My BP has mites :CC help please?

[OrientalSpade]

Ive recently spotted a few mites on my ball python, Roxy. Does anyone have some cheap products, or methods they know of to get rid of them? I've heard about Provent A Mite, and ive heard lots of good things, but a lot of horror stories about it as well, so im very tentative about it. Plus, its awful expensive.

[stickyalvinroll]

Never use any chemical on your animals. Wash everything and soak your bp

[bcr229]

I wrote this up after my second battle with the little so-and-so's.

Mite Eradication 101:

*** Permethrin ***

Permethrin comes in many forms - Provent-A-Mite (PAM), NIX/RID head lice treatment, Permethrin-10 from a livestock supply store, etc. Once mixed with water its half life is 30 days if kept out of direct sunlight.

PAM has several advantages. It has been tested for use with reptiles, and it comes ready to use. The disadvantages are that it's expensive and most reptile stores don't have it in stock, so you have to wait for it to be shipped to you if you don't have any on hand. Meanwhile the mites are busy feeding and breeding.

NIX/RID is cheaper than PAM and is readily available at WalMart, CVS, and other drug stores. It is also easy to dilute: mix one two ounce (59 ml) bottle of the cream rinse with one gallon of water.

At a dollar per ounce Permethrin-10 is the cheapest of the three options; one eight ounce bottle will make 240 gallons of solution, as only 6 milliliters of it are needed per gallon of water to make an effective mite spray. The upside is that if you have dozens of snakes to treat this will do it very economically. The downside is that it's all too easy to make too strong of a permethrin solution which can seriously injure or kill your snakes.

No matter which product you use, it must be used correctly. I've never applied any permethrin product directly onto my snakes as it's not needed for mite treatment, and permethrin poisoning in a snake can cause irreversible neurological damage or death.

Permethrin use: spray the enclosure, paper substrate, and hides with the diluted solution or PAM. DO NOT SPRAY THE WATER BOWL. Allow everything to dry completely before returning your snake to its home. Also keep a supply of treated and dried newspaper or paper towels and treated hides available so that when a snake makes a mess, you replace the soiled paper and hides with treated ones. Treat the enclosure every two to three weeks.

*** Reptile Spray ***

Reptile Spray kills mites on contact while wet, once it dries it loses its effectiveness pretty quickly. Reptile Spray is a solution of salts rather than an insecticide; it kills mites by dehydrating them. I don't spray the snakes as more ends up on the floor than on the snake. Instead, I spray a white paper towel with it and wipe it on the snake. That way you get even coverage on the snake, you can work it into the area under their chin really well as that's a favorite hiding plate for mites, you don't stress out your snake, and you can look for mites on the paper towel to see how quickly they're being eradicated. Apply twice a week. Note - this stuff hurts like hell in an open wound.

*** Hot Shot No-Pest Strips ***

Some people take a Hot Shot No-Pest strip, cut it into pieces, put each piece into a small sealed container, poke some holes in the container, and put each container into the snake's enclosure. I've used the No-Pest strip but I just hang it in the snake room and close the door. Either way is effective, especially if you have a major outbreak.

If you do use it, remove the water bowls as the insecticide is strongly attracted to water and you don't want the snake drinking it. After 24 hours remove the strip (or pieces), put them into an airtight container for future use, air out the room, and put the water bowls back. Repeat treatment weekly.

Important! If you also keep tarantulas, feeder roaches/dubias, crickets, etc. do not use the No-Pest Strip as it can kill them too!!!!

*** Mild Dish Soap ***

One or two drops of mild dish detergent in your snake's bath water will break the surface tension and prevent mites from floating in the water so they drown. No more than that is needed, your snake should not look like it is taking a bubble bath.

*** Heat ***

Don't laugh, but temperatures of 150*F for five seconds will kill mites and the eggs. I purchased a heat gun used for stripping paint that can be set to blow hot air from 180*F through 1200*F. Using the heat gun and a temperature gun to make sure the surfaces reached 150*F I heated the surfaces and crevices of my racks and enclosures to kill off any mite eggs that may have been laid outside the tubs. Don't overheat the enclosure surfaces and joined/glued areas or you can damage them.

Mite treatment should continue for 30 days after you stop finding mites on your snake, as an egg can take that long to hatch.

