I have three red tail boas. Two of which I have had for 6 months they are 24inches and 15ish inches. I just got a 7 foot female who had mites. I have had her on a different floors of the house in an attempt to keep the mites from spreading. I failed, the two smaller ones now have mites. I was told a few different ideas to kill the mites a soak in a betadine/water mix and everything sprayed down with a bleach mixture dry rinse a few times. The mites became 5 times worse overnight with this treatment. I was also told to try jurassi mite which I tried today it killed the ones on the snakes quickly, they were falling off in less then 15 minutes. I sprayed down the cage and removed all decorations. What I would like to know is any other ideas to kill them if this stuff doesn't work? and I have about $200 in limbs and things of that nature in the cages is there something I could do to make sure they were clean of mites to reuse them? baking them maybe?
Thank You
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mites help???
Replies (4)
I've had mites come in on animals a few times over the years. I know it's too late but you really should quarantine new animals on arrival.
Mites can be tough to get rid of. Problem is they take a week or two to lay eggs and have babies, that is typically done away from the cage and they just keep coming back if you don't break the cycle. Hatchling mites are translucent, only visible when they've had a blood meal.
Mite control is a two prong attack.....
1) kill mites on the animals, I have used reptile relief and it's worked great.
2) Stop them from getting back to your snake, for that I treat the enclosure with Provent-a-mite. I've read there are other "non-snake" products that work fine but have also read the same products have caused problems, maybe due to "inert" ingredients that are not snake friendly?
For both of these (and any other) product, READ and FOLLOW directions carefully. A little is good to kill mites, a lot is good to kill anything including your snake.
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Thanks,
Dave Colling
www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com
0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)
LOL, to many snakes to list, last count (05/26/2009):
36.51 BRB
29.42 BCI
And those are only the breeders 
lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats 
Go to REI or Target. Make sure you get the one for spraying clothing and gear. The ingredients are identical.
http://www.rei.com/product/784097
It's $7.00 instead of $15.00 or more.
Good luck!!!
As Dave said, a little will do, a lot will kill more. The Provent-a-Mite instructions tell you to air out the sprayed enclosure. Make sure you allow ample time for the sprayed area to air out. If you can smell it, so can the snakes. I give at least 30 minutes for it to air out.
To be clear, the active ingredients are the same and maybe the same concentrations. Where I worry is the "other" ingredients. May be 100% safe, but for my piece of mind I don't mind spending the few extra bucks.
-----
Thanks,
Dave Colling
www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com
0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)
LOL, to many snakes to list, last count (05/26/2009):
36.51 BRB
29.42 BCI
And those are only the breeders
lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats
