Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I JUST PUT MY DUMMERILS BOA IN ITS NEW CAGE ,AFTER CLEAN IT. THE NEXT DAY HE WAS INFESTED WITH MITES1!!!. NONE OF MY SNAKES EVER MITES I KNOW HE DIDNT HAVE MITES. THE PROBLOM IS I HAVE THREE 4 FOOT CAGES STACK UP AND HE IS ON TOP.IVE ALREADY TOOK OUT ALL THE BARK AND CLEAND ALL THREE CAGES, AND CHECK AND SOAK ALL MY BOAS ONLY TO FIND NO SIGNS OF MITES IN ANY OTHER OF THE CAGES,OR ON ANY OTHER SNAKES.IVE BEEN CHANGING THE NEWSPAPER EVERYDAY AND SOAKING ALL FOUR SNAKES EVERYDAY. IT SEEMS TO NOT BE SPREADIND BUT STAYING JUST IN MY DUMMREILS CAGE.. IVE USED MITE SPRAY ON HIM AND IN HIS CAGE.IVE USED BLEACH TO CLEAN THE CAGE . IVE BLOCKED OFF THE VENTS IN ALL CAGES ONLY LEAVING THE FRONT FOR AIR FLOW. THERES ONLY NEWSPAPER,A WATER DISH.AND A HIDE BOX IN ALL THREE CAGES. IN MY RAINBOW CAGE INSTEAD OF MOSS IN THE MOSS BOX IM USEING DAMP WHITE PAPER TOWELS. IS THIS O.K.? WHAT ELSE CAN I DO TO STOP THE MITES??

Order, or pick up a can of provent-a-mite it will work wonders. You can order it from numerous stores on KS, and or look on the caging/supplies classifieds. It is about $20 a can but will work great for you and it also will work as a proventative in the case of a future outbreak. I'd always keep a can around. Hope this helps.

Justin Higgs
ECTOTHERMZ...

Justin is right - Prevent-A-Mite is the way to go. If you deal with a large number of snakes and/or you are buying new ones from time to time you will eventually get mites no matter how careful you think you are. Simply going to a local herp show can infest your collection if you hold an animal at the show that has mites (which you aren't aware of) and them bring some home on your clothes. I only had mites once 3 years ago and Prevent-A Mite did the trick. Simply follow the directios on the can. If you have any questions you can call the company which makes it (located in Mahopac,N.Y.) and they will help you out. Mites in their early stages are so small that they are invisible. It's probably a good bet that the rest of your collection has them as well. You will have to simplify all of you cages down to nothing but the animal, newspaper and a water dish for the stuff to be most effective. It would also be wise to spray the the outside frames of the cages as well as any rack unit that they are on. Once the stuff dries, if a mite walks on any surface which has been treated it will die. One treatment will kill mites for over a month so it is a good idea to treat 3 times (1 time per month) to be sure. Just DO NOT spray the animal or the water dish and make sure the cage dries out compltely and "airs out" well before putting the animal back in.-----------RON