Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I noticed a little tiny bug in my snakes cage the other day and figured it might be a mite. I checked my snake and didn't see anything but I dont wanna take a chance so I figure I will treat him anyway. I heard of a few different methods to treat the snake,one taking him 2 the vet for a shot,some sprays,biostrips and even other insects to eat the mites.

I was looking for a spray that I can use to treat the snake and his enviorment. I really dont want to use a bio-strip and heard there is a new type of spray that kills the mites and is safe to spray even on the snakes head and eyes(where mites like to hang out).You can also spray this stuff on any decorations you have in the snakes cage. I plan to clean his tank with vinegar and water and some of that mite spray. Rinse it off with boiling hot water then spraying the snake before I place him back inside.

My question is...what is the name of the spray? Or does anyone have any suggestions?

I really dont know if it was a mite of not. I mean I could see the thing clearly,it was like a grey/white bug. Could it be a wood mite that was in the aspen?

>>I really dont know if it was a mite of not. I mean I could see the thing clearly,it was like a grey/white bug. Could it be a wood mite that was in the aspen?

To me that sounds like a wood mite or something. Mites on snakes tend to be black or red. I have seen red mites picked up outside in North America.
Either way, my treatment of choice is treating the cage with Provent A Mite. You might want to soak the snake and see if any hitchhikers come off.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

Thanks for the reply. I have found out that what was in the snake tank was actually something called a springtail(or what some people call wood mites). They were in my lizard tank because they like to hang out in mulch(I am using repti-bark) where the humidity is high and the wood is damp. They are perfectly harmless to reptiles and other pets but are common pests in high humid and damp areas.Actually baby frogs love to feed on these little insects!After inspecting my snake VERY closely I have seen no mites or any other external parisite on him. He really never soaks himself in his water dish either unless he is about to shed. As a precaution I bought zoomeds mite off since I could not find provent-a-mite around here. I will clean all my enclosures this weekend and go from there.

Whoa!!

Folks w/o experience w/mites need to be very careful about how they treat them. I have never used Zoo Med's Mite-Off, but have used Provent A Mite and strips, etc. All sprays and vapors I have experience with or heard of are very toxic. You need to be very careful how you apply them and make sure your animals do not come in contact with them. ASAMOF, you must remove the water from cages before spraying Provent a Mite, so that it doesn't dissolve in the drinking water.

Provent a Mite is easy to get, but costs about $20/can. It works, but it will also kill small reptiles if applied wrong. You cannot apply it directly to snakes. If Mite Off can be applied directly to snakes w/o any harm, I would question how effective it is.

TC

>>Thanks for the reply. I have found out that what was in the snake tank was actually something called a springtail(or what some people call wood mites). They were in my lizard tank because they like to hang out in mulch(I am using repti-bark) where the humidity is high and the wood is damp. They are perfectly harmless to reptiles and other pets but are common pests in high humid and damp areas.Actually baby frogs love to feed on these little insects!After inspecting my snake VERY closely I have seen no mites or any other external parisite on him. He really never soaks himself in his water dish either unless he is about to shed. As a precaution I bought zoomeds mite off since I could not find provent-a-mite around here. I will clean all my enclosures this weekend and go from there.

Add cream to the mix. Two of my kings (that were breeding) came down with mites. The imatuer ones were cream, adults black.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."