How serious of a problem are mites to a snakes health?

My snake has a couple of mites. Usually I will spray with Mite Off and bathe and won't see them again for a few weeks. I know everyone says use Prevent-A-Mite but that's not what this post is about.


How detrimental to a snakes HEALTH are mites?

Mites themselves are mostly a nuisance, but the deseases they can carry from host to host are the real danger. ex. IBD

EDIT: just wanted to add that if the case is sever enough, mites can cause alot of stress to the animal, which can also lead to easier cases of infection. never seen it happen before but ive heard of mite infestations causing eye infections and such.

they can also dehydrate ur snake and cause it not to eat or drink.... it is a very serious deal!

Well than whht should I do? PAM is out of the question for now.

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

Well than whht should I do? PAM is out of the question for now.

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why is PAM out of the question? its the single best product out there to treat and eradicate mites.

do you live in NY state?

I voted "very serious" my rationale being: these are our captive animals. Any ailment they have is OUR responsibility to fix. Mites can cause stress and anemia which can lead to other worse conditions. I wouldn't leave my cats with a flea or two because "they aren't doing a lot of damage." And i take snake mites just as seriously. and i have had a case. I got a bitty honduran milk snake that had the worst case of mites i've ever seen. Soaked her (in a tub with some water and a drop of dish soap) and PAM'd her enclosure. Within a minute of putting her in there 80% of the mites were dead. Within an hour 100% of the mites i saw were gone. I never saw another mite again.

That 16.00 can of pam is one of the single greatest things in my snake tool kit. worth its weight in gold.

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

why is PAM out of the question? its the single best product out there to treat and eradicate mites.

do you live in NY state?

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Because I cannot order it online.

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

Because I cannot order it online.

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ah. Is it possible to ask a friend or relative or order it with their card and pay them in cash? I've done that before i had my debit card.

Oh or if there are any reptile shows around you, you can often find it there.

I have to tell you, mites are VERY serious.

I bought a baby ball from a pet shop { bad mistake I know }, and she was infested with mites. I treated her every few days with the spray they sell.

We had to leave town for a week, and when we returned the mites were so bad, I removed her hide and climbing branch, so I could treat her and her tank again. I left the branch out overnight, and apparently that is where the mites were hiding at night because the next morning she was dead in the bottom of her tank and positively crawling with mites, you could see them moving over her poor little body.

This was the dead of winter, so her tank promptly went outside to freeze everything in it, and for a wonder my other snakes never got them.

But yes, given the right circumstances, mites are very dangerous. If you have any small mom & pop type pet shops nearby, they might be willing to order PAM for you. Just a thought.

Gale

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

Because I cannot order it online.

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If you can't order online then try hitting up a specialty reptile store or a reptile show, they will sometimes have it there.

Also, the product for getting rid of head lice "Nix" can also be used although I am not sure how to apply it to the cage safely as it lacks the instructions to treat a reptile enclosure.

This product should be able to be bought in most drug stores.

You could use the equate bedding spray from walmart as well. It may not be the exact same thing as PAM but it's pretty close and won't harm your snake as long as you let it dry totally before putting the snake back in the cage. I have never had mites on my snakes, but my rats did have mites at one time. The equate worked well and I think it was only about $3 a can.

Do a search on Nix. Many many many respected breeders and hobbyists alike have been using it for years on their collections with nothing but positive results.
Not that it needs to be talked up by me, but you can also buy it (without a credit card) at ANY drugstore for around $10.

Mites breed extraordinarily fast, they wander absolutely everywhere so they will get into everything, and they will continue to breed and feed on your snake until it expires.

They transmit diseases such as IBD between snakes, they can cause skin and eye infections, they irritate snakes which causes stress and depress immune function (leading to RIs and mouth infections, failure to feed, etc).

Mites are far more than just a nuisance.

Because they wander everywhere, you cannot just treat the snake, clean the cage, and be done with them. That's why PAM is recommended, because it keeps working for long enough to break the mites' life cycle. It kills any that enter the cage, so they can never feed on your snake again, and cannot reproduce before they die.

See if there's a local herpetological society, someone in it may have some PAM.

Mite on reptiles in captivity are serious. They can and will multiply quickly since their host is stuck in one area and can't get away from them. Mites are like roaches, you see 1 that means there are 20 more hiding.

A few mites won't kill them unless they have some type of disease. But think about it this way. Mites suck blood out of their host. As they multiply they will suck more blood then your animal can become weak and anemic. Not only this they can spread to the rest of your collection.

Whatever method you choose make sure to treat the snake, its enclosure and the surrounding area. 2-3 times at least.

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

Because I cannot order it online.

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Where do you live? I'm confused about why you can't order it online.

Mites are like fleas. Mostly annoying, but can become really serious if the infestation gets severe. Even lethal in extreme cases.

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Originally Posted by unspecified42

Where do you live? I'm confused about why you can't order it online.

Mites are like fleas. Mostly annoying, but can become really serious if the infestation gets severe. Even lethal in extreme cases.

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No card to order online.

