snake has mites...help please

[itzazoo]

ok I just found mites on my baby BRB. I checked my other snakes and they don't have any. I'm pretty sure they had to come with him from the breeder. What Can I do right now to help control them until my Prevent a mite comes?

[jglass38]

Go to a local store and get Reptile Relief. Its a natural mite killing product. Good luck!

[tigerlily]

You can also soak your brb. The water should drown most of the adult mites, and I'd recommend newpaper as a substrate too. Hope the Provent a Mite get there soon!

[elevatethis]

Just a short soak in a tepid bath will kill off most of the adults.

The search button is there...use it!

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[Beauty the BP]

A long soak in warm water, and after rub veg oil the full length of the snakes body. Sufficates the mites. After 24 hours you can wash her well and do the same in a couple of days. This should get rid of the little buggies in short order.

Regards,
Beauty the BP

[cassandra]

I just went through this with Carmen. I used Provent a Mite (PAM) and Reptile Relief (RR). If I had to do over, I would skip the RR and just do a soak.

While waiting for your PAM to come in (and PAM is the best - kills'em dead! be sure to READ VERY CAREFULLY the direction), get any extranneous cage toys out and get them cleaned and disinfected. I wouldn't put them back until your PAMing is done. Switch the substrate over to something very easy to clean and replace and see mites; lotsa folks recommend white paper towels or plain newsprint. I used white flannel fabric (cuz I had some and I was worried Carmen would poke a hole through paper towels where the temp probes are).

Good luck!

[elevatethis]

A long soak in warm water, and after rub veg oil the full length of the snakes body. Sufficates the mites. After 24 hours you can wash her well and do the same in a couple of days. This should get rid of the little buggies in short order.

Regards,
Beauty the BP

No, the veg oil thing is not necessary as water drowns mites just as efficiently as oil does. Putting oil on a snake is just, well, not needed and will probably just stress them out.

The method you desribe above in no way does anything to erradicate a mite infestation. Vegetable oil does not kill mite eggs or larve. I don't know where you got this information from, but please do not spread this info around as it does not work. I realize that this method is an "old skool" mite remedy, but this hobby has come a long way, and with products like Provent-a-mite readily available, there's no reason to spread that kind of mis-information.

[cassandra]

What I have read on several websites is to add one drop of dish soap to the soak water. This supposedly breaks the surface tension which will prevent air pockets from forming around mites on the snake's body, allowing those little suckers from continuing to breathe.

[itzazoo]

Thanks for all the responses. I went ahead with the warm soakings and totally bleached everything in the cage and am now using papertowels temporarily until the mites are gone. Thanks again. This is my first mite experience.

[cassandra]

Be sure to use the PAM when you get it - amazing stuff. And an additional warning, yes, be VERY careful with it and be sure to read the instructions. =)