Ugh... Mites...

[zmd0827]

Upon taking the spider ball python out of his enclosure earlier today, we noticed one mite on his body. Just one. Looked him over, double checked, triple checked, quadruple checked.

Couldn't find any others. Checked all snakes as well.

But as you are all are most likely aware, when you find one mite, just as you would a flea, there are ALWAYS more.

I have a pretty intensive plan for tomorrow. I'm going to get betadine solution and apply soak for all snakes in the room that the "infestation" has occurred. There are two ball pythons in that room and one juvie reticulated.

Then, I will get a flea bomber set from the pet store. These things will kill off literally anything.

I have spare tanks in the storage facility that haven't had any creatures living in them for some time. They are the first to get cleaned, of course, to purify them out and rule out any infestations. They will be my "secondary" tanks for now. As soon as these are cleaned, they will house my three snakes until everything blows over with the original tanks.

After bathing the snakes and making sure they're mite free, they will be placed in the secondary tanks for a few hours. At which time, I'll take bombers, place them inside of the original tanks, 100% cover them, make them as air tight as possible. Bombers will go in, and spray down for hours. After that, the tanks will be washed out using a bleach:water solution. And then rinsed out with just standard water to remove toxins.

Substrate will be replaced. Wooden structure will have the bleach solution applied, and afterwards, the wooden structure will be boiled. The stone water dishes will be boiled, the plastic ones will be bleached down heavily.

As soon as everything is said and done, and the tanks have been reconfigured, I will place the animals back in the tanks.

This is my first time dealing with a possible mite infestation. Yes, it has only appeared in one tank, however, the fact that the one tank resides in a room with three others, makes me want to be extra cautious on their behalf and ensure none of them have the same problem.

Does this cleaning regiment seem to be a good course of action? Are there any other purifying scenarios or methods that I should take into consideration?

[Vypyrz]

Does this cleaning regiment seem to be a good course of action? Are there any other purifying scenarios or methods that I should take into consideration?

Provent-A-Mite (PAM) is the easiest and most effective thing that I can recommend...

http://www.pro-products.com/

[zmd0827]

Will it eradicate eggs?

[Vypyrz]

Will it eradicate eggs?

No, it doesn't eradicate eggs, but one treatment will remain effective for 30 days, unless you change the substrate. Then you would need to re-treat. It's easy to use. Remove snake and water bowl, spray everything in enclosure, wait for fumes to dissipate, replace snake and water bowl.

[zmd0827]

I'm still thinking of completely doing my regimen, then applying that on top of that to prevent.

Is that a good idea, or a waste?

[Vypyrz]

Doing your regimen will probably work for the current mites, but, if any have laid eggs outside of the enclosure, there is always the possibility of a re-infestation. The Provent-A-Mite can be sprayed on a paper towel and wiped around any edges, ledges, or shelves around the enclosures and will prevent any rogue mites from coming in to the enclosures...