White Mites. Need experienced help please.

I was cleaning my snake bins and found one snake with white mites. No black ones to be found. At first I thought it may have been mites in the bedding because I couldn't find any of the black mites pictured and talked about on all the snake-mite forum threads.
Then I found this:
The protonymph stage lasts from three days to two weeks. This stage is mobile and may move considerable distances. Protonymphs are able to detect and are attracted by the smell of snakes. They require a blood meal to metamorphose to the next stage. Unfed protonymphs are pale ivory or yellowish in color, and they are almost invisible to the naked eye. The sharp-eyed, observant keeper may notice pale protonymphs walking across scale surfaces, especially on a snake's head plates.

posted at http://vpi.com/publications/the_life...of_snake_mites

Here's a couple photos;

http://orchidenterprise.com/Life_Out...trix/Mites.jpg


http://orchidenterprise.com/Life_Out...rix/Mites2.jpg

I'm going to treat my snakes just in case.
I have 23 snakes between 300 and 500gms and three 1500gm adults. All Ball Pythons. Will one can of Prevent a Mite and one spray bottle of Reptile Spray be enough for 3 treatments or should I get two or three containers of each?

Thanks

no need to get both. i've used reptile spray before and it worked beautifully. i would imagine 2 bottles of reptile spray would be more than enough. maybe even just one. i used my bottle for a couple treatments and it's still about full and set aside in case i ever need it again.

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no need to get both. i've used reptile spray before and it worked beautifully. i would imagine 2 bottles of reptile spray would be more than enough. maybe even just one. i used my bottle for a couple treatments and it's still about full and set aside in case i ever need it again.

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Thanks -I will order a couple bottles of the reptile spray today so I can start treating them ASAP.

I personally like PAM. After one use, never saw mites again. And I treat all new additions as a preventative measure.


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PAM all the way!

Personally I would use PAM to treat all snake cages. Those look like newly hatched mites, they only turn black when they start sucking blood. You've probably had mites for a while without realizing it. Make sure you read all of the directions before using it. Clean each cage thoroughly, and use paper for a substrate for a while. What kind of cage setup do you have?

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Originally Posted by MarkS

Personally I would use PAM to treat all snake cages. Those look like newly hatched mites, they only turn black when they start sucking blood. You've probably had mites for a while without realizing it. Make sure you read all of the directions before using it. Clean each cage thoroughly, and use paper for a substrate for a while. What kind of cage setup do you have?

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No need to clean out anything, so much extra work.

Just take out the snake, and the water dish. Spray the substrate. Wait for it to dry, use a fan if it helps speed up the process. Put the snake and the water bowl back. Wait for mites to die! DIE MITES..DIE! moo ha ha *evil laugh*

I disagree, I think it's better to get rid of the substrate and spay the cage. One of the nice things about PAM is that it stays effective for a long time. If you spray the substrate and then later dump the substrate when you clean you're getting rid of some of the mite killing power.

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Originally Posted by MarkS

I disagree, I think it's better to get rid of the substrate and spay the cage. One of the nice things about PAM is that it stays effective for a long time. If you spray the substrate and then later dump the substrate when you clean you're getting rid of some of the mite killing power.

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PAM instructions specifically state to not spray directly on the cage surface, substrate only. I get your point, but a little goes a long way so there isn't much waste in a second spraying after a substrate change. However, I would still dump infested bedding and then spray new bedding, to reduce the parasite load as quickly as possible.

In my opinion, those look like wood mites, not snake mites.. But I could be wrong!

Better to be safe than sorry

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