Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can you use Provent-a-mite spray on the substrate and have a piece of No-pest Strip in the cage at the same time? There's no toxic reaction from using both at the same time is there?

How long is it safe to leave a piece of No-pest Strip in the cage for? This would be a shoe/sweater box cage with a lid and airholes for ventilation, not a screen topped cage. The No-pest Strip would be cut into a small piece and placed inside a deli cup with a lid and a few holes so the fumes can seep into the cage.

When you have the No-pest strip piece in there as I described, is it safe to leave standing water in the water dish for the snake to drink? Or could the fumes from the No-pest Strip make the water toxic?

Thanks for any answers and if you can think of anything else I should know please add it.
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www.hcu-tx.org/

Pest strips- Be careful with them. I've heard of guys killing their snakes with them. I've used them over 20 years and have never had a problem with them. I cut a small piece about 1 inch by 1 inch and place it in a small container with holes, like you mentioned. I keep it in the cage 24 hours without the water, then place it back in there about 5 days to a week later to kill any mites that have hatched. That's how I was told how to use it at the reptile shop years ago and it has always worked. I've also always used it in glass tanks with screen lids. I'd be worried to use it in a plastic tub, because I don't think the ventilation is as good and the plastic might retain the fumes if that's even possible. Its not necessary to use it with prevent a mite, either. It does the job by its self.

Prevent a mite is said to do the job too, and noone I know of has lost a snake to it. I'd advise you to use that stuff instead. Then there's some stuff called Nix, and you can find videos on you tube on how to use it. Its supposed to be good too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqziwNaosQM
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I agree, Ross. I used little pieces of No-pest strip many years ago in aquariums with screen tops, but I am thinking that a plastic tub with much less cross-ventilation wouldn't be a very good idea at all. I think the vapors would tend to concentrate much more than they would otherwise would. Also, as you said, snakes can very easily and effortlessly go for a day or so with the waterbowl taken out. That is very smart practice with the strips (trade name Vapona).

The way you described is very effective and safe when done exactly the way you mentioned.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

"some are just born to troll and roll"

Thanks, Doug. Yeah, size of the strip and ventilation is key when using them. Because of the problems some people have had with it, I don't feel comfortable recommending it. Back when I started using them, they were the only thing that worked for me. That stuff in that little bottle called rid mite never worked when I used it back then.
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Yeah, proper ventilation and no water for a good 24 hrs. with that stuff is EXTREMELY important to keep in mind if one plans to use it.

In the 70's I used Sevin dust and it worked fabulously. But again, it has to be used in an absolutely bone dry environment and NO water bowl to get contaminated..LOL!

Luckily, with the exception of treating a couple hatchlings I picked up at a show for nothing some years back, the last time I remember ever having to deal with any mites was back in the early 70's when me and a few other neighborhood buddies kept a few of our snakes together in a huge cage under old lawnmower grass clippings. Ironically I had a Florida king and some of the other kids had stuff like corns and yellow rats in their too. Maybe a racer or water snake in their as well as i recall. Gosh, I think one dude had his snake eaten by my king as I recall and he was all bent out of shape..LOL!!.........oh well!!

Dude, when we discovered that mites were crawling all over our snakes like tiny army infantry's, it was time to break-out the serious BIG GUNS and wage all-out WAR on those little Ba$tards..LOL!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

"some are just born to troll and roll"

hahaha That is too funny, man. That is a freakin long time not to have mites. Those of us who collect from the wild, could never have that kind of track record. lol
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True, Although I have found a fair number of stuff since then here and there, they somehow were mostly totally mite free. Maybe a tick or two here and there though. No doubt that you do way more field herping than I do. I haven't done any serious herping in quite a while. I went looking for some bloodred corns that Rusty Green captured here locally fairly recently, but when we actually tried to find more on purpose, it was non-productive. .........imagine that!!..HAHA!!..

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

"some are just born to troll and roll"

Great info there Ross......If and when I ever get mites I will be sure to treat them that way......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Thanks, John. I think all three methods are pretty effective, when done right.
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Thanks. Provent a mite is dangerous too. I know people that have lost snakes. I had a couple snakes get dehydrated very quickly with it, that's why I was asking about using it with the no pest strips. I don't have much experience with either one of them so I was hoping to hear several expiences.
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www.hcu-tx.org/

No problem, Aaron. I didn't know that about prevent a mite. From what I understand is you are not supposed to spray it directly on the snake, but on the substrate. Let it dry, and put the snake back in. I always wondered if the snake ingested any of the substrate treated with PM, would it harm the snake? You might want to look into the Nix method. I've heard a lot of good things about it, for whatever that's worth. lol
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www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Product.jsp?REG_NR=00007100001&DIST_NR=041348
www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Product.jsp?REG_NR=05040400007&DIST_NR=073617
www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Product.jsp?REG_NR=00060200113&DIST_NR=000602
I have successfully used the Equate Bedding Spray for the one time I had mites happen. Take the snake and water bowl out, spray bedding and crevices of cage and let dry, return animal and bowl. Also spray around perimeters of cage as mites travel. For animal itself a bath in Reptile Relief kills the mites.
thereptilecenter.com/reptile-supplies/supplements-remedies/natural-chemistry-de-flea-reptile-relief.html
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

Thanks everybody. I appreciate all the responses. If anybody has anything more to add please don't hesitate to do so.
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www.hcu-tx.org/

Some species are much more sensitive. Zonata can be ultra sensitive, as can rosyboas. Too much of the ingredient in a contained volume can kill a zonata or rosy. Getula and large snakes are not nearly as sensitive.

The trick with mites is to prevent them from spreading. They do not live that long, so if you stop them from spreading cage to cage, then they will die out. They tend to lay eggs outside of the cage many times, so kill them as they leave. That is where spraying POM around the outside of the cages does wonders - it kills any mites trying to spread to other cages, and it does not poison your animals. Do this and the mites will not spread.

For inside the cage, you really only need to treat once to kill any mites that may be there, or any eggs. Empty the cage, spray POM or place a pest strip in there for a few hours. Keep the snake in a temporary enclosure during all of this. Add fresh bedding once the POM is dry or after you remove the pest strip. Return snake and water bowl. That should do it. Safest way. No sense in exposing a snake to the fumes when it is the life cycle of the mite that you are trying to stop.