermectin spray, spray everything in the cage, including the snake, every day for 3 or 4 days, then give it a week, spray every day again for 3 or 4 days, then repeat that process one more time, for a total of three weeks. That will definitely get rid of the mites and any young from eggs that were previously laid. If you use a commercial preparation, just follow the directions on the label. Ivermectin is known to be toxic to some snakes and most Chelonians when used as a vermifuge, but it is so dilute when prepared as I have described for a mite spray as to not pose a problem at all.

You say you are using a 0.001 Ivermectin solution? What form of the product and at what dilution gets you this concentration? Thanks for the info.

-Joan

Nope..not .001%. I'm using a .1% solution.

The dilution is going to depend entirely on the strength of the Ivermectin you are using. the best to use is Ivermectin Injectible. It comes in 1%, which makes calculating the dilution very easy. It is bound to propylene glycol (to control absorbtion when injected), but this is of no consequence when mixed and used as a spray.

.

I imagined a percent sign after the .001.