I doubt seriously that they can be brought in from the outside unless they ride in on a wild caught snake. Have you brought any new snakes into your collection recently?
I think protection against mites should be a part of the Herpetology 101 course. Almost everyone gets them eventually. I had a case last year after I bought a new bale of sphagnum moss. I couldn't think of any other way they could've gotten in except with the sphagnum. Anyone ever hear of that?
Anyway, they're very hard to get rid of. I like the Provent A Mite (PAM), except for a couple problems I've had with it. At first I didn't wait long enough after spraying the cage and a couple of my small snakes got sick. Some snakes are more sensitive than others (thinner skin). Now I wait at least an hour and usually four hrs. or more to be positive before putting snakes back in their cages.
Another problem I've seen is that sometimes a can won't spray properly and liquid will come out. Snakes should not come into contact with liquid of these chemicals. Make sure it's dry. I'm not sure if the PAM still works properly if it doesn't come out as a spray.
Another thing I want to say is to make sure that the spray doesn't get in the water or food of the snake. I wash these containers separately and hopefully kill the eggs, etc. Eggs will survive the treatment, so you need to treat again after a period of time.
Finally, if you use aspen bedding, keep it a thin amt, not more than about 1/2 inch, otherwise it tends to protect the mites. Keep your cage dry too. I made the mistake of having a moist hide box in one cage and the mites survived there.
If you do everything right, PAM works well. I think the spray can needs improvement, but the product works better than any other I've tried. Good luck getting rid of them.
TC
>>I have seen a few specks in water bowls for a month or two. I didn't know what they were, but I checked all of my snakes and never saw anything. I didn't always see them in the water, just occasionally.
>>
>>I had my bairdi out changing her water and one crawled onto my hand while holding her. I have been checking all of them very closly and this is the first one I have seen.
>>
>>I just ordered Prevent-A-Mite, so hopefully I can get rid of them quickly.
>>
>>The one question I have is, How did I get them? I didn't add anything to my collection before I noticed them. I use aspen(bought at PetSmart), but other than that, I really don't come into contact with any other reptiles or reptile supplies. Can mites just come into my house from outside? I just don't know how I got them.
>>
>>If anybody has any suggestions or ideas, I would love to hear them. Hopefully having a small collection won't make it too hard to get rid of them. I did a search already and got some good advice.
>>
>>Thanks
>>Jeremy
>>-----
>>0.1 Amel Motley Corn (Cosmo '03)
>>0.1 Baird's Ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
>>1.0 White Oaks Grey Rat (Tennesse Jed '04)
>>0.1 IJ Carpet Python (Cassidy '04)
>>1.0 Western Hognose (Samson '05)
>>1.1 Shepherd mix (Dylan 6yrs, Porter 1.5yr)
