Annnd Once again, mites.

[Jax]

We have acquired a large male C. American RTB who is about 2 going on 3. Anyways, around late December of last year to early January this year he had a huge mite infestation crop up (we got him in June or July of 2014). This was our first ever experience with the. It took us probably weeks to finally treat him (prevent-a-mite, dish soap and a small drop of iodine for him. Complete furniture removal and disposal, mite off and vet grade disinfectant for his tank along with new bedding) but he was 100% mite free. Somehow is spread to our giant plated lizards twins and we fully treated them. Fast forward to now and poor Athos is completely infested again! We keep all of our tanks spotless and have regular bedding changes. Even the twins are starting to show signs again (no we never handled them at the same time). I know the neighbors below us keep birds...and I'm wondering if that is where the infestation is starting? I know they're supposedly two different species of mites but infestations are ONLY affecting our boa and our plated's. The crested and the beardie have remained 100% mite free Both times.

We're running out of ways to keep killing off mites. Does anyone have any advice or solutions: (?

[millertime89]

You have to continue treatment because even though you might get rid of most of them you probably didn't get them all. I treat every time I clean cages. What I do is remove the old bedding and clean up whatever needs to be cleaned (poop, urates, water, etc) then spray the cage with a mix of permethrin and water (10:1 dilution) then lay new bedding, then lightly spray with the permethrin mix on top of the bedding and then mist with water. If I have a mite outbreak (it's only happened once since I started this and it was on a cage that I only spot clean weekly since it has cypress mulch, most of my other cages I use newspaper and do full cleanings weekly) then I'll not only spray down the cage, but around it as well as there's no telling where the mites might have gotten to and laid eggs.

When you get an outbreak you need to treat at least twice in a month, I would do it three times, once when you notice them, a half month later, and once after a month.

[yeloowtang]

I would go with the NIX treatment. It has the same pestecide that provent a mite has but it's at 1/2 the potency , the fact it's not in a areosol it can safely be used on the snake directly..

get a bottle of NIX shampoo at the pharmacy and a 4L of distilled water at the same time. Mix 1 bottle (they often sell in a two pack) so 1 ONE bottle in the water and you're ready to treat..

start by having another bin to put the snake in, spray the bin generousely add paper towels and spray them too and then spray the snake head to tail and don't be shy.. set him up in the in the bin for now.

remove all substrate and accessories clean and spray everything, add paper towels and spray them so they are wet with the solution.Add the hides.
At this point you should spray all around the cages/bins/rack, carpet all around the cage ( to kill wonderrers).
then take your snake, spray him again and set him up in the cage/bin.
NO WATER BOWL FOR 24H

"" IN FACT it's also a good idea to set your snake in a tub with 1" of water before treatment si it drinks.. ""

the first time you do this should erradicate them all, but do this twice more at 1 week interval..

thing is, if you have other reptiles, you will NEED to treat everyone of them at the SAME time. if you don't mites will seek the other ones and come back later .

NIX will also kill the mite eggs and can be used as a precautionnary treatment once in a while just to bee safe.
Many big breeders will treat on a regular basis, before and after a reptile shows.

It has a nice soapy smell to it, is safe , easy to use and way cheaper..
keep the unused solution in a dark cold place, doing this will give it a shelf life of 1 year.

not that provent-a-mite doesn't work !!! it does , but it's a pain to use and smells really strong, plus it's not safe to use on the snakes, this product was innitially black knight used in airports to spray bomb planes to kill possible parasites. The fumes are dangerous..
NIX and PAM have the same pesticide in it and at the dilution NIX is, it's safer and in a way more efficient then PAM because you can use it on the snake where many mites hide..
BOTH work one is just easier IMHO

and on a side note: if you serach the web, you will find ONE story of a girl who poisonned her snake with NIX
BUT she used a NIX cream that i've never seen before. we use the 1% solution she used the 5% and diluted it in 1L of water. add that it was just a baby snake :( it died of poisoning..

with the 1% in 4L you get 0.25% active solution, PAM has 0.5 in a air spray..
test have been made using 100% potency of the 1% nix on adult snakes with no ill effect but who in their right mind would do this anyways..

YOU have options and both will work.. but whatever you chose, remember that unless you treat everything, everone at the same time, they will always sneak back..

[millertime89]

Permethrin is the active ingredient in both NIX and PAM. I use NIX to mix my solution. Should have clarified.

[Snakesitter]

Always check your bedding and other reptile store-bought supplies...given the long delay between arrival and infestation, this could the major source of your problem.

I also always treat a new arrival's viv with PAM the day before they arrive, and keep them on only paper towel for a while to make sure they are clean. All shipping supplies are disposed of outside the house...they never even enter the reptile room.

Good luck!

[Will0W783]

If you usually go to a certain same pet store for your supplies (bedding, feeders, etc), I would strongly suggest finding a new supplier. It's possible that the pet shop was infested and you brought mites home.

Another thing to consider is whether you recently attended any reptile shows/expos. These places are common sites to pick up snake mites on your clothing and it's possible for you to have brought a few in. It only takes one pregnant mite, or one pair of mites if not pregnant, to start up an infestation. It usually can take 2-3 weeks for the mites to build up to where you'd notice them, if you only brought 1 or 2 in.

I highly recommend the Nix treatment. I've used it successfully in the past, and never had any toxicity issues with my snakes. I have had problems using no-pest strips and PAM. The Nix will also kill eggs, which most other methods do not.

Nix smells nice, is safe to put directly on your snake and all over the cage, and does a really good job of killing off the mites in 2-3 weeks. I would also spray the Nix around the floor of the room and any baseboards, low windowsills, etc.