Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found a small black bug crawling on my little baby red tail. I figured that is mites. What do yall think? So how do I get rid of them? Please help me.

No really if you are using any kind of wood products or wooden cage get rid of it.
Buy yourself a plastic tub big enough for the snake to fit in.
put the snake in it with water only (dont use listerine) enough to cover the snake completely but not so deep where it will have to swim the whole time.
Leave the snake in there for 3 or 4 days, while you clean and scrub ever inch of your cage and bowls and what ever may be in the cage.
when the cage is thoroughly cleaned and after the 4th day the snake was soaked you can put it in the clean cage. You may have to try soaking the snake again for 3-4 days after about 5 days from first soak, just to make sure there were no eggs laid or hatched. Especially soak the snake well when it is in shed until it sheds that is one of the best ways to get them out from under the scales.
if the problem continues , there are some products in pet stores that are for that problem.

Get Provent-a-Mite.
All but 2 of my cages are plastic.
But, the only time I had mites, I had 2 of my snakes in wood cages (this was in '98). I still have those wood cages and have never had mites since.
Follow the directions on the can. It kills all mites and eggs after a couple of applications.
I don't think soaking your boas for 4 days is a good idea.
Good luck.

>>Get Provent-a-Mite.
>>All but 2 of my cages are plastic.
>>But, the only time I had mites, I had 2 of my snakes in wood cages (this was in '98). I still have those wood cages and have never had mites since.
>>Follow the directions on the can. It kills all mites and eggs after a couple of applications.
>>I don't think soaking your boas for 4 days is a good idea.
>>Good luck.

np

I did say if there was an infestaion then resort to products that are for mites.But I do not believe in chemicals even if they are designed for it.

Also if you did not know mites drown in water, and when I recieve any snake I soak them as a precationary measure to see if they do have mites that me be hidden or dorment under the scales where your naked eye can't see.You would be able to see the mites in the water at the bottom of the tub.

other than that my opinion was from proven methods to remove mites.
other than that you are entitled to yours.

and did not read the rest of his post....
When I saw the soak your boa in watter for 3 days my eyes opened up to the size of golf balls.

>>and did not read the rest of his post....
>>When I saw the soak your boa in watter for 3 days my eyes opened up to the size of golf balls.

Ok I got an idea along the same lines. Put the snake in the plastic container like stated above, with just a bit more water then he said. Put the snake and the container in the freezer for 4 days. The water will prevent the snake from being harmed. When you are done, thaw the snake out and play with him all his mites will have froze and the snake will be just fine? NO No NO NO NO NO, I AM KIDDING!!! DO NOT FREEZE YOUR SNAKE!!!! I agree I would not soak your snake for 4 days in hopes that the water will drown the mites. Many a college kid spent many a days in a pool (back in the 70's and 80's) thinking they can kill crabs that way, it didn't work either LOL. Mite killing spray and cleaning everything is the only way to. Think of it as lice for snakes. If your kid ever had lice you know that you had to go through hell and back again to make sure they were gone for good, same with mites! they suck!
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

Then I spit them into the pepper shaker.It might sound strange,but the good news is that I don't like pepper...won't eat it. I don't know why I do it,but it is a mite treatment that you never hear about,so I just wanted to share it.Mite work,mite not.

Check out www.vpi.com and their article on "the war against mites". That should give you plenty of options for your treatment strategy. I've used Black Knight (no longer on the market from what I understand) with great success in the past, when I had mites carried in on live feeder mites from a local pet shop. I've heard Provent-a-Mite also works well. What ever solution you choose, you'll probably need to repeat it at least twice, just to make sure you catch any hatching eggs. You should also plan to treat all snakes and cages, since mites will travel from cage to cage and room to room.
Good luck!
Lora

I've used prevent-a-mite for years. It runs $19.95 a can and worth every penny.1 can will last a long time. Just make sure to follow the directions.
Bryan

Go to WalMart and get the Equate Bedding spray for lice treatment. It's the exact same thing as Provent-a-mite and only costs $5 a can

>>I've used prevent-a-mite for years. It runs $19.95 a can and worth every penny.1 can will last a long time. Just make sure to follow the directions.
>>Bryan

I clean the cage and everything in it with bleach water, and then I dry it out. I put my Boas in a Rubbermaid tub and sprinkle Sevin dust 5% (NOT THE 10%!) on them. I let it set overnight, then I give my Boas a warm bath to clean them off and I put them back in there cage. I also put a light dusting of Sevin dust 5% in the cage and leave it in for about 1 or 2 weeks. Then I clean the cage one more time with bleach water to get all the Sevin dust and DEAD MITES out. During this two week period I also change the water daily. This way the reptiles will have fresh, clean water to drink every day. I know some people say Sevin dust is not safe for your Boas,but I have had nothing but good luck with this. I have had boas since 1979, and have not had any bad experiences from this. Sevin dust even says you can use there product on your dogs and cats for fleas and tics. My veterinarian is the one who recommended Sevin dust to me. You can buy Sevin dust at any home and garden store. Lowe's and Home Depot also sell it.

