Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well i have been fighting a mite problem for about five months! I bought a used wooden cage and well it came with some extras!

I have tried everything but the little buggers are back so today i took every piece of wood and water bowls and tanks and well put them outside for the night! ( all the snakes are bagged)

Oh did I forget to mention I live in buffalo NY ITS FING COLD -10 to be exact!

Paul

Mites are bad...
I thought my animals had mites once. They did... termites. They came from a grape vine log I put in the cage six months earlier. Removed all wood items, cleaned the cage, problem gone. With a wooden cage it may be a possibitlity. The good news would be that termites would be less of a problem for your snakes. The bad news is they're not so good for your home.

Just a though,
Good Luck
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Larry Walker

Just say darn mites or something please. Anyway, hopefully some one has a safer remedy but this will work. First, say good buy to your cage. At least for the winter. Put it outside in the darn cold or better throw it away. Next set up everything in new sterile glass or plastic enclosures on paper towles or newspaper. Use Provent a mite or similar product. Follow the directions and be sure to repeat. It says to do it twice but I would maybe repeat one more time. I forget if the diections say it or not but I would recomend removing any water container for a day or so after using pesticide. Let the pesticide dry well and not get wet and humid for a day or so. This works! No more mites. Be carful with hatclings and in general. It is poison.

Kevin

Good Luck........that sucks

VPI has an excellent article on mites....here is the address:
http://www.vpi.com/9VPITipsAndTechs/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites.htm

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Jim Perron
Python Passion Reptiles
pythonpassion@hotmail.com
www.pythonpassionreptiles.com

MITES SUCK, I have used several different methods to get them gone, The best method is NIX(head lice treatment)but it can be harmful to the snakes. I will give a discription on how to mix it. Then I am using REPTILE RELIEF that works good also. Seem like the NIX kills on contact and keeps killing and the REPTILE RELIEF just kills on contact. But I am not totally sure on that. I am sure on the fact I have NO mites....LOL...But I get them from Shows from time to time so I keep these things on hand. The REPTILE RELIEF is pre-mixed.

NIX MIX: I usually MIX one to two drops of NIX to a large Spray bottle(maybe 20oz of water)Shake it up really good and then spray everything. I take all water bowls out. I make sure the NIX mixture gets in every crack. ONLY USE the NIX brand, The others have a different kind of poison, They will work But you could KILL smaller snakes. Thanks DAVID
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1.0 Pied(04)(RDR)
1.0 Albino(04)(RDR)
0.1 Spider(04)(RDR)
3.2 Pastels(03's)(04's)(ASF,Graziani,Bell lines)
0.1 Yellow belly(unproven)(04)
1.3 Yellow belly(unproven)(02,03,04's)
2.0 100% HET CLOWN(04's)(MHMR)
3.3 100% het albinos(03's)(high contrast bell line)
0.1 poss Het Albino(03's)
2.0 100% het pieds(03's)(Vin Russo,CRE)
0.2 100% het pieds(03's)(04's)(RDR,TWL)
1.2 Poss het pieds(03's)(PETE KAHL)
2.1 Poss het pieds(00's)(01's) hoping to get PIEDS this year(Vin Russo, Pete Kahl)
25 Normal adult females
60 04 females
15 normal mixed 03's
20 Assorted weird ball pythons 04's

NIX is the one. Sold in drug stores as a hair lice treatment for children or adults who act like one. Two ounce bottle costs around $10.
Mix one ounce per qt. water, or less for a single treatment.
As long as you can smell the odor of NIX. Just remove the water dish for 15 minutes. Spritz the entire cage and snake lightly. You don't have to get every nook and cranny.
I've only had to use this twice on my colubrids in the past 10 years, and never had to repeat a treatment. Never had problems with this medication.

Mike

P.S. Once your mite problem is solved. Give the wood cage a light sanding and seal with Behlens Salad Bowl Finish, inside and out.

for a couple of days. If the weather is cold enough, it will take care of the cage mites. Then seal it as somebody else mentioned.

Back when we used to get in reptiles with mites when we had a shop, we used Sevin dust from the garden store to treat snakes and lizards (put in a pillow case to coat animal, then rinse off after a few minutes. Repeat in a week or so. Also sprinkle it on shelves between cages). We never had a toxicity problem with it, even on babies. But I have either experienced, read, or heard about toxicity problems with many other treatments, including Nix, Black Knight, No Pest Strips, and others.

I used Seven dust to get rid of mites in my rat colony....."shook it up" within the bedding...about a 3 wk process and it wiped out the mites. Now I use it sporadicly as a prevention.........but I did not know it could be used with reptiles. Nice to know, just in case..............thanx Kathy.

Thats what i did too.
I had a viper boa that had some of the most persistant mites!A little sevin dust(5%)...problem solved.I even used it like "carpet fresh" on my herp rooms carpet once or twice.
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Charles Glaspie

Everyone has good ideas about getting rid of mites but the best one I have used is BUG STOP from Spectracide and 1 treatment last 4 weeks. It is the same size as a Raid 17 to 20 oz. And you can pick it up at Walmart for around $5.00 or less. The ingredients are the same as (Provent-A-Mite at $20.00 for 6 oz) You spray the wood cage inside and out and let dry for about 1 hour and put snake back in. You can buy it in a fogger or 1 gallon pumpsprayer to kill them in your snake room to. Here is there wed page www.Spectracide.com I would never use Nix it kill cornsnakes, milksnakes, and kingsnakes DEAD but if you do use it mix it 5 parts water to 1 part nix. And for Boa's and Balls 3 parts water to 1 part nix and let dry.

That mixture of NIX seems a bit heavy, I usually only use 2 small drops for 20 oz of water. It is true it kills, You have to be VERY carefull. Hope that helps. Thank DAVID
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1.0 Pied(04)(RDR)
1.0 Albino(04)(RDR)
0.1 Spider(04)(RDR)
3.2 Pastels(03's)(04's)(ASF,Graziani,Bell lines)
0.1 Yellow belly(unproven)(04)
1.3 Yellow belly(unproven)(02,03,04's)
2.0 100% HET CLOWN(04's)(MHMR)
3.3 100% het albinos(03's)(high contrast bell line)
0.1 poss Het Albino(03's)
2.0 100% het pieds(03's)(Vin Russo,CRE)
0.2 100% het pieds(03's)(04's)(RDR,TWL)
1.2 Poss het pieds(03's)(PETE KAHL)
2.1 Poss het pieds(00's)(01's) hoping to get PIEDS this year(Vin Russo, Pete Kahl)
25 Normal adult females
60 04 females
15 normal mixed 03's
20 Assorted weird ball pythons 04's