My ball python has mites but I just fed him last night....do I wait to treat?

I had a huge war with mites. If you look at my profile, there's a thread on it. It was horrible. Lasted forever. I tried the NIX treatment but it didn't work. The only thing that did was a combination of PAM and reptile relief spray, and being really on top of the problem. It took about a week for PAM to arrive and I used the NIX in the meantime, but I really don't think it did much.

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

I had a huge war with mites. If you look at my profile, there's a thread on it. It was horrible. Lasted forever. I tried the NIX treatment but it didn't work. The only thing that did was a combination of PAM and reptile relief spray, and being really on top of the problem. It took about a week for PAM to arrive and I used the NIX in the meantime, but I really don't think it did much.

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This is why PAM is always the first suggestion. It WORKS. You can try other methods, but many people many times over have tried everything under the sun to get rid of mites and with a few rare exceptions it comes down to PAM in the end. Do what you can to make your snake comfortable, but go ahead and order the PAM. You won't regret it.

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Originally Posted by jena.chris

That's what I ordered! I am new to all of this. Do you think he got it from the pet store or picked it up around the house? Should I not have been putting him on the carpet? And now if I vacuum and wait a few days will they die off if they did come from the carpet? I have so many questions haha.

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It's a good bet when you brought your snake home the mites came with him.

Tip: Don't ever return to that store. Even if you don't bring another snake home from there, the female mites leave the snake and even the enclosures and will lay eggs in bags of bedding near where the snakes are kept. If you need equipment, order it online and have it shipped.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

It's a good bet when you brought your snake home the mites came with him.

Tip: Don't ever return to that store. Even if you don't bring another snake home from there, the female mites leave the snake and even the enclosures and will lay eggs in bags of bedding near where the snakes are kept. If you need equipment, order it online and have it shipped.

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Okay, thank you! I soaked him in some water for about 15 minutes last night because I couldn't stand doing nothing. I only saw one and it died in the water, but I saw one on him this morning again. The Reptile Spray should be here today and I'll send in an order to PAM for backup. If the Reptile Spray seems to do the trick, would it be a good idea to still use the PAM as a prevent and precaution? Make sure the buggers are all dead?

The reptile spray kills the mites on the snake and the PAM kills any that are off of the snake and hangs around on the tub and bedding long enough that when the eggs in the bedding hatch the babies die. Use both and right when you think your snake is good a clear of mites...Treat it again for another few weeks. Not retreating along with not getting the cage and surrounding animals treated is the main reason for relapses of these critters.

Reptile Spray will only kill the mites it comes into contact with. It is not an insecticide, it is a solution of salts that works by dehydrating the mite. It will do nothing for the two mite life cycles that are not on the snake, nor will it work on the mite eggs.

PAM / NIX / RID / etc. are all permethrin-based products. Permethrin is an insecticide whose half-life is 30 days if kept out of direct sunlight. It works because mites spend a several stages of their life cycle off the snake, which is when they walk through the insecticide. Note that an egg can take up to 30 days to hatch out, which is why it's recommended that you re-apply the permethrin every week or so and continue to treat for mites for two months after you stop seeing them.

I've used Reptile Spray and it works but I do not spray the snake with it. Instead I spray a white paper towel and wipe the snake. That way you use less of the product, more of it ends up on the snake than elsewhere (my snakes hate getting sprayed), you can work it well into the area under their chin, you can avoid their eyes, and you can check the paper towel afterward for mites.

It took me a good hour and a half, but I threw out all the aspen bedding, soaked all hides in hot water with a little bit of the medicine, and rubbed him down with the stuff with a paper towel.

How do I know if I got them all if they hide in the scales?

I have him on paper towel substrate with temporary cardboard hides for now. I read to keep his water bowl out of the terrarium for 24 hours after applying the medication--is this good advice?

I just inspected him and I didn't see any except for one of his heat pits looks black colored....is that a mite? How do I get it out of there?

Reptile Spray is a must.

Heres a good tidbit: be careful what you get at the petstore. We have purchased bags of bedding and other things from "big name" stores that came with bugs on board...

So look new items over well, and always qt new things until you're sure.

Do you buy bedding from somewhere online that's been free of them?

Also, he definitely has one in the heat pit. I observed his rubbing that side of his face against his water dish and hide :(. What do I do? There is no way I can get it out of there.