Take care
Tom
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McCarthyBoas.com

If you can get a can of Blacknight it is easy, fog the cage after taking out the water bowl. Leave the snake in, repeat in 1 week. Mites are gone. B/k is almost impossible to get now though, because a competitor could not take the competition

Actually, Black Knight (d-phenothrin, a pyrethrin ) is almost impossible to get because there are many other very similiar and just as effective pesticides that are safer (for humans) to be around.

>>If you can get a can of Blacknight it is easy, fog the cage after taking out the water bowl. Leave the snake in, repeat in 1 week. Mites are gone. B/k is almost impossible to get now though, because a competitor could not take the competition

I am quite sure the reason b/k is hard to get is because of pending litigation brought on by the makers of proventamite.

Black Knight has been hard to come by for several years. The popular form of the chemical used was as an airline aerosol to prevent the inadvertent transportation of certain cockroaches around the globe. The stuff caused reactions in people (mammals tend to be much less sensitive to pyrethroids than insects) and has been pulled almost universally.

People would not need Provent a mite if they read the damn label and realized it was nothing but aerosolized permethrin (.5%), and readily available, like I mentioned before, as bedding spray for lice treatment for $5 a can at wal mart.

I have limited experience with mites (from imports), but the permethrin spray works very well, and I use it on all my cages monthly as a preventative.

>>I am quite sure the reason b/k is hard to get is because of pending litigation brought on by the makers of proventamite.

I also use a more readily available product called Repel (.05% permethrin aerosol), sold in the camping section of Target as an insect repellent for camping gear, that is identical in content to Provent-a-mite. You use the product in the same way as Provent-a-mite, you spray the enclosure (minus the water bowl) and let it dry, then put the snake and water back in. I pre-treat every animal that comes into my collection this way. I also use the spray on the table cloth I use at the expo I attend to help prevent any mites from crawling onto my gear - or my animals when I take them. The seller of Provent-a-mite is making money hand over fist for a product that already exists, and has for years, by putting a new label and usage patent on the ingredients and selling to the reptile public for an exorbetant amount. I'll be the first to admit I've purchased his $20 per can product and was very pleased with the results. However, when I found that the treatment I was using on my snakes was just an aerosol version of what I'd been treating my house with for flea control, I immediately went out and found a readily available local version of the same product. Personally, I wouldn't recommend all the home remedies so many are fond of. Non-stop soaking for days isn't good for a snake - it can drown, the water drops the body temperature inviting respiratory infections, and it stresses the animal to be forced into a tub of water when it may or may not want to soak. Mineral oil will work, but it will also cause shedding problems with the snake and you still have mites in the enclosure and on/in cage furniture. If you treat the mites correctly the first time, or pre-treat any new additions, you should have no problems what-so-ever. I've treated everything from hatchling African house snakes, hatchling corns and neonate Solomon Island ground boas to my Burmese pythons with it with no problems and it works.

Raven

will this kill ants?

just got some, it's 40% deet. repel original

This is like saying that laundry detergent and hand dishwashing liquid are the same because they are both "soap". Try to soak your snake in powdered laundry detergent and see what the "active & inert" ingredients can cause. There are different isomers of permethrin which all have different toxicity levels as well as the synergists, surfactants and other inerts, many which are toxic to reptiles that are used in these other products. None of this is or has to be disclosed on the label. Anyone with specific knowledge about pesticides will know that there are many variables regarding an active and a formula. Without full knowledge of the entire formula (which are major trade secrets that no company will disclose) and what source the active is coming from, no one will know how it can potentially affect any non labeled, non tested host. This is why the EPA requires significant testing for the specific host to be sure it will work as indicated without any undo risks, both health and environmental, before the company is allowed to put that use on the label. If you read any pesticide product, one of the first statements listed is "It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling". This is because they don't want products being used for untested purposes which could lead to numerous potential risks, not only to the untested host, but more importantly by creating problems such as resistant strains of pests, environmental hazards and so forth. By using products in this fashion, you are "donating" your animals as test guinea pigs. Despite any claim by any person, without proper testing using established protocols, no one knows what could occur. Pest strips are a perfect example of this. Repel is a product that is designed to be sprayed on material, it is not designed to be used with animals, skin or any living thing. All studies done were based on dermal contact of a treated fabric with mammals, which are significantly different physiologically than reptiles. Since the product was not designed to be used to treat reptiles, or any other animal for that matter, the company did not have to give the EPA any safety data for such usage.

