Mites

I just picked up a few snakes and I've had them for a couple days now and just noticed a few mites on one of them. I took them out of the dumb tanks they were in and gave them both long baths and used some stuff called mite off from zoo med that the guy that I bought them off gave me and told me they were for his monitor that he had a while ago. I put the tanks outside and bleached the floor they were on. I put some mite off in their enclosures too before putting them in. So now I noticed the snake making a sniffling sound too every once in a while when she breaths. I'm doing as much research on it as I can, any recommendations on how to keep them off the snakes are welcome.

Pick up a can of Prevent a Mite: http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59

Follow the instructions on the can: which include not spraying the snakes but spraying the enclosures and substrate and letting that air dry before returning the snakes to the enclosure. I'd put them on paper towels for now so you can see the mites better.

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

Pick up a can of Prevent a Mite: http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59 Follow the instructions on the can: which include not spraying the snakes but spraying the enclosures and substrate and letting that air dry before returning the snakes to the enclosure. I'd put them on paper towels for now so you can see the mites better.

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Is Prevent a Mite common at pet stores or should I order it?

Ditto on the PAM (prevent a mite). You'll find life much more relaxing with that stuff around for instances such as this. You can also use a drop of dawn liquid soap to wash the snakes with to add some extra relief. Make sure you have them away in Quarantine from any other snakes you have in your collection, big or small!

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Order it - I get mine from www.lllreptile.com

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http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/vitamins-medicines-and-cage-cleaners/reptile-medications-mite-sprays-and-cleaners/-/provent-a-mite-and-reptile-relief-8oz-combo/

I agree with the soap bath and prevent a mite. Your snake might be sniffling because of the bath. It might have partly swallowed some water. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it's not the start of a respiratory infection. Some times they just make weird noises after soaking.

I used prevent o mite and followed to a T and it works great . I used Zoo Med as well at the same time on him and Fang has been mite free for 5 months . Also I recomend using the paper towels as you can see the mites and they will be dead , try to only have his hides and water dish in there so that you can clean anything extra you may have ( plants ,logs, and so forth ) as they could of laid eggs on them.

I haven't used PAM, but having seen roughly 32 million recommendations, I'd it's a pretty good bet. The only drawback I can see is that you can't actually treat the snake with it. When Ajja went in for her check up, my vet prescribed Frontline (yes, the spray for puppies and kittens) for the two mites she had. Mites are now a thing of the past. I know it sounds a little odd, but my vet IS the co-founder of ARAV, so I'm pretty comfortable with his advice. It can be used on the snake and the enclosure.

In addition to the PAM, Frontline, Mite Off, or whatever you decide to treat with, I definitely second the paper towels and the minimal cage "furniture" during treatment. If there's any wood in the cage, just trash it. chances are, there are eggs in it, and it's not really worth the risk bringing them back in and starting the infestation up again.

If you happen to catch any live mites in your cage or on your snake, don't try to smash them or squirt them with whatever you're treating with. Sweep them onto a scrap of foil or something similar, and set them on fire. It doesn't actually accomplish anything in terms of getting rid of them, but you at least get the satisfaction of watching the little monsters burn!