Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my new snake is soaking alot, i noticed today several black things in the water, not knowing what they were i smushed it and saw blood! are these mites? will it transfer to the other snakes? hes not in the same room, not even near the other snakes and we always wash our hands after holding each different snake. is this mites? what can i do to get rid of it? our other snakes are on the top level of the apartment hes on the main so im hoping it will not transfer, he was fed twice in the same feeding bin as the other snakes, luckily i thought firt and washed it just to be safe. i will start to feed him in a different container, what can i buy and how much does it usually cost?

Get yourself a can of Provent-A-Mite works the first time you use it, just be sure to follow the directions on the can 100% of the way. Depending on where you purchase it you will run you anywhere from $19.99-$39.99 and if not purchased locally you will also be paying for shipping.
I recently had a mite problem too and tried to go the cheap route as the only place by me that had P-a-M sold it for $39.99... so I bought the tick and mite spray the petstore carried for reptiles, marketed as a all natural and safe treatment... I don't quite remember the name of it though. This stuff had to be used once every 3-4 days spray the snake and the cage and wash the cage... big pain in the butt with 12 snakes... ended up using 3 bottles of that stuff and still had mites 2 weeks later... finally I decided to bite the bullet and pay for the Provent-a-Mite, and sure enough by the next day no mites! Everyone who owns herps should have a can of P-A-M for that off chance that they get mites. It could have saved me about $30 (cost of 3 bottles of the other spray)...
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Liz
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 100% het for albino ball python
2.4 normal ball pythons
0.2 colombian red tail boas
1.1 anery kenyan sand boas

I had a problem with mites last month on a snake. I too tried the cheap stuff at the local pet store and it did nothing. Since I had to order PAM from the internet and wait a few days for it to come in, I decided to try something. I used dog shampoo that kills fleas/ticks. Since mites are related to ticks I figured that it would work on mites. Bingo, killed all the mites with one use! I used the seargents flea and tick shampoo for puppies with oatmeal, so it wasnt the full strength for adult dogs. Followed the directions as if I were shampooing a puppy, and it worked. No ill effects on the snake, and he is back to his old self and mite free! I treated my rack system with raid insect killer and let it stand for 4 or 5 days to air out before putting my snakes back in it. Havent seen a single mite since. So for about $8 I got rid of the mites in a single day.
There were still a few dead mites stuck to him after the shampoo, and the ones that didnt fall off, came off with his next shed.

If you decide to use this option, make sure you observe your snake for a few days after to make sure there are no more mites. You may want to put it on newspaper or paper towels so you can see any mites that are alive. Alive ones will be moving around, the dead ones that fall off the snake will not be moving and will be dried up.

Good luck and keep us posted.

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1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Punisher and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Eastern Yellow Belly racer "Nightcrawler" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.1 California king snake "Bandit and Moonstar" (Coastal phase)
1.0 Prairie king snake "Bishop" (KY locale)
0.1 Black king snake "Domino" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern Milk snake "Cable" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern/Red milk intergrade "Omega Red" (KY locale)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

...
Link to shampoo post

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1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Punisher and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Eastern Yellow Belly racer "Nightcrawler" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.1 California king snake "Bandit and Moonstar" (Coastal phase)
1.0 Prairie king snake "Bishop" (KY locale)
0.1 Black king snake "Domino" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern Milk snake "Cable" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern/Red milk intergrade "Omega Red" (KY locale)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

ive got a bottle of reptile relief, says to spray it directly on the snake but not enough to run off, this snake is pretty small and the spray is pretty powerful so i sprayed it on papertowels and wiped him down with it, i also wiped his tank walls and let it air out before putting him back...im gonna change his substrate to paper towels tonight, so i can keep track and see if they continue to appear as i treat him. thank you very much for your help, i hope this isnt the cheap stuff thatyou guys are talking about...if so i will be forced to order in prevent a mite or check out the other stores

