Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have tried everything and i cant get still cant get rid of them how can i get rid of the mites please help thanks

The safest and most effective product I have found is a mite spray called Provent-A-Mite. You can get it at http://www.healthypets.com/ and no prescription is required. It is extremely safe and works in a matter of weeks. It is also the eaiest methode I have found. Other then that your local vet can prescribe a small dosage of Ivermectin which can be used once a week to treat the mites but that tends to be a little risky like with any medication. An odine bath will also work but do be careful, Iodine is an astringent and prolonged use can cause dehydration and poor shedding if not used properly, not to mention it gets very messy. Hope this helps and Good luck!

Pyrethrins is the active ingredient that kills mites. This is extrememly toxic and doses in prevent-a-mite are more than twice that of sprays you can use directly on the animal. Make sure you spray the cage and remove all water dishes and allow the enclosure to air out for a long time before re-entry on the animal or water dish. Blacknight is of the shelves but I believe you can still get mite-RX to put directly on the animal if you have a diluted enough dose in the bottle. Also, prevent-a-mite will work great on the cage and will help kill mites and not allow your enclosure to host them but as far as the animal you may want to give it some extra help. They do not want mites any more than you do so if you give them a large enough water container to soak in...often times they will drown the mites and eggs themselves.

Provent-a-mite does not use "Pyrethrins" as our active ingredient. Pyrethrin is toxic to reptiles and should not be used in any concentration. When used as directed, Provent-a-mite will kill any mites and ticks that are on the reptile, in the cage and any that try and re-enter the cage for a period of at least 30 days and usually several months. It is the only product that can be used preventatively, killing any mites and ticks before they can infest a collection.

No other product or company uses or even has knowledge of our formula. The inert ingredients in other products have never been tested on reptiles and can often be toxic, both acutely and chronically.

Bob @ Pro Products
Pro Products

I do not understand the difference in toxicity to reptiles as compared to pyrethrins. As a comparison though.. 0.50% in prevent-a-mite if it were pyrethrins would be way to high to put directly on most parts of a snake that would be highly infested with mites and to inhale. I appologize though for stating prevent-a-mite uses pyrethrins. I thought the .50% permethrin was pyrethrins..my mistake (I have obviously not read a bottle in a while so that is a good thing).

There are many different pyrethroid chemicals and specific generic names can have many isomers, all with different toxicity's.
Pyrethrins are widely used in many products as they pose no risk to mammals and birds as a rule, but they are definitely toxic to reptiles. Most of these products also use chemicals such as Piperonyl butoxide, which is a synergist that modifies and increases the toxicity of the active in various ways. One will find that most formulations use this and/or other synergists as it is much cheaper than the active and creates a more lethal product.

Studies have been done, and products are marketed, showing that Piperonyl butoxide as well as other chemicals are definitely toxic to reptiles, regarding the killing of brown tree and other snakes, and improve the formula to do just that. You can do a search on these products used in the South Pacific and Indonesia that use various formulas to KILL snakes. They are packaged in high pressure containers (like a wasp & hornet spray) so you can hit the snake up to 20 feet away.

These products are absolutely lethal to snakes. Many product labels can appear to be the same or very similar as Provent-a-mite as to the generic active, but they are very different products.

There are many other chemicals in these formulas that will never be made public and since the manufacture did not make any claims to the EPA (or on the label) that the product would be safe and effective on reptiles, no such studies or proof would be required. Many of these inerts can be potentially toxic to reptiles and since no tests or studies have ever been performed, no one knows. Since all formulas are proprietary and secret, no one will ever know what is really in the can and will only be sure that the product is OK to use with reptiles if that claim is specifically on the label. This is why it is a federal offense to sell, distribute, offer for sale, promote or use any pesticide for an unlabeled use. The EPA enforces this, as using a pesticide indiscriminately for a non tested use can have deleterious effects on the site, host and environment and they do not want any such problems to develop.

Provent-a-mite is the only product approved by the EPA and the USDA, specifically for use with reptiles (no other product can say this). Provent-a-mite is approved for the uses stated on our label for which such an approval would not have been granted without submitting the required efficacy and toxicity studies.

The EPA requires very detailed studies done by a specific set of protocols in order to register a formula for a specific use. These studies must follow certain guidelines and conform to such certifications as GLP (good laboratory practices) or equivalent. We spent 6 years and several tests/studies before we received EPA approval for our product to be used specifically on reptiles. This was after the approximately 10 years we spent developing the formula. We had to show that Provent-a-mite didn't hurt the reptile, had efficacy results per our claims and did not pose any risk or environmental hazards when used per the directions as set forth in our submittal.

Most of our studies, like any other company, contain proprietary information, so will never be released to the public. However, there are a few completed, non proprietary studies that either have been published or will be soon.

What follows is an excerpt from a paper that will be published in the near future in a recognized scientific journal. Until it is published, we can't provide any additional information.