*** FINAL NOTE ***

Effective quarantine means that you treat every new arrival as if it has mites, and new snakes are kept as far away from your established collection as possible for at least 90 days. I treat the quarantine enclosure, hides, and paper with permethrin a day or so before the new snake arrives, and I wipe it with a paper towel soaked in Reptile Spray as part of my inspection process when it comes out of the shipping box. If it has mites I will know it within a day or two at most. This also goes for snakes from "trusted" sources, my first mite outbreak ever came from someone I trusted.

[OrientalSpade]

How would one treat with NIX/RID?
Simply spray it onto everything in the enclosure? Would i need to let it dry, should i avoid it having direct contact with my snake? how often should i treat?

[chrid16371]

I can't give any input on the nix treatment but I can tell you provent a mite and reptile spray work great. You use the natural chemistry reptile spray on your snake and provent a mite in enclosure. If your worried about making the wrong mix with other methods this is the way to go. For one snake a bottle of each will last you awhile. I didn't even go through half of each for multiple treatments and once I got rid of them they haven't came back. Yes its more expensive but it works with amazing results. You must follow directions exactly as there wrote on the bottles. If you order them you can soak your snake in not to hot not to cold water while you completely strip the enclosure and clean it while you wait for the order to arrive. You can soak daily for comfort. I also recommend putting down paper towels as substrate until you get the provent a mite. Mites thrive in the exact temp and humidity that ball pythons thrive so its an annoying sign your doing something right.

[Rob]

I've always used PAM without issue and it does the job right. Use it exactly as directed and mites will not be an issue for long. I always keep a can or two on hand.


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[PitOnTheProwl]

Natural Chemistry is great.
Should be able to find it at your local pet stores too.
I use it on all new snakes.
Yes you have to apply every couple days for a week or so BUT you can use it on your animal.

[bcr229]

How would one treat with NIX/RID?
Simply spray it onto everything in the enclosure? Would i need to let it dry, should i avoid it having direct contact with my snake? how often should i treat?

Mix the two ounce (59 ml) bottle of the cream rinse with one gallon of water.

Spray the enclosure, paper substrate, and hides with the solution. DO NOT SPRAY THE WATER BOWL. Allow everything to dry completely before returning your snake to its home. Also keep a supply of treated and dried newspaper or paper towels and treated hides available so that when a snake makes a mess, you replace the soiled paper and hides with treated ones. Treat the enclosure every two to three weeks.

Do not use aspen, cypress, or other natural substrates when treating for mites, they can hide from the permethrin and keep breeding and feeding. Use treated paper towels or newspaper as substrate.

[OrientalSpade]

Mix the two ounce (59 ml) bottle of the cream rinse with one gallon of water.

Spray the enclosure, paper substrate, and hides with the solution. DO NOT SPRAY THE WATER BOWL. Allow everything to dry completely before returning your snake to its home. Also keep a supply of treated and dried newspaper or paper towels and treated hides available so that when a snake makes a mess, you replace the soiled paper and hides with treated ones. Treat the enclosure every two to three weeks.

Do not use aspen, cypress, or other natural substrates when treating for mites, they can hide from the permethrin and keep breeding and feeding. Use treated paper towels or newspaper as substrate.

I currently do not have any extra hides on hand that i can treat while the current ones are in the tank, is there some kind of alternative for that? such as submerging the hides in water whilst the solution dries inside the tank? And how would i avoid eggs and such from colecting on the water bowl if im not supposed to treat it with the solution? Could i submerge that in water as well?

[bcr229]

I currently do not have any extra hides on hand that i can treat while the current ones are in the tank, is there some kind of alternative for that? such as submerging the hides in water whilst the solution dries inside the tank? And how would i avoid eggs and such from colecting on the water bowl if im not supposed to treat it with the solution? Could i submerge that in water as well?

Water bowls are run through the dishwasher, but then, I have stacks of spares because several of my snakes like to use them as toilets.

Plastic hides also do ok in the dishwasher. If you're using wood hides you'll have to toss them, they're almost impossible to treat and disinfect. You don't have to get pricey pet store ones either, I've converted a lot of the plastic restaurant or frozen food containers into serviceable hides.