These products have never been clinically tested on reptiles and are not the same formula as Provent-a-mite. Also many of these products are designed to break down quickly, which will expose the mites and ticks to a sub-lethal dose, which can lead to(and has with other species of ectoparasites)creating a resistant strain of ectoparasites that would be difficult if not impossible to eradicate!
Call these companies and ask if their product is safe to use on reptiles, and to put it in writing and see what response you get. Many people have learned the hard way that these products are not the same formula as Provent-a-mite. Often, these products can cause chronic long term problems, so one never associates the demise of the animal with a mite treatment done previously.

If anyone feels this is all hype, I suggest they contact Larry Kenton from Maryland Reptile Farms. He was told that another permethrin product was the same active in the same concentration and was told it was "identically the same" as Provent-a-mite. Only after losing at least 18 high end snakes did he find out this was not true. If you look at these other labels, it sounds like it is the same basic product as Provent-a-mite because they only have to list the generic name of the active, but the fact is that they are very different. One chemical that we know some other formulas use which is an inert based on the fact it doesn't have any effect with the approved label uses, being a clothing & fabric treatment, would have to be listed as an active with reptiles, as studies we have performed showed that it is toxic to reptiles as Larry found out the hard way. For the same reason, these products would never receive EPA approval for use with reptiles as any proper study would show it is potentially toxic to them.

There are significant costs associated with formulating, producing and registering any pesticide product. Many of these costs are the same whether the company is selling 1 unit or 1,000,000 units. Since Provent-a-mite is a "niche" market item with comparatively low sales as compared to other products being sold, the costs of our ingredients are much higher than the "agricultural grade" actives which have a more toxic molecule as well as many more impurities and the fact we can't negotiate lower production costs at the fillers because we don't make 500,000 cans per run, our costs to produce Provent-a-mite are higher. Add to this the fixed costs associated with research and government registrations, regardless of how much product is sold and one will realize we are not making money "hand over fist". We would be happy to negotiate a contract with anyone who can reduce the cost, so if Raven or anyone else thinks there is a better way, let us know.

Provent-a-mite works. It is a patented product with a unique formula and it is the only product that has been extensively tested and approved by the EPA and the USDA specifically for use with reptiles. It only costs about 50 cents to treat a 4' x 2' cage with an active mite or tick infestation and about 5 cents to use it preventatively with an average cage as can be testified by thousands of zoos, breeders and hobbyists worldwide.
Unlike other products that stop working as soon as they dry, Provent-a-mite is the only product that will also provide long term residual protection, killing any ectoparatites for a period of at least 30 days (usually several months), eliminating an infestation usually with only 1 or 2 applications. Provent-a-mite is also the only product that can be used preventatively to kill potentially disease carrying mites and ticks before they can infect your collection. There is no need to spend the time and money to replace substrate, bleach the cage, bake your cage furniture or all of the other steps other methods require, often repeatedly.

Obviously we do not understand why anyone would want to subject their animals to the potential risks other products may pose, especially when Provent-a-mite is often cheaper to use per application, usually only needs one application to eradicate an infestation, is the only product that can protect your animals from potentially disease carrying ectoparasites before they can attach and infect them, eliminates the time and cost to clean and replace cage items and has a longer shelf life than most other products. To save a few dollars up front?

Bob @ Pro Products
Pro Products

The reason has nothing to do with competition. Airosol Corp.was found guilty by a Federal court of violating the Federal Clean Air Act, selling a product that destroys our environment by using chemicals that have been illegal and banned for such use over 9 years ago. Aren't we supposed to be more concerned about these matters, being that we care about animals and the environment they live in (not to mention us). These very chemicals are suspect in contributing to the demise of amphibians worldwide as well as other problems.

Bob @ Pro Products