Help i think we have mites !!!

Eric & Ethan · 05-31-17, 10:25 PM

Ethan just showed me these small bugs in Milo's water bowl (she's in it too). Never experienced a mite problem with any of my reptiles before. If she is already soaking in water can this wait till morning to deal with ? It's 11:00 pm here, so if it can wait till first thing in the morning that'd be ideal. However her health and stopping the infestation takes priority over sleep.

Azrt · 05-31-17, 10:38 PM

sure. i would go to the store and get some PAM (prevent a mite) asap. I believe you can apply that to the snake as well.

I put the snake in a tub and I bleach with hot water the enclosure and everything in there..rinse the crap out of it and let it soak.

you should be able to apply the mite treatment to the snake. I would also soak the snake with dial soap to break the barrier to separate the mites from the snake. ive actually had a retic that somehow knew I was helping and let me pick them off as many as I could.

once you do it I would set a cycle and do it every one or two weeks for several treatments to make sure you kill off any remaining eggs and host

Good luck

Eric & Ethan · 05-31-17, 11:08 PM

Are you saying, sure it can wait till morning ? There is no place open right now. Is this worthy of a trip to a vet ?

Azrt · 05-31-17, 11:41 PM

I mean asap in the morning. It will have to wait and no not worry a vet visit

TRD · 06-01-17, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azrt

I believe you can apply that to the snake as well.

Don't EVER do that!!!! PAM is extremely toxic to animals.

I use Frontline, some info here: http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/pytho...ml#post1024636

**Andy_G** · 06-01-17, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azrt

sure. i would go to the store and get some PAM (prevent a mite) asap. I believe you can apply that to the snake as well.

I put the snake in a tub and I bleach with hot water the enclosure and everything in there..rinse the crap out of it and let it soak.

you should be able to apply the mite treatment to the snake. I would also soak the snake with dial soap to break the barrier to separate the mites from the snake. ive actually had a retic that somehow knew I was helping and let me pick them off as many as I could.

once you do it I would set a cycle and do it every one or two weeks for several treatments to make sure you kill off any remaining eggs and host

Good luck

Please don't use PAM like mentioned above. Your snake will die or develop neurological problems. Also, although dial soap may work, it's not necessary to do this and just plain water works fine if you're going to soak the snake.

Here's a link to one treatment method that works correctly if done properly. It's actually one of the sticky posts in this section of the forum.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/gener...ve-thread.html

Azrt · 06-01-17, 07:36 AM

OK Sorry guys. I know there are some mite treatment that can be used on snakes. My apologies..as stated DO NOT use on the snake. I now know that you cant as well. Again my bad for spreading that as I thought I heard you could. Glad you guys cleared that up.

EDIT

I know you can use products such as reptile relief that you can put on the actual animal so it looks like thats fine but them use PAM for everything else except said snake.

**Andy_G** · 06-01-17, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azrt

OK Sorry guys. I know there are some mite treatment that can be used on snakes. My apologies..as stated DO NOT use on the snake. I now know that you cant as well. Again my bad for spreading that as I thought I heard you could. Glad you guys cleared that up.

EDIT

I know you can use products such as reptile relief that you can put on the actual animal so it looks like thats fine but them use PAM for everything else except said snake.

It's always refreshing for someone to take responsibility of a mistake, so good on you!

Azrt · 06-01-17, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_G

It's always refreshing for someone to take responsibility of a mistake, so good on you!

i feel like an ***. I have used some stuff that worked great in the past..never should have assumed all treatments were the same..thank god for you guys

Eric & Ethan · 06-01-17, 08:03 AM

Thank you for the quick responses. As soon as the local pet shop opens we are running out to get what we need. In the meantime I'm going to put her in a tub to soak. It took a while to fall asleep due to me thinking about Milo. She has always been a soaker, she seems to love the water. I have checked on her frequently, as has my son, but this is the first time we have seen the mites. I feel bad if the reason she's been soaking so much is the mites all a long. Anyway the mulch type substrate is gone, and going to use brown paper grocery bags from now on like Bob has used for years. I haven't found a single mite in Bob's enclosure, in the 27 years I've had her.

Eric & Ethan · 06-02-17, 11:06 AM

Day 2 of treating Milo's mites. I cleaned the enclosure with bleach and water, throwing away all the mulch and climbs. I even tossed her log hide, that I'll replace with a stone type hide. I treated her with a reptile spray recommended by a local breeder at the pet shop. For substrate I am just using paper towels for now. Still finding mites though, mostly dead, but some live. For how long can I expect to find them in the enclosure ? The shop told me to continue treating Milo for a couple months. He said wiping her down with the recommended spray every three days.

TRD · 06-02-17, 01:58 PM

Mite cycle is about 21-28 days depending on temperature, so the very minimum is 30 days, recommended is at least 60 days, most people go for 90 days though.

Do you have more snakes, they all have to go under treatment or the mites will find them.

What reptile Spray do you have. Every 3 days seems excessive(?).

ThirteenRavens · 06-02-17, 08:15 PM

When I was dealing with this, I cleared out the tank, used nothing but paper towels, cardboard soda boxes for hides (disposable) and their water bowl. That way, when I needed to clean, I could toss everything (sans bowl) and replace it with new clean stuff, and not have to worry about cleaning a plastic/stone/whatever hide every time. Just a thought.

sattva · 06-02-17, 09:17 PM

Hey Eric & Ethan! I have been fighting snake mites for about 6 months now... I haven't seen one for about 2 months now so I think I might have it lick... Knock on glass! Joke Joke... Don't panic... It's like dogs and fleas... If you have them long enough you're going to get them... What's not like fleas, is that snake mites don't bite humans...

When it first happened to me I panic and ran to my local reptile store and bought $50.oo worth of stuff... A can of PAM, a spray for the snake and something to clean the cage that smelled like windex so I took it back... Windex is toxic to reptiles...

What I should have done is jump on this forum and learn about Nix... I ran through the PAM and the reptile rinse and then bought some Nix and I have been using that every since... I like the PAM when it comes to treating the cage but you have to let the vapor evaporate and wait until the cage is thoroughly aired out before putting the snake back... Whereas the Nix you can treat the snake with it and leave it on... Make sure you pull her water bowl for a couple of days so she doesn't soak it off...

Make sure you treat every 10 days for 6 weeks or you'll just be spinning your wheels and they will come back... Let the fight began...