New BP owner dealing with mites :(

I bought my first young ball python from PetSmart about 3.5 weeks ago. When I adopted it, it looked quite healthy, has been alert and has eaten once a week for the past three weeks. Last night while handling it I saw what I've read is the bane of many snake owners: mites. Tomorrow (technically later today) I'm going to clean the tank with a 1:10 bleach:water solution and bake the wooden decor in there to kill some of the mites. I also plan on soaking my snake in a betadine bath. I tried my best to wedge some of the mites free from under its scales after I read up on the topic. I was hoping to get Provent A Mite but apparently no pet store around here carries any reptile mite products, at least not that I could find, and I read that Provent A Mite is illegal in NY. What else can I do? I don't want my little one suffering and I certainly don't want them to kill it :(

Any advice is appreciated.

http://m.petco.com/product/109610/Na...ile-Spray.aspx

Reptile Spray is great stuff. It can be used to clean everything including the snake itself.

For your decor I would mix the spray with water and soak it for a bit.

Clean the tank of all substrate and put paper towels down. This will not allow the mites to hide and allows you to see any on it. They should be dead the spray works fast.

Hello,

If you have mites, there really are only 2 solutions that work really well. NIX and Provent-a-mite (PAM). It has been mentioned in several places that they are equally safe for reptiles, but the owner of PAM did write a letter (I saw it posted somewhere) that explains that NIX is made for human use, not reptiles, and isn't 100% safe for reptile use.

In the past, and when I get back from shows I use PAM. It is, in my opinion, the only choice. Buy a can! All you need to do is remove the snake, and the water bowl from the tank/tub. Then, spray down the substrate with PAM and wait for it to dry. Once dry, put everything back and that’s it. Within 2 weeks all the mites and eggs will die. It's a good idea to follow the same procedure again 3 weeks after the first application just incase there were some mites that made it through (although that’s doubtful).

Don't stress, but don't wait too long. Mites hurt your snake and can cause some serious damage. Order the PAM today. It'll arrive in a couple days.

GL!

Nevermind, I saw what you said and verified it. PAM is not available in NYS. I'm floored. :O So sorry, don't know how to help. Perhaps try NIX, it's made for getting rid of lice in humans. I know many people that have used it. Perhaps it's available there?

My bp got mites from a dirty feeder rat a few weeks ago. Had her 5 yrs and this was my first mite outbreak. I soaked her in the tub a few times and washed her tank out with hot soapy water and bleach. I then sprayed her tank with some flea/tick spray, let it dry out and rinsed it real good. I also sprayed the flea stuff on the little wooden table the tank sits on as well. Soaked her again in some betadine solution and haven't seen a mite since.

Ricky have you tried Reptile Spray? Before you say there is only two solutions and go into your opinion you should finish reading the op's statement. You could have saved some typing and the need for a retraction. Failing to read the whole post could lead to you giving bad advise because you didn't gather all the facts.

Many people here have tried Reptile Spray and had great results like I did.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by python baller

My bp got mites from a dirty feeder rat a few weeks ago. Had her 5 yrs and this was my first mite outbreak. I soaked her in the tub a few times and washed her tank out with hot soapy water and bleach. I then sprayed her tank with some flea/tick spray, let it dry out and rinsed it real good. I also sprayed the flea stuff on the little wooden table the tank sits on as well. Soaked her again in some betadine solution and haven't seen a mite since.

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Do you happen to know the name of the spray you used?

Can you not get Reptile Spray either?

I would try a mite killing product before a product intended for other pest on other animals.

PAM isn't legal in NYS? That's the first I've heard of that! I was planning to order a can too...

Couldn't find the Reptile Spray so we got a flea/tick spray. Thoroughly cleaned, disinfected, and sprayed the tank. Vacuumed all around it and washed pretty much everything in my room near her tank including curtains and bedsheets. Tried to wedge free more mites from under her scales and did two Betadine soaks to soothe her skin and let the water suffocate some of the mites. Dabbed some mineral oil around her eyes and chin as well to hopefully suffocate any hard to reach mites trapped near there. She's back in her tank on newspaper for now with minimal decor until we're sure the problem is solved, but has been drinking water and seems to be doing well as of 12:33 am EST :) Hope this works! :please:


P.S. Yes, Xaila, it's illegal in NYS. As far as I know you can't even get it shipped here :( Cool that you're from NYS though! I'm upstate