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My ETB is getting ready to shed and I was checking out the eyes last night and thought I saw a mite in the edge of the eye. Then I saw a little dark brown spot cruising along one of the coils. I think I have some mites in the cage. When holding her the other day I inspected for stuff and saw nothing. Could they be coming out from under scales because of the shedding or maybe they are harmless tiny bugs? I looked at the folds under the chin, where I have seen larger mite populations on snakes in the past, and saw nothing. I am going to thouroughly clean the cage and bake the branches in the cage. What should I use to clean the cage and how hot and how long do you bake the branches? should I use a mite killer and if so which is safe and effective?

Yes an upcoming shed will casue the mites to disoodge and move. As for baking I don't know. AS for bug sprays I also don't know as I only have BCI. Check out VPI they have some info on this.
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Jared Douglas

There is a product called Hot Shot No Pest Strips that you can get at most drug stores like Walgreens for around $5. They have an insecticide called dichlorvos in them that works well on mites but won't harm your snakes with short-term use. I cut two 1" square pieces from the main strip for something the size of a 10 gallon aquarium and either put them on the screen top or on the floor or suspend them inside the enclosure from the top, depending on the type of enclosure. Try and avoid putting them where the snake will come into direct contact with them. You can also use perforated deli cups to put them in and then put the cup directly inside the cage. Leave them in there for 3-5 days and you should wipe out any bugs. Then you will probably have to repeat in a week or so to kill any more that may have hatched out from eggs. I have used these many times with 100% success. In fact I have not had mites in many, many years, but the pair of atb's I just bought had some but they have been succesfully treated using this method. As a precaution, you can also clean the cage with a 1:15 bleach to water solution and then rinse it out REALLY good - so you don't have any residual bleach smell. If the branches are small enough, you can do the same with them, just soak them in a bucket with the bleach solution for a few hours (I like to leave it overnight) and then rinse really well and let them soak in clean, fresh water for a few hours, or overnight. Again, make sure they don't have any bleach smell coming from them before you place them back in the cage. Since your snake is going to shed soon, this is the absolute best time to treat since any bugs actually on your snake will be removed once your snake sheds. Just make sure to get the skin out ASAP after it sheds. Mites suck. Good luck. Billy

>>My ETB is getting ready to shed and I was checking out the eyes last night and thought I saw a mite in the edge of the eye. Then I saw a little dark brown spot cruising along one of the coils. I think I have some mites in the cage. When holding her the other day I inspected for stuff and saw nothing. Could they be coming out from under scales because of the shedding or maybe they are harmless tiny bugs? I looked at the folds under the chin, where I have seen larger mite populations on snakes in the past, and saw nothing. I am going to thouroughly clean the cage and bake the branches in the cage. What should I use to clean the cage and how hot and how long do you bake the branches? should I use a mite killer and if so which is safe and effective?

anything with pyrethrins will kill mites but some have a higher dosage and are safe for using on the reptile and some are better for using on the cage. If the snake has mites, use mite rx and spray the cage with prevent-a-mite. these are not cheap ways to do it but they work. I don't know if an emerald will do this but many snakes with mites will soak in deeper than normal water and drown the mites themselves (I would use products as well as letting the snake do its thing). if you use woodchips or some sort of bark or mulch, the bugs might be harmless and often those substrates host them...I use indoor/outdoor carpet, or astroturf and replace it often to avoid bacteria. It is anywhere from 19-50c per sg ft and cheap enough to replace instead of clean. Good luck and switch to white paper towels until you know whats going on.

thanks for the ideas. The bottom of the cage is about 3 inches of water so paper towels won't work. I think I will use the no pest strips. Now that you mention it, I used those years ago, but I haven't had any snakes for about 10 years so I forgot that. Thanks for the reminder.

Hay ,If you are going to use inside the Encloser,no pest-strip's you got to make sure your snake can not make contact with it.Also all water should be removed and replased after treatment.
Have A Good One ! !
Kenneth
Also you should repeat treatment 10 Day's after the first.

so how do I provide humidity without water? I was going to suspend the strip in a deli cup.

Hay, I would use a small jar with a tight fitting lid.And punch holes in the top,that way you no the lid wont come off.And for the substrate i would use damp white paper towels or new's paper just keep it damp.You should always remove the water dish or any standing water because the volitile pesticide emitted from the srip will contaminate any water left in the cage making it toxic.
Have A Good One ! !
Kenneth