I believe reptile relief is what it is called. It is a brown/tan bottle with a clear cap and a pump mister (non areosol). It also has a comment on it that explains how it works saying something along the lines of that it permeates the skin of the mite and causes them to burst or explode... Personally I never saw one burst or explode... it did kill some, but it did not get rid of the problem even after 2 weeks of use carefully following the directions. If you got it from one of the 2 major pet stores (I'm sure you know which ones I mean) take it back and get your money back as it will not be very successful at getting rid of the mites. I did some research on mites after the problem developed and found out some amazing stuff about them... in about an hour they can travel 8-11 inches and are very happy to go wandering around looking for more snakes... if you have carpet in the room, vacuume it daily to pick up any stray mites that may be migrating to other areas... I first noticed my mite problem on my "quarantined" snake downstairs... within 2 days the snakes upstairs had mites. It happens fast and they are tricky little buggers... with PAM take the snake out and the water bowl... leave bedding and hides and spray it so that there is a fog in the cage (mind you no living thing should be in that room for a couple of hours after it has been sprayed). Wait for the fog to go away and then air out the room for a little while then add the snake back and the water bowl... next day tons of dead mites in the water and on the ground... 1 treatment lasts 30 days. Its worth the extra $$ to get rid of the problem right away in my opinion.
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Liz
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 100% het for albino ball python
2.4 normal ball pythons
0.2 colombian red tail boas
1.1 anery kenyan sand boas

crap so this wont work? i live in canada, and looked for other stuff but this is all they had ill check out super pet tomorrow..hopefully they will have something..im gonna vacume and do everything i can to prevent them from spreading...hopefully i can find some prevent a mite...maan this sucks i wish the guy would of been honest when i asked if there was anything wrong..but then again he would never make sales that way

your best bet at finding PAM will probably be online. Not too sure how shipping will work with you being in Canada. Do you have lots of other snakes as well? or just the one? If it is just the one the reptile releif may work for you. Having 12 snakes here, the mites were just migrating all over the place.
The guy that sold it may not have been aware that the snake had mites depending on how long he had it. Hope your problem clears up soon. Try soaking your snake in water with a couple of drops of dish soap. It will help kill some of the mites that are on him currently, as just soaking in water the mites sometimes have air bubbles form around them allowing them to live underwater for a while. The soap helps break the surface tension of the water and makes it easier to drown them.
What were u using for substrate when you set his cage up? Sometimes the wood substrates can contain mites...
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Liz
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 100% het for albino ball python
2.4 normal ball pythons
0.2 colombian red tail boas
1.1 anery kenyan sand boas

Anyone who maintains reptiles in captivity should have a copy of the article written by Dave and Tracy Barker of VPI, as it is perhaps the most comprehensive look into this subject conducted by a breeder / keeper.

http://www.vpi.com/9VPITipsAndTechs/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites.htm

As for the eradication of mites, Provent-a-mite and Black Knight are two of the most effective insecticides available, but much caution must be observed while using them, as both contain insecticides which can cause adverse, and in some cases, detrimental, reactions, if not used carefully.
As someone has already mentioned, Reptile Relief is not very effective for eradicating a mite problem, and even less effective at eradicating the mite eggs.
After reading Dave and Tracy's article, yo may wish to visit Pro Exotics site, as Robyn has a very interesting, and informative article as well:

http://www.proexotics.com/

Good luck,

Jeff

I used the puppy shampoo and it worked great!!! Same ingredients as in PAM!!!!! Premethrin - 0.1%, and it only costs like 4 or 5 dollars!!! Im telling you, it killed the mites, everyone of them and it has been over 2 weeks with no reinfestation!!!! That is what I will use in the future, costs way less and will last alot longer!
Just my 2 cents worth.
Brian
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1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Punisher and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Eastern Yellow Belly racer "Nightcrawler" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.1 California king snake "Bandit and Moonstar" (Coastal phase)
1.0 Prairie king snake "Bishop" (KY locale)
0.1 Black king snake "Domino" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern Milk snake "Cable" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern/Red milk intergrade "Omega Red" (KY locale)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

While I'm happy to hear that the shampoo worked for you, I am more reserved to not use products that were not designed for the animal that I intend to treat.
While the ingredients are the same how certain can you be that the mixture of the chemicals is the same?
It is too high of a risk for me, but if it worked for you great.
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Liz
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 100% het for albino ball python
2.4 normal ball pythons
0.2 colombian red tail boas
1.1 anery kenyan sand boas
1.0 burmese python