Well.. heres somes ideas:

Take your tank, get the snake out. Put a solution of 5% bleach in with some water (dont know the exact amount of water, but you can find out easily on google)

Use that to wipe down the entire enclosure

take the hide(s) and boil them in scalding water for 20 minutes

Bake any logs in the enclosure at 200 degress AND WATCH IT NON STOP. dont leave it unattended. Do this for 10 - 30 minutes.

Replace ALL your substrait

remove your water bowl and clean it

now, go back to your tank and wash it our thoroughly. clean it out again with the 5% bleach/water

Rinse it out again

wait for it to dry, and open as many windows that you can in the room to air it out, if you cant do that, then get a fan and point it into the enclosure. this will force the fumes out (which will then be taken out of windows throughout the house via air currents)

now, get a vacuum (preferably a steam mop but ont everybody has one) and go over the entire cartper/floor in the room

If you have a vacuum, you will have to do this several times AND clean the floor with bleach and water (to kill eggs) BUT if you have the steam mop you will only have to wash the floor/carpet once or twice, because it will boil and kill ANY eggs/mites in the carpet or in the floor

you may have to repeat this a few times, but its the only way if you cannot get a good mite spray off the internet or in your area

I had the same problem. we had these mites (didn't have a snake though) that were ALL in my room

We tried everything, but couldn't get ahold of any sprays or whatever to kill them

So we just nuked everything in the room with the steam mop and tons of bleach

Now.. obviously when dealing with a snake you have to be careful with bleach, so before introducing your snake to the room again make SURE the tank is dry and has been left to air out for awhile

if you have hardwood floor (or just flooring without a carpet) and have to bleach it, then again dont bring the snake back in the room for awhile

Hope this helps

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

No card to order online.

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Surely you have a friend or relative that you can hand $20 to and ask them to order it for you? :confused:

Go to petsmart, petco, any petshop...
They all carry Mite Off or something similar. Might cost you $5 or so.

Clean everything!

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

No card to order online.

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If you have a bank account you can hook that up with paypal and use your money directly. Its free.

Also you can buy prepaid credit cards. I know Rite Aid here in Oregon has them. Put whatever amount on the card and wala you can oreder online. What ever you do you will want to treat the mites ASAP.

Why not flea bombs or something like that?

Generic head lice shampoo and bedding spray, $10 for the pair at walmart.

No need to bomb, just treat and re-treat 2 more times and gone.
They aren't that hard to get rid of, you have to apply yourself to do the routine or they won't go away.

Mite-off, a fancy way to drown you mites without taking care of the problem.
Thanks Zoo-med! :rolleye2:

There is no such thing as a " just a couple of mites"

Mite infestations get our of control very quickly, and as the others have stated can make your animal very sick.

As the keeper it is your responsibility to find a way to take care of this problem. Not having a credit card is a poor excuse. There are other products at pet stores that work (if not as well as PAM) though their treatment may need to be repeated to be effective.

Treat the snake the enclosure and all surrounding area. You need to be diligent. I would switch to paper substrate until you have it under control.
Treat it again a week later even if you see no mites just to make sure no eggs have survived.
Good luck!

As long as you caught them early, and can treat the snake and his tank (This is important to kill all mite eggs) everything should be fine and your BP should become more active and regain his appetite.

So on a scale of 1-10 for a knowledgeable owner, the threat of mites are about a 2 or 3

To an un-knowledgeable owner, the threat can be an 8 or 9

Mite-Off is just fine, it isn't as effective, so don't be afraid to really hose everything down in it.
After taking your snake out of the cage, "wash" him in the Mite-Off and spray his cage extremely well. Don't "wash" your BP in water after this, as the product could miss many mites and not do it's job. After about 20 minutes of allowing the Mite-Off in the tank to dry, replace your BP.

The next day, repeat the process, but completely empty the tank and scrub it thoroughly, be sure to get all creases, as this is where most mites like to lay their eggs. "Wash" your BP in Mite-Off again. Spray the cage with Mite-Off after scrubbing, and let it sit to dry in a garage or basement (Be sure to clean EVERYTHING in the tank including dishes and hides.)
Put your BP in a temporary container that is adequate for his size, use newspaper as a substrate that he can get under and feel safe for the night.

The next day, maybe soak your BPs real cage in lightly soapy water for about a half hour (including contents of hides and dishes) then allow to dry for about an hour. Now you can set up his tank, preferably with something like coconut husk as substrate. Reapply your heat sources and allow the tank to neutralize for about an hour. Now you can lightly spray your tank with Mite-Off for a last time. Now take out your BP, spray him with Mite-Off and put him in a third container. Allow the Mite-Off to settle for about 15 minutes. Now you can "wash" your BP with water, and be sure to check for mites. If you see any, put him back in the temporary container and give him a break for a day or two. If not, you can put him back in the cage.

Be sure to wash the temporary containers used extremely thoroughly, as these may very well be the last containers holding mite eggs.

After this you should be mite free!

Mites, if left untreated or missed, can kill a snake.

I know someone who bought a pair of snakes off of craigslist, and did not pay attention, and one day, the male was dead. When picked up, he was so covered in mites, you could hardly see his belly.

They suck the blood of the snake. Eventually, it kills them.

Sorry to seem so grim, but its the truth, and I don't want to see any snake hurt or even worse.