Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Reptile Relief claims to kill all mite stages, including eggs, and that it can be used to treat enclosures. Everything I have read that recommends RR also recommends treating the cage with Provent-A-Mite or the Walmart equivalent.

I purchased a baby burm at a show this weekend, and I swear I looked him over head to tail, but the lighting where I was standing wasn't the greatest, and on the way home, sure enough I spotted a mite... I'm still kicking myself for not noticing prior to purchase.

We live in a downtown building in a small town. The old storefront is a GREAT reptile room (which is why it was purchased), but the only place to quarantine this little guy is upstairs in a studio apartment with our two spoiled cats.

PAM and other similar products have permethrin in them, which, for whatever reason, is incredibly toxic to cats, so I am hesitant to use them.

Has anyone had any luck getting rid of mites without resorting to permethrin-based treatments?
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1.2 Brazilian Rainbow Boas
1.1 Womas
0.1 Pastel BCI
1.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Carpet X Diamond Python
1.1 Ball Pythons
1.0 Burmese Python
1.0 Blood python
0.1 Granite Spotted python
1.0 Northern Blue Tongue skink
0.0.1 Red Tegu
1.1 Mali Uromastyx
0.0.1 Egyptian Uromastyx
1.0 Leopard gecko
0.0.1 Leopard tortoise
1.0 Red eared slider
1.0 African mud turtle
1.0 Husband (WC) who approves of my addiction

What I would suggest (and yes PAM can be deadly when fresh to cats) is the following.

BARE bones caging. Perhaps two rubbermaids for rotation. Paper towel or newspaper. glass water dish. Plastic hide. Two sets of each.

Spray rubbermaid down outside and allow to dry completely before bringing in. Set up house for snake. spray snake down with RR.

I have had better success working these two in conjunction. Bathing works as well with the cage rotation.
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Cindy Steinle
PHFaust
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Don't feel bad about missing the mites. It only takes a few to create an infestation, and those few can hide quite easily. I do the health checks for my local herp shows and no matter how hard I try, there always seems to be one vendor that gets by with a mite problem.

PHfaust's advice should work if you are dilegent. If there is no place for mites (or eggs, larvae) to hide while cleaning, then simple soap and water, and vigorous washing, rinsing and drying will clear enclosure. In addition, I would keep these temperary rubbermaid enclosures in a moat system. That is, keep them in a tray or tub that has a slightly soapy water solution completely surrounding any escape routes the mites may take inbetween your cleanings. You don't want these stray mites to later reinfest your clean enclosure.\

Good luck and enjoy your new snake !

Ian