Provent-A-Mite problem-----PLEASE HELP!

[Exotic Ectotherms]

I discoved mites on my 3 1/2 month old mojave about a week ago. I immediately ordered Provent-a-Mite as well as Reptile Relief. After both products came in, I took everything out of his tub and scrubbed everything with antibacterial soap including the tub itself. I then treated everything with Provent-a-Mite. I let it dry for an hour and a half. Everything was dry to the touch and I could smell no odors. While I was waiting for it to dry I sprayed the Reptile Relief on some paper towels and let him slither through them. I could see the mites dying on the paper towel. I then wiped my BP off with a damped (water) paper towel. He seemed normal at this point. I replaced all of his cage furnishings and used paper towels treated with Provent-a-Mite as substrate. Like I said before...everything was dry before I put him in.

About a half hour after I put him back in the tub, I noticed he had flipped over both of his hides and the paper towels were all over the place. This may not seem too weird to some people, but he had never done this before. He was "exploring" the tub a little more than normal when I went to bed. It didn't seem too far outside of the ordinary. When I woke up, I immediately checked on him and it appeared as if he was "convulsing" or "seizing". Whatever you want to call it...it appeared as if he didn't have control of his body. I immediately took him out and put him in a shallow room temperature soak. I left him in for about 15 min while I took everything out of his tub and scrubbed it to remove any traces of the PAM. I then took him out of his soak and ran room temperature water over his body for another 15 min. I did notice some skin in the tub when I cleaned it, but definitely not a lot....just a small piece here and there. There was no evidence of any chemical burn on his body...it looked completely normal. I then put his hides, water bowl, and a SLIGHTLY damp, soft kitchen towel in his tub as substrate. When I put him back in the tub, he seemed to be convulsing a little less, but not much. I am deathly afraid that he has neurological damage from the PAM and that he will need to be put down. If that happens, there will be no way I will be able to forgive myself and I will definitely have to get out of this hobby which I love so much.

I really did a lot of research on the PAM before I used it and I found nothing negative about using it on baby BP's. Has anyone used it on a baby successfully? Is there anything that a vet can do at this point? i have no problem taking him in immediately, but I can't see what they will be able to do that I haven't done already. If it is neurological damage, is there any recovery from that? Can anyone see anything that I did wrong...or anything else i can do to help him? Thank you all for your time.

[muddoc]

I am not advising you to bypass the vet visit, but I doubt he can do anything for your issue, based on what I am reading. I also have used PAM on very young ball pythons (as young as 1 month) will no ill effects. From what you stated, it doesn't sound like anything you did, and I don't believe it was the PAM, especially if you let it dry for over an hour. I have actually put snakes back in the enclosure before letting the PAM dry, and have not had a negative experience.

[Exotic Ectotherms]

I am not advising you to bypass the vet visit, but I doubt he can do anything for your issue, based on what I am reading. I also have used PAM on very young ball pythons (as young as 1 month) will no ill effects. From what you stated, it doesn't sound like anything you did, and I don't believe it was the PAM, especially if you let it dry for over an hour. I have actually put snakes back in the enclosure before letting the PAM dry, and have not had a negative experience.

If you don't think it was the PAM, what could it possibly have been? The Reptile Relief? The main reason I don't think the Reptile Relief is the culprit is because it is safe for use on the snake.

[PghBall]

I spray all of my new snakes tubs down with PAM the day before they arrive (when I set it up). I have never had an issue with it either. It does not appear that you did anything wrong.

[Maverick67]

Is it possible that your bp has an allergy to one of those products?

[Exotic Ectotherms]

Is it possible that your bp has an allergy to one of those products?

I was thinking that it could be a possibility that he is allergic or has a hypersensitivity to something in those products. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine that prior to using them.

[Exotic Ectotherms]

Has anyone ever heard of a BP suffering from a neurological problem as a result of using either of these two products???

[bsash]

I have use both products with no ill effects at all, even with my baby ball pythons. I hope your snake pulls through and does okay.

[SixSnakes]

Sorry to hear your story!

I have not used PAM personally, but I have used Reptile Relief. I did exactly what you did, sprayed paper towels and let the snake slither through them a few times. I did not experience any issues.

Maybe the snake did have an allergic reaction, or maybe that bottle of PAM is bad? I have no idea. I hope your snake gets better.

[mozbink]

Any chance the snake is in the room while you were treating the tub. The fumes are toxic to them if it was.

Outside of that the only way it should harm you snake is if something prevented it from drying fully. I had heard of someone making the mistake of treating their water dish but the instructions clearly state you must remove it and not treat it with PAM.

Normally you treat the tub with the substrate in side of it. There is an applicaiton amount of 1 second per square foot. If you treat them seperate then the applicaiton amount may be higher. I dont see how this would be harmful if it was perfectly dry but I have never seen anything that says if too much dry PAM can harm the snake.

I did have the PAM people email me and say that if dry PAM is on substrate, and the snake ingests the substrate it will not harm the snake.

Their contention is if it is allowed to dry, it is safe. Even if it gets wet again it is safe. Once dry it is not suluable in water.