Mites on corn snake..need info please! - Page 2

Kathryntheclean · 02-28-17, 01:51 PM

He said what he gave me is more potent than the nix, so he gave me only a tiny vial of it and that can only be used in a very diluted fashion, but it sure is working! Never seen anything like it.

afsgr88 · 02-28-17, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathryntheclean

He said what he gave me is more potent than the nix, so he gave me only a tiny vial of it and that can only be used in a very diluted fashion, but it sure is working! Never seen anything like it.

I am glad to hear you're finally getting rid of those mites Kathryn! I hope it keeps that way

Kathryntheclean · 03-01-17, 09:15 AM

Ivermectin is what the vet has given me. Now I'm reading about how dangerous this stuff is to our corn baby. As long as I am very careful with this and I dilute it properly, as the vet advised, should this stuff be ok to use?

GyGbeetle · 03-01-17, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathryntheclean

Ivermectin is what the vet has given me. Now I'm reading about how dangerous this stuff is to our corn baby. As long as I am very careful with this and I dilute it properly, as the vet advised, should this stuff be ok to use?

Proper dilution is the key. If it wasn't ok, you'd be seeing issues immediately. Like corkscrewing, white foam coming from their mouth, things to indicate toxicity in the snake. I think you're on point with your treatment since you haven't said little corn baby is exhibiting this. Just maintain the appropriate dilution, and if you have it in a spray bottle or sitting in a container prior to use, shake it up vigorously to confirm the meds are mixed in properly with the water.

I had a flea infestation with my first cat rescue years ago. I put this vet recommended product and saw the fleas literally jump off the cat, while dying. If that's what you're seeing, you're heading in the right direction. You can hold a viking funeral for the fallen later, when the mites have all been eradicated.

Kathryntheclean · 03-01-17, 09:36 AM

Oh, thank goodness. Alex did kinda freak out when first sprayed with the mixture, but he calmed down after he got used to it. He has not acted strangely, so I suppose he's taking the ivermectin well. I make sure it doesn't get near his head/face and I spray his cage very well and wipe it down before putting him back in. The vet never said it could be poisonous to the little guy, which might have been helpful. But I'm very careful with him. And the mites are dying...slowly, but as long as they're dying..right?

GyGbeetle · 03-01-17, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathryntheclean

Oh, thank goodness. Alex did kinda freak out when first sprayed with the mixture, but he calmed down after he got used to it. He has not acted strangely, so I suppose he's taking the ivermectin well. I make sure it doesn't get near his head/face and I spray his cage very well and wipe it down before putting him back in. The vet never said it could be poisonous to the little guy, which might have been helpful. But I'm very careful with him. And the mites are dying...slowly, but as long as they're dying..right?

mites are resilient a-holes. I've had only 1 infestation. Saw the mites, treated the mites, and then re-treated a couple more times, but not as thoroughly. Put substrate back in 3 weeks after, and a week after that saw another mite. So we went back to square one and are on a strict cleaning/treating regimen using Nix. We've done 4 treatments so far in a 5 week time frame. 2 weeks after restarting, we found a single adult fat mite. It was most likely dead when we found it, but I panicked because we've been dousing the tanks and the snakes, sterilizing EVERYTHING (windows and blinds, carpet around the tanks, the tanks themselves, the cats, the kids, bedding in the room, anything and everything. It's now a very clean room). that was 3 weeks ago. Everyone but 2 have been on paper towels (those 2 are "special" cases. They are on bath towels because the paper towel thing just wasn't working), and we have checked daily for those nasty mites, and keep their water dish clean.

I don't know how often you're treating, but when you treat, make sure to pull the water dish out for a minimum of 24 hours. We have only been treating every week (started off with Tsubaki's suggestion of every 10 days, but increased it to every 7 days instead), so the first day, we sterilize the tanks with medical equipment soap, inside and out, we spray the tanks with Nix inside and out, we soak the snake for about 30 mins, we spray the snake with Nix, put paper towels down, and put the snake back in. Our hides are plastic with no place to a mite to hide or lay eggs, so I sanitize the hides with soap and hot water, and put the hide back into the tank with the snake. Water dishes are all hard plastic or ceramic, so they get sterilized in the same fashion as the hides, and get pulled for 24-48 hours after treatment. The key is to not allow those jerks a place to hide while you're spraying. Accessories are a great place for them to hide. Anything wood I have, I spray the poop out of it with Nix and let it sit in a plastic bag for a week to 2 weeks.

2 more weeks of paper towels, and if we see nothing, mites are most likely gone, for now. They are the most invasive critters I've ever encountered; worse than fleas! And that's saying a lot, because fleas can live off of any mammal present, and even those were easier to get rid of than these stupid mites.

Kathryntheclean · 03-01-17, 01:11 PM

I agree to these being the most terrible of infestors! I too, have had a flea breakout from my kitties, but those are rather easy to get rid of...but mites? Goodness, this house has never been so clean and disinfected! And it has been such a fun process! I just have to do this for 25 more days, according to the vet!

afsgr88 · 03-01-17, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathryntheclean

I agree to these being the most terrible of infestors! I too, have had a flea breakout from my kitties, but those are rather easy to get rid of...but mites? Goodness, this house has never been so clean and disinfected! And it has been such a fun process! I just have to do this for 25 more days, according to the vet!

Oh my, you really are worthy of your nickname, Kathryntheclean! Hehehe

I wish cleaning was fun for me too xD

GyGbeetle · 03-01-17, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathryntheclean

I agree to these being the most terrible of infestors! I too, have had a flea breakout from my kitties, but those are rather easy to get rid of...but mites? Goodness, this house has never been so clean and disinfected! And it has been such a fun process! I just have to do this for 25 more days, according to the vet!

You and I need to meet and go bowling sometime. I keep telling my husband every weekend, as we break down all the tanks and disinfect the room for the 6th time, how much I enjoy this. He doesn't agree. Our bedroom has never been so clean.

Kathryntheclean · 03-01-17, 01:40 PM

Ha! I only like doing it during Springy weather or when it must be done- like with the mites- then it's fun to me... not like when my husband says, "You need to clean this or that". So I guess I only like it if it's my choice and not someone's demand.

Kathryntheclean · 03-05-17, 04:44 PM

Alrighty, Alex has had a shed. It took 24 hours and it was a complete shed. Is it possible to get rid of all mites with a shed? I gave Alex his regular warm bath and applied the diluted ivermectin, as the vet instructed. I wiped down his cage with the solution and got tons of dead mites out. I don't see any black specks left on Alex. I know the mites can get pretty deep in there, so I will keep medicating the rest of this month, as I was told. Just wondering if he could have possibly gotten rid of the little buggers?

**Andy_G** · 03-05-17, 07:22 PM

In the wild snakes leave behind mites with their shed skin, keeping their numbers in check. In captivity, the snake stays in the same area so things aren't the same. Mites actually cause a snake to shed more often so it's easy to connect the two. A shed will eliminate all or most mites that were on him, but you have to take care of wherever else they are or they'll be back on him.

Kathryntheclean · 03-05-17, 09:37 PM

Well, I didn't find any bugs on him after his shed today. I still cleaned, disinfected, and sprayed with the meds. Cage, snake, around on the carpet. I'll kill the nasty mites or die trying! Bother my snake, will they?

Kathryntheclean · 03-07-17, 06:53 PM

Still no mites. Is it ok to put his hides back now? They were sprayed everyday, scalded, dried, and kept in another room away from the snake to make sure all mites died. I know he wants his plastic tree back, as he loves to climb on it. I went ahead and treated his cage and the carpet around it with the ivermectin/water mixture and wiped it down. Found only 3 dead mites. After Alex's bath I found no signs of mites on him or in his bath water. I'd like to put his tree and his 2nd hide back in. He's only got the little rock hide and his water dish now. Is it alright to put everything but the substrate in now? I'll wait another week to make sure no mites come back, then I'll bake his substrate before I put it back in. If that sounds right.

GyGbeetle · 03-08-17, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathryntheclean

Still no mites. Is it ok to put his hides back now? They were sprayed everyday, scalded, dried, and kept in another room away from the snake to make sure all mites died. I know he wants his plastic tree back, as he loves to climb on it. I went ahead and treated his cage and the carpet around it with the ivermectin/water mixture and wiped it down. Found only 3 dead mites. After Alex's bath I found no signs of mites on him or in his bath water. I'd like to put his tree and his 2nd hide back in. He's only got the little rock hide and his water dish now. Is it alright to put everything but the substrate in now? I'll wait another week to make sure no mites come back, then I'll bake his substrate before I put it back in. If that sounds right.

I usually put the plastic items back in after treatment, because it's plastic. Mites lay eggs in porous products (wood hides), and if the plastic is curvy enough, they can also attempt to lay eggs in the curves. But if you sufficiently soak the plastic accessories, and sterilize them, any eggs will wash away with the water, since they have no place to hold onto, like they can with wood items.

I'm glad the mites are going away! In the future, I'm going to start investing in predatory mites as a prophylactic treatment. We have a lot of snakes, so it makes sense. With just one snake, you may want to look into it, and do a cost-to-benefit analysis on whether this will be a good long term solution. They can be costly, but it's all natural too, and can prevent a re-infestation in the future.

I'm happy to say that we've gone over a week now with no mite spotting. We found 2 mites in our last spotting. All the snakes were soaked in water for 6 hours and we found no evidence of mites. I think we've finally licked this thing too!