So....my BP has mites...

I discovered a small black speck in my BP's water bowl this morning and thought nothing of it until I came home this afternoon to see my BP completely submerged in her water bowl.

She is usually an extremely nocturnal girl, coming out when it is basically pitch black and rarely out of her hides; seeing her out during the day and submerged started setting off alarm bells straight away! As soon as she went back into her hide I delved in for the water bowl and low and behold, black specks. I removed one with some tweezers and popped it which proved the one thing I was hoping against. She has mites.

I only fed my girl on the 22nd (very late at night) so I was not planning on handling until tomorrow night at the earliest as I would like to not risk a regurge! The people I got her from are sending out a treatment and instructions in the post tomorrow (which likely means I won't get it until Monday) so I was wondering if you had any tips in the meantime? Anyone who has dealt with mites before?

I got a new BP on Monday who hasn't fed yet who I was going to leave alone until feeding on Tuesday but I think it's imperative I get him checked over in case he is the mite bringer and if he is clear I need to move his room (bring him into my bedroom which isn't far from her but I live in a shoebox) He is currently about 2.5 metres from her on a table in my kitchen (I have a kitchen/sitting room) as it is unfortunately as far away as I could reasonably get him away.

Any tips would be great! I don't seem to be having much luck at the moment!

1) Don't stress

2) Buy a can of Provent-a-mite (Can be ordered online) http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59

3) Follow directions

Checked my new BP (felt awful as he's still settling but I know it was imperative I did) and he is completely clear of mites so he hasn't brought them in with him. Moved him into my room and changed his substrate from aspen to white paper towels to double check he is clear. No sign of any nasties in his water bowl so looks like it's just my pastel. (You would think it would be the other way around as my het albino (male) was bought private and she was bought from a proper reptile shop) Any idea how she might have gotten them if not from him?

I'll get myself online for some proven-a-mite now! Thank you! I should still treat my other BP although he doesn't have them himself, correct?

Oh dear, I can't find provent-a-mite in the UK anywhere....I don't suppose any of the forum users are from the UK and have managed successfully to order some?

She brought them from the shop. Most shops do not produce their own animals. They by them wholesale from brokers and private individuals and very rarely follow proper Quarantine protocols. She may have brought them to the shop with her or picked them up while she was there. Either way PAM used properly will kill the living Bejeezus out of mites. I tool in a rescue that had mites and had him cleared up within a week using it. Just make sure you remove and wash the water bowl and only place the animal into enclosure once the Provent a Mite is completely dry.

Sent from my LGL45C using Tapatalk 2

As an addendum even though the snake I brought in was visually free of mites after 7 days I continued treating the enclosure for a full month.

Sent from my LGL45C using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rickys_Reptiles

1) Don't stress

2) Buy a can of Provent-a-mite (Can be ordered online) http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59

3) Follow directions

---

thats basically it.

switch to paper towels, clean the enclosure often and properly, and when they are on the snake you can provide relief by giving the snake a bath in lukewarm water, add a tiny little drop of dishwasher fluid (a really tiny amount is enough, like a drop per gallon) to the water just to break surface tension, and they will drown.

with these simple basic things you maybe wont exterminate the mites, but you will reduce them by like 95%-99% and provide relief for the BP, and that buys you enough time to get something decent like provent-a-mite. Time is only important when you have a gazillion other reptiles and fear that it might spread, if thats not the case then you have all the time you need to get your research and (international) shipping done properly.

I recently bought a can of provent a mite off of eBay. BeLive the seller has quiet a few left

My snake don't have mites ( knock on wood) and hasn't yet, but have the bottle just in case . As a safety measure.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Provent-A-Mi...item35cca5d7ae