Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Yesterday for the first time I notice that some of my balls might have mites. I found the suspicious little black specs in their water bowls... I cleaned and disinfected all the tubs and changed all the substrate...what else can i do? how do i get rid of the mites on the snakes? is there a safe product to soak them?
HELP!
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Neutiquam erro. Hostes alienigeni me abduxerunt.

Reptile Relief does a pretty good job at immediate removal of most of the mites that are on the snake soak them down real good with it and then wash it off. Then give them a good water soak. Treat the cages, racks and surrounding area with Black Knight - use as directed and you'll not likely see another mite again. You'll probably want to switch to a paper substrate and keep treating the cage with every cleaning for about a month.

Good luck.
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Tosha
JET Pythons
Toshas Blog

Herp Medicine does not equal a bottle of Baytril - Dr. Scott Stahl

I also recommend Black Knight, if you can find it. Provent-a-mite also works very well.

Here's what I did when I had mites a couple months ago (assuming brought in after visiting a local reptile show...)

1.)Remove snakes from enclosures, and place them into a lukewarm water/betadine solution (should be the color of weak tea). The betadine works to kill mites and also cleans the bites on the snake.

2.) Remove all cage/tub items and throw away bedding, and disinfect by placing in a bleach/water solution. Disinfect the cage/tub.

3.) Replace new bedding. Take P-A-M or Black Knight, and spray the bedding (there's info on the can as to how much to spray - depending on enclosure size.) Wait 15-20 minutes for it to air out.

4.) Remove snake from bath, dry off with clean towel, place in enclosure. DO NOT place the water bowl in yet. Leave it out overnight.

5.) Next, get some No-Pest strips from Home Depot/Lowe's (about $6 each), remove outer plastic covering and cut the yellow No-Pest strip into approximately 1" squares. Place a square into a plastic [ziplock] baggie, and cut slits in the baggie (I did 2-3 on each side, not including the top.) Place the baggie in the enclosure. Remove in one week.

Even if you don't see mites on all your snakes, it's a good idea to treat them all just in case. I treated all 15 of my snakes and haven't had any mites in months now. It's an expensive, drawn out process, and some may say I have overdone some things, but it worked for me.

Good luck, it's not the end of the world!
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0.1 American Bulldog - Maui Rose
0.1 Shiba Inu - Mako (Starlite's Shark Attack)
1.0 American Pit Bull Terrier - Magnum TT, CGC, TDI
2.0 White DSH Cats - Lucaya (Luke) & Fiji
1.0 08 Mojave ball python - Mojo
1.0 08 Cinnamon ball python - No name yet
0.1 08 Spider ball python - Arana
0.2 Pastel ball python - Dia 07 & Gembi 08
0.4 Normal ball python - Malia, Copper, India & Kenya
1.0 Albino Boa - Willie
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa - Ajax
1.2 Corn Snake - Sunny Tequila ( Amel male; Voodoo Tiki Motley snow fem, Margarita creamsicle fem)
1.1 Bearded Dragon - Orin & Sierra

This is an excellent opportunity to get a copy of the VPI Ball book. It covers many husbandry topics in depth, it is the best snake book available, period, and it has an in depth chapter on mites and treatments. Available here on the classifieds.
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

Thanx for all the rpompt replies. I have already cleaned and disinfected all the tubs and water bowls, will soak all the snakes today that i have the day off. i found Reptile Relief, but where do i find Black Knight?
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Neutiquam erro. Hostes alienigeni me abduxerunt.

You can get it direct at airosol.com
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles