Reptile & Amphibian Forums

this is my firstb time with mites.
my boa has them for sure but i have 2 ball pythons in the room with her and a gopher snake. questions.

1 she is in a room with 3 other snakes does it mean they have them?
2 my mother works for a vet he said to use this shampoo stuff should i do that or but a comercial reptile brand for it?

3if i dont use the shampoo whats the cheapest safest way to go.

4were could they have come from?

plz reply fast and there can never be too many reply's.

thanx ahead
josh

How long have you had the boa? Or better yet, how long have you had any of them? Who was the latest aquisition? The mites probably came in with that one.

Mites have a nasty habit of hiding or laying eggs under the eye rim of snakes and there they wait. Once the eggs hatch, you have a mite problem.

You are about to embark on the reason that I HATE mites and fear them. You are going to have to clean EVERY cage in that room and treat EVERY snake even if they don't show any signs of mites now. WHY? because if you don't, mites can pop up later.

My advice is to buy some Provent-a-mite. Clean all the cages, hideboxes, etc with a 10% bleach solution. Use newspaper for bedding for AT LEAST a month. Treat the cages with the Provent-a-mite. Place the snakes back into the cages and wait for the mites to die from the Provent-a-mite. (Doesn't take long) I usually retreat once after a week. Then again after 30 days. I would also treat the carpet in the room with a Carpet Flea Killer.

Everything that comes into my collection gets quarentined in a separate room and treated with Provent-a-mite. I had to deal with a nasty outbreak of mites in a pet store where I worked. I fought for MONTHS to get rid of them because the boss wouldn't breakdown and buy a can of Provent-a-mite. This experience has made me mite paranoid. The paranoia has paid off though. I have had a couple of snakes where mites popped up while they were in quarentine but because I use provent-a-mite from the beginning, the mites never got a foothold.

Good Luck

i went yesterday and bought de flea the only thing they had but i was told that its pretty good.it was kinda late so the boa is the only one done so far i have her on paper towels.with only a hidelog . its for direct use on animal so i sprayed her down carful not to get it on her face.she is my newest snake but i have had her for almost 2 months.she started showing sings 2 weeks ago.well if there is anymore sugestions love to hear.

ps do i have to get her a new thermometer and humidity gauge they stick to her cage/

I have heard mixed results on the De Flea stuff. I personally have not had good luck with it. I know one person who loves it, and several that hate it.

If you have had the boa for two months, and she is showing signs of mites. Then that is well within the life cycle for mites. She came with them. (probably had eggs under her eye rim)

You don't have to get new gages but you need to clean and treat ALL the cages and snakes in that room.

I would spray down the hide log as well for the mites will get up in it.
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