"...However, it was realized that different formulations of acaricides contain different ingredients in addition to the active compound, some of which might be toxic to reptiles. For example, Piperonyl butoxide, added to some formulations as a synergist, has been associated with snake mortality.
Therefore, commercially available permethrin formulations were examined and only one, a patented formulation containing 0.5% permethrin called Provent-a-mite™(Pro Products, Mahopac, New York), was found which had been prepared specifically for use on reptiles and which had been marketed in the United States for several years as an acaricide for control of mites and ticks that feed on reptiles. The clinical effects of application of Provent-a-mite™ were studied on three species of reptiles by direct application to African spurred tortoises (Geochelone sulcata) and by application to the bedding of rosy boas (Lichanura trivirgata) and green iguanas (Iguana iguana), using on each occasion 10 times the recommended dosage every fifth day for a total of six applications. Despite the excessive doses of acaricides applied, no evidence of toxic reactions related to treatment with the permethrin formulation was found in any of the three species of reptiles treated, suggesting that Provent-a-mite™ is a safe product to use as an acaricide for control of ticks on tortoises, snakes and lizards..."

People are always making claims about various pesticides and state they are OK to use with reptiles when they have no knowledge as to what chemicals are even in the formula. Even with a product that lists the same "generic" active, the active can be a different isomer and the remainder of the formula will always be a mystery. Just because one does not see any negative outward effects after using an off labeled product, certainly doesn't mean that it is not causing chronic health problems to the animal over the long term or creating other problems, such as the potential for resistant mites and other environmental damage.

No Pest strips were once considered safe (and some people still hang on to this theory), but after many years of our reptiles being guinea pigs, it was found that they are harmful, both acutely and chronically. Some of our leading vets, including Douglas Mader as well as several zoos have confirmed this. Unless the product has been specifically tested and approved for use by the USEPA, no one can state whether or not it can be harmful to a reptile.

Bob@ Pro Products
Pro Products

eunectes4 is certainly right about one thing - if the snakes get a chance to drown the mites they'll take it. I'll never forget the red tail boa I took in that was LITERALLY COVERED with black little bugs crawling all over him. As soon as I gave him a huge soaking tub in his cage he jumped right in and remained completely submerged except for his nostrils. When doing this make sure to give them extra heat or they will get way too cold not wanting to leave the water.

There are a variety of mite sprays, powders, and oils etc that you can get at your local pet store or online supplier. But none of them will help you if the mites have a good enough hiding place (under rubber seals or plastic edging in the cage, nooks and crannys in the cage furniture). If at all possible I'd reccomend soaking your entire enclosure and furniture in bleach water for a day at a time, and switching your snake to a fresh enclosure while the other one is soaking in bleach water. Make sure to rinse the cages well with water before returning your snake to remove any bleach traces that might hurt the snake. If you repeat this every day or couple days for a while you will leave the mites no place to hide.
-----
Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
Find out how YOU can get involved in reptile rescue...
www.forgottenfriend.org

What Are You Using ! You Wanna Stay Away From The Harsh Products that are out there.. It takes time but using Reptile Relief WORKS ! You can pick it up at petco or go to there website for dealers that carry the product. It worked within a week or two of solid cleaning with it..

There are two products out there, that if you use them together can get rid of your mite problem asap. The first is
Provent-a-mite. Take your animal and his/her water dish out of the tank. Spray the provent-a-mite into the tank until the entire inside has a foggy look. Let it sit for about 5 minutes shut, with the lid on, then air it out for about 15-20 minutes until all the fog is completely gone. While your tank is airing out, the second product is called Reptile Releif. Let your animal soak in warm water for 10 minutes, and dry him/her off. Also wash the water dish with dish soap and dryoff. Spray the reptile releif onto the animal, but don't use too much, just mist it and rubb all over with your fingures. Avoid putting the reptile relief in the snakes eyes and mouth, in my experience I think that getting into the eyes and mouth stings the snake. It is a good idea to do this at least twice, a week apart. After you are sure the mites are gone, change the bedding and clean all the surfaces with more reptile releif.
-----
Alone, alone, all, all alone. Alone on a wide, wide sea.
-Rime of the ancient Mariner

I agree with clehreptiles about the reptile relief. I once had a problem with eight snakes in eight separate cages. Mites were seen in only three cages, or should I say on three snakes. I bought two bottles of the reptile relief and started work. Each cage was washed with the reptile relief everyday, the floor was vaccuumed everyday (along with a couple of moth balls, then emptied and taken outside), every snake was wiped down with a paper towel that was sprayed with the reptile relief (follow the precautions on the bottle. Since the life cycle of a mite isn't very long, it only took a couple of weeks before I felt better. The mites were gone after about one week. As for the mites on the snakes themselves, the worst part was around the eyes. I just used a Q-tip that was dipped in clean chlorine free water. It was a lot of hard work, however the end result was worth it. It has been over a year, and no mites since except for a rescue that I acquired. I used the same treatment for that one animal in quarantine, and the problem was taken care of in less than two weeks (the pits on pythons allow for more hiding places for the mites). Now all new arrivals get 'cleaned' before going into quarantine.