Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Had mites on my snakes awhile ago. Cleaned all the cages with bleach, washed all their hide boxes and water dishes, soaked and washed down my snakes and now the darn things are back again. What's the best way to kill and get rid of these things. What spray, powder, etc would you recommend? Thanks........

There are about as many ways to get rid of mites as there are phases of corns. My favorite involves Equate bedding spray from Walmart (it is for lice and is next to the RID stuff). All you need to do is take the snake and water bowl out, spray the cage for about 1-2 seconds per ten gallons and give the cage time to dry. Meanwhile I soak the snakes in water to drown the mites on them and clean out the water bowl. The treatment last 30-90 days depending on what substrate you use and is quick easy and clean. I promised Mark pics of a can of the spray so I will post some tomorrow. Remember to scratch all over when you go to but the stuff. Life is boring behind the register and those people need something to talk about.

Later Jason

...I found it and gave the can to a friend..Kept one for me too...
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

Get another cage for the snake and set it up. Take a couple of paper towels and wet them down really good with vegatable oil and wipe the snake down really well. Most of the mites will wipe right off. Next put the snake into the new cage, and dont worry about it. What mites dont wipe off it suffocates them, so I was told.I just know it has worked for me better than anything I can buy. AND also dont forget about the other cage soak it in a bleach solution before using it again.

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www.Wood-N-Snakes.com

I've been studying insects/arachnids for quite awhile. Actually they die pretty easily. All you need is some knowledge of their life cycle, good cleaning habits, and a chemical that kills them. Lots of chemicals will kill them, but some are better or safer than others. I like "Provent a Mite" spray (well tested). I get it for $16.20/can. It cleans about 80 ten gal. tanks, or so.

If you start with a clean cage with a little substrate (I use 1/4 inch of shredded aspen), spray for 1 to 2 sec, put disinfected water dish and hide, and snake, back in cage after at least one hour or more, you'll kill all mites, but not eggs. The key is the eggs.

I use a preventative schedule. As soon as I notice the offending bug/mite, etc, I treat all my cages. That takes care of all the obvious creatures. Then I do the treatment again every 10 days, or so, until I think all the eggs have had a chance to hatch, which prevents a reoccurance. I usually do this treatment before brumation/winter and after brumation/winter, to make sure I start with uninfected cages in the spring. Then you can wait to see if you get any more infestations, or simply just do the treatment once a month or so, which is what some very large collections do.

TC

I've been very successful in eradicating mites using the following method:

1. Switch your reptile's substrate to newspaper.

2. Put all your snake's cage accessories in the freezer.

2. Get Provent-A-Mite and use as directed.

3. Treat your snakes with the louse shampoo known as NIX. To do this, get a damp paper towel and put some NIX on it. Let the snakes crawl though the towel (coat the snake with NIX). Afterwards thoroughly rinse the snake with water. Some folks have noted that you should avoid getting the NIX in the snakes eyes and mouth - I think this is good advice, but it's happened to a couple of my snakes and they were OK.

4. Thaw out your cage accessories and put everything back in the cage.

5. Repeat the above procedure 5-7 days later.

I have been keeping snakes for 30 years and have a relatively large collection. Through the years I've tried many different methods, but the process I've outlined above works every time.

Good luck!

Tim

Provent-a-mite works wonderfully when used as directed. Remember to spray around the cage too, or on carpet if the cage rests on that.

Others have mentioned flea powder from the grocery store. I used to use this with very good results too. But with provent-a-mite, you can hit all over the inside of the cage and outside the cage for greatest protection.

Mites can travel surprisingly far during just one evening, like from one cage to another 10 feet away. They also lay eggs somewhere NOT on the snake, so killing mites on the snake only is not good protection.

According to an article on the VPI website, lice lay their eggs in the upper part of the cage. Be sure to spray the top areas. As someone else alrady pointed out, don't forget the floor. When I had an infestation early this year, I found several lice visible on the floor near the humidifier.
BTW, I am a fan of Sevin dust. It works very well and its very cheap.

The thing is, snake mites cannot live for more than about two weeks w/o feeding. So they must feed "on the snakes" in this time period. Mites that don't feed will die. That means you only have to spray inside the tank, where the snake is - twice (once for adult mites and once for the hatching eggs).

Also, I believe mites can lay eggs on the snakes. If you start with a clean tank, clean bedding, and clean furnishings, and there's a hatch, the only place eggs could be is on the snake. BTW, I disinfect my tank and furnishings by soaking them in water with bleach for 15 min.

Now, if mites hatch in a tank that's been treated with PAM, they die as soon as they are born and don't live long enough to breed again

With Provent a Mite you don't have to spray outside the cage. Any mite outside will starve, so why waste the extra spray. Any mite going into the cage will be killed by the PAM.

If using PAM, don't overdo it. One or two seconds spraying above the tank is enough to kill all adult mites. Overkill wastes resources, plus may make the bedding toxic to the snakes, especially if they are replaced too quickly. I usually wait overnight. Good luck.

TC

I'll let you know how it goes. Again thank you!

Here you go -
www.vpi.com/9VPITipsAndTechs/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites.htm