Where are the mites coming from???

i feel your pain!! if it helps any, i used a headlice shampoo called nix to kill all my mites its a lot stronger than most other products on the market.

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Originally Posted by kontron

we checked her snake "roo" but found no sign of mites. i am now worried she may get them

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If the snakes are in the same it would be best to treat her snake and cage for mites too. Even if you dont see them now it doesnt mean that they arent going to show up there soon.

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Originally Posted by kontron

i was told that soaking them in a bath with dilluted mouthwash would do the trick? can that hurt the snake?

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I have never heard of that as a treatment for mites although I have heard of doing that as an antiseptic. I can not imagine it being good for the snake though, mouthwash burns like you know what when you get it in a cut.

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Originally Posted by kontron

is it possible my snake "roswell" could have had mites this whole time, but i would not have noticed until a month and a half later. i handled my snake at least 2-3 times a week, and never noticed anything. i also used the eco-earth dirt substrate.

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It is possible that roswell had the mites and you didnt notice. It could have started with only a couple of eggs. After a week or so the eggs hatched, mites matured and reproduced, and laid more eggs. I believe that the life cycle of a mite is about two weeks. Voila, in a month and a half you have a major outbreak. Another possiblility is that the mites came in the substrate you brought home from the pet store.

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Originally Posted by kontron

is there something better to use? i do not like using newspaper.

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In my opinion yes, for my smaller snakes and high humidity snakes I use Cypress Mulch. You can get it at most home stores and Walmart for about $3-$4 for a big bag. Make sure you get Cypress and not some type of pine or cedar. Pine and Cedar can be very harmful for your snake. You should still pre-treat the Cypress before using it to kill off any pests. I use Black Knight (which you cant get anymore) or Repel Permanone to pre-treat the Cypress. Empty it into a big rubbermaid tub, spray it really well, stir it up, spray it again, then put the lid on the tub and store it until you are ready to use it. I will typically put the mulch in the cage, spread it out, and then leave it to air out for about 30 minutes before putting the snake in the cage to be safe.

these chems are not harmfull to my snake? i could only locate one bottle of mite killing formula for snakes at my local petco. would this help. it claims to kill mites on contact. what are some things i can do in the future to prevent these little @#$%#ers from coming back? I felt so bad for my snake.. i never want to go through this again

As long as you follow the instructions for treament and let the cage air out before putting the snake back in the cage you shouldnt have any problems. Petco is clueless.... you can buy the stuff I use, Repel Permanone or Sawyers Tick Spray, at most Walmarts or Kmarts in the camping section.
If you are careful about pre-treating and disinfecting everything before it gets in your cages you shouldnt have any problems.
As for the question about mites coming in on the prey.... sure it's possible. In theory you could even carry the mites in on your clothes. Best way to keep the prey thing from happening is by using F/T prey.

i heard about a shot that the vet could give? would this be worth the 100 bucks to treat each snake, or would i be better off facing the boogers in battle?

Just dig in and fight the battle!!!!

I'm in Vet Tech training and we had Merial, the people who make Frontline and Heartguard, come to our school and do a seminar. We asked if it could be used on snakes, and they said yes, it is very safe. They fed upwards of 40 packets to a dog and the dog was fine (not meant to be ingested of course). It is safe for all animals, including medication-sensitive Collie's. IMHO it is really not safe to be using the people-oriented sprays on the snake as it may cause a deadly reaction in them that wouldn't normally harm us, even if it is cheaper. But why would you want to sacrifice cost for the safety of your snake? It is best to use animal-specific sprays/medications so as not to cause such a reaction. It would be an alternative route to use the Frontline, get 3 packets, (available at WalMart or another pet store, you do not have to go to your vet, it is WAY too expensive that way) and use one packet for multiple snakes. Merial said it was safe to us, but if you wanted to use gloves you could. Spread a few drops on your hands, rub them together, and then rub down the snake. Gets rid of fleas, ticks and mites. So hey, if you have a flea outbreak, and you keep getting bit by fleas, just put some Frontline on and Bam! no more fleas :) Hope this helps.

Also, about that injection someone was mentioning. It isn't very good at all. Made for dogs and not specific for anything else. Why would anyone want to flood their dog's system with tons of flea/tick insecticide for 6 months and have it wane down to nothing for the last month, and not work?? IMO it's not worth the money for anyone's animals except for people who don't have time for their pets and can't put on Frontline once a month. I would definately rather save my money and save my dogs a trip to the vet and a stick with a needle. Sorry to vent. Hope I didn't offend anyone.

Has frontline and the other meds been actually tested on reptiles?
Just in case it was not clear in the recommended treatment with Sawyers or Permanone.... the snake and water bowl are too be removed from the cage and not replaced in the cage until it has had plenty of time to air out. The residue left behind in the cage continues to kill off the mites inside the cage for approximately two to three weeks.
Correct me if I am wrong but.... If using Frontline as a means of treatment for the reptile itself you would have to strip the cage, disinfect it, switch to a paper towel or news paper substrate to minimize the egg laying surfaces available to the mites, then treat the snake. You would also have to change out the substrate and disinfect the cage at least two more time before the treatment would be complete and the cage free of mites. Because only the mites or eggs that come in contact with the mites would die and the eggs layed prior to treatment would hatch out in approx two weeks.

I'm pretty sure it's been tested on every animal they can get their hands on, including rabbits and such. If the mites came in contact with the snake (ie. biting the snake) they would die. The ones on the snake would bite it and fall off and die, any eggs that were laid would hatch and bite the snake and die off. Any mites in the cage would need to feed on the snake to survive and in essense would die. That's how it works. Besides, why wouldn't you want to strip the cage and disinfect. I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't want the snake to be breathing in any fumes from the Sawyers/permanone that wasn't specifically made for animals. Oh yeah, for the Frontline to work, it has to touch the skin so it gets in the snake's system so it continues to work for a month without reapplication. It won't wash off with water, so no worries if Mr. Snakiepants wants to go for a little swim. :) Anyway. Ya'll can use what you're used to or try a different treatment, they are your snakes after all. Hope I helped a little.

The complete cleaning and disinfecting is virtually impossible for some people with wood cages that are 6x2 or if it's a cage that is too heavy to be dragged outside and completely hosed out.

Where did your vet get his information on the use of frontline....
I found this on the frontline site in the FAQ section....

"Can FRONTLINE be used on pets other than dogs and cats?

No. FRONTLINE is intended for use on dogs and cats only. Do not use on other animals."

If there are some published reports or reptile keepers that can provide some type of significant back up that it can be used directly on a snake without causing irritation or other side effects I would be interested to hear it. I can see where using a product like Frontline could be beneficial in prevention of a mite out break in a collection but before I use it I need some real hard evidence that it is safe when the mfgr is saying specifically not to use it on anything but dogs and cats.

Truly the best treatment for mites is prevention but we all now there is one time or another that no matter what you do you end up with them.