Reptile & Amphibian Forums

got a free burm from a local guy, unfortunately it's INFESTED with mites and seems to have a slight RI. I'm keeping him in the garage at the moment and taking precautions to not pass anything to my snakes. I gave him enough water till he was tired of drinking it, then gave him a bath in lice shampoo (pyrethrin based) and probably 500 mites came off into the water. He still has mites on him (a lot on the underneath side of his head) and I'm wondering what my plan should be for the next month to get rid of these guys. I'm keeping him in my last spare aquarium with plenty of heat...

You may want to pick up a can of Provent-A-Mite. It's the best stuff on the market.

RayRay

My baby burm had mites on it when i took her home so i use the reptile relief (the only thing the store had). let her soak for an hour but still she had mites. I learned about provent a mite from this forum and thought i'd give it a try. Sure enough the first time i used it, i haven't seen a mite since. I went an extra step beyond that and had 4 empty yogurt cups and filled them half way with sevin dust. I took those 4 cups and placed each corner of my stand inside one of these cups. About a couple weeks later I did the provent a mite one more time just to make sure the mites were gone. That has been at least 4-5 months ago and still not a sign of mites around.

I have found fantastic success with Black Knight spray. I had a nasty infestation of mites and the Black Knight killed every last one of them within a day or two - keep spraying every couple of days outside the cage to make sure they are all dead - should be clear in about 2 weeks - will not harm your burn if it is more than 2 months old or so. Hope this helps.

Marco

I just rescued a burm in December who had the same problems. Here is what I did. This may not be the perfect thing to do, but it worked for me.

For the mites:

I soaked her in warm water, about 80 degrees, for about 30 minutes, then ran my thumb down her "chin", the underside of her bottom jaw, and pulled off the mites. After about 4-5 of these sessions, all on the same day, back to back, I put her in a 20 long with some No Pest Strip, 1 inch per 5 gallons. Some people like Black Knight, some people like Provent-A-Mite, my preference is No Pest Strip. Then every couple of days I would put some Mineral Oil on her, the Mineral Oil, available at any drug store, will "drown" the mites. In my small experience, burms will normally force a shed in order to get rid of the mites. The shed came off in one piece, which also got rid of her stuck eyecaps. After about 3 weeks, the mites were gone, and I have not seen any mites to this day, and she is eating and shedding like normal, but meaner than hell.

For the RI:

The best advice I have ever received to take care of a RI is to raise the temp, gradually, and raise the humidity. If the RI is so bad that there are "snot" bubbles, you may want to consider a trip to the vet, instead of this.

Good Luck to ya,
Jason

If you have any other questions about this rescue, please feel free to post'em. This forum is full of some of the most knowledgeable(sp?) people I know.

If you decide to use the No Pest Strip, it needs to be put in a container, you cannot just leave it loose in the cage.

Jason, I like your non toxic method using mineral oil, but I must interject and object on using any form of a no pest strip. In the 80's they were a popular item for mite control and virtually everyone that used them experienced irreparable nerve damage, or nervous system disorders, in their snakes. I do not think no pest strips are safe to use for reptiles as they emit toxic fumes which are absorbed by the lungs.

I don't have mites as I run a very strict "closed colony" and extremely strict, 4-stage quarantine conditions,... but I do frequently have friends/fellow herpers, that experience them, plus, I used to have mites in my colonies repeatedly in the 70's and 80's. What always worked well for me is Sevin garden dust (5%). It can be applied directly to the snake's scales/skin (topically) by rubbing it in by hand and can be sprinkled lightly around the cage where mites nest and on the ground around the cage base to prevent mite migration to other cages/snakes.

I have never had any problems with Sevin dust over the course of nearly 30 years. Though one lady in another forum that keeps a burm or two (I think her screen name is "BroomHilda" claims it is dangerous. I personally, nor anyone that I know personally that has used it over a period spanning 4 decades, has ever experienced a single problem, sickness or death.

This dust-form compound is sold very cheaply at Wal-Mart for about 5 dollars for a 2 pound bag. A 2 pound bag can last for years. It is found in the garden section and is designed for use on vegetables for human consumption and can actually be used in some cases 48 hours prior to harvest/consumption. If this doesn't spell "S-A-F-E" I don't know what does.

Be sure to remove all water bowls/soak tubs prior to use as the snake could get it in the water then drink it, which can possibly be bad. Also, when applying it topically to the snake, be sure to not get it into the snake's mouth or nose. On the eyes is okay as mites like to hide in the recesses around the eyes.

If you (the original poster) have any questions please feel free to ask them here and I will do my best to answer them.

>>If you decide to use the No Pest Strip, it needs to be put in a container, you cannot just leave it loose in the cage.
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Believe in yourself and your abilities and you can accomplish anything.

I have heard the same thing about the No Pest Strips, but I have used them for only 1 year and have never had problems, I know that is not a long time, but that is my experience with it. I have read that overly exposing your reptile can cause nerve damage and so on.... but when I use it, I don't keep it in there ALL the time. It stays in there until the mites are gone, which is usually about 2 weeks, then I take it out. The eggs that are layed hatch and then I put it back in for 2 more weeks. I have never had a problem with it, and I will probably continue to use it, but I have tried PAM, and it works well, but I have never had an extreme case of mites like my rescue did, that is why I went back to the No Pest Strip. When I do notice, even 2 mite, I use PAM now. On a severe case of mites, I will use No Pest Strip, but on a mild case, I will use the PAM.

Thanks for the info on No Pest Strip. I will do some more reading before I use it, but like I said before, on extreme mite infestations, I do use it, and probably will continue to. Some people are PAM people, some are BK people, I just happened to be one of those No Pest Strip people. Different strokes for different folks.

Thanks again,
Jason

Hello - There are safer and more effective treatments for snake mites these days than Sevin dust. In particular, I would caution you about subjecting your snake to this dusty product since you noted that it is suffering from an apparent respiratory problem. Lung irritation has been noted from its use.

One widely accepted miticide is Provent-a-mite which you can buy online if you can’t find it locally.

Good luck,
Joan

Take it to a vet and get it a shot to get rid of them. Pest strips, black knight, and everything else pales in comparison. Two trips to the vet and thats it. With pest strips and other methods you always run the risk of them coming back after a couple of weeks. Its hard to kill the ones that hide deep in the snakes pits or other hard to reach areas. Pest strips also hurt your snake...basically you are hoping to put enough poison in the area to kill the mites but not your snake. I would imagine that black knight is the same way, but I've never used it. At $20 a can the shot isn't much higher.