Spraying Mice with NIX before feeding

Hello. I just eradicated a mite problem from my BP enclosure and I am now close to feeding time. I am concerned that the mice I bring home from the pet store may have mites and restart the entire problem again, so I was wondering:

Is it okay to spray mice with NIX solution or Mite-Off (I'm talking a good healthy amount - they will need to dry off) a day or two before feeding to the BP?

I appreciate all the help you guys have given me over the past week. You guys rock. Any input you have here is welcome.

I'm not doctor or anything, but I'm gonna offer up a rather emphatic NO. You don't want your snake ingesting poison!

I've never had snake mites come home on feeder rodents from the pet store...and never heard of anyone else who had. If you treat your snake's enclosure with P-A-M (as directed on the can), any mite that DOES accidentally find its way in there will die off anyhow.

Please, please don't spray your snake's food with poison!

I brought home mites from the pet store. I have this organic stuff that gets rid of mites. It can`t be sprayed on the prey, but I would check out Dr. foster`s.com. If anyone has something to treat prey before feeding, they would. I would also look on the internet for home remedies for mites. it is amazing what you can find on line. I am NOT by all means saying to use organic mite spray on prey, but there might be SOMETHING you can do about it to make sure.

P-A-M .... Provent-a-Mite

http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59

I know there are other methods that work...but this is the only one I know of that ANYone can just pick up a can and follow the directions with confidence that it will work and not harm your animals.

What if I spray the NIX solution in a small holding tank and let that air-dry. Then I will keep the mice in there for a day or two before feeding - that way if any mites are on them, they should hopefully get killed by the NIX solution? Not sure if it works when dry like that

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Originally Posted by vintod

What if I spray the NIX solution in a small holding tank and let that air-dry. Then I will keep the mice in there for a day or two before feeding - that way if any mites are on them, they should hopefully get killed by the NIX solution? Not sure if it works when dry like that

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I don't know if Nix works like that, but PAM does. Please check out that link. You'll never have to worry about mites again.

I still wouldn't treat the rodent enclosure with it, though. I wouldn't want the residue of it getting on their feet and bellies and then being ingested by the snake. Not to mention what the mice will ingest when they groom themselves. Maybe just a tiny amount per feeding...but they might add up over time. Maybe I'm paranoid, but it's just not worth the risk of poisoning either the rodents or the snake.

I am curious, having no experience, but snake mites on rodents? It doesn't sound like an insect adapted to feed on snakes would carry on a rodent. Could there be another source that you picked them up from like a cardboard or substrate stored near infested snakes? Just tossing ideas out there. I have never had them.

Okay thanks. I didn't get PAM for the mites because I needed a quick fix before heading out of town for the weekend. NIX was right in my drug store, and PAM is not available here in NY in stores apparently. Thankfully there are no more bugs in the tank.

i'll check out how the mice look in the pet store when i go this week - i may just be worrying too much.

Snake mites will NOT be found on rodents. Mites that infest rodents will be a completely different species from those that infest reptiles, and they will not transfer between them.

If there are snake mites in the pet store, you are more likely to bring them home on dry goods, where they may wander into your cages. (I wound up with a minor, mysterious mite outbreak last year, and have to assume that's how it happened--I breed my own rodents). I keep a can of PAM on hand for such potentials.

So, do not treat, spray, or worry about the feeder rodents bringing in mites to your snakes. They won't. A snake mite that wandered onto a rodent would wander right back off of it again, at the same pace.

I just treat my enclosures once a month as a preventative measure, so if I happen to bring home any mites or bugs, they are killed regardless...

Judy, The OP is in new york, where PAM is illegal. NIX has the same active ingredient (and the same amount of that ingredient) that PAM does. It works exactly the same.

OP: Please don't spray the mouse with anything. At all. The mites that live on rats and mice are not the kind of mites that will harm your snake. They only attack warm blooded animals.

As I said in your other thread, as long as you are getting your feeders from a reliable source you will never have to worry about mites.

Since you used the NIX, you will be mite free for at LEAST 30 days regardless if you reintroduce more mites. They will just die once them come in contact with the treated snake enclosure.

Snake mites are generally spread through contact with other snakes, on your clothes if you handled another snake with mites, or sometimes in loose bedding (usually not snake mites though. More commonly wood mites).


I think you are worrying too much.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Judy, The OP is in new york, where PAM is illegal. NIX has the same active ingredient (and the same amount of that ingredient) that PAM does. It works exactly the same.

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I live in NY Area as well and even if i dont have problem so far i like to be prepared. What is a NIX you talking about.. any links ?? Because i have 2 options.... or import PAM illegally to the state..(i have friend who live outside NY and they can order it for me ) or use something different.

Thanks in Advance.

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Originally Posted by Aes_Sidhe

I live in NY Area as well and even if i dont have problem so far i like to be prepared. What is a NIX you talking about.. any links ?? Because i have 2 options.... or import PAM illegally to the state..(i have friend who live outside NY and they can order it for me ) or use something different.

Thanks in Advance.

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NIX is a lice spray that is sold at almost every major drug store.

Feeder mice/rats are extremely unlikely to harbour reptile (bird) mites. Any you do see on them will be mammal mites or more likely lice, and unable to harm your snake.

Here is a good site on Nix for treating mites: http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/caresheets/nix.pdf
Nix is alot cheaper($10 for a gallon) and leaves a residue to kill future mites for at least 10 days!

no do not spray them

Reptile and bird mites are also not the same species.

Bird mites WILL bite humans, as they tend to test bite a lot--they won't live on humans or other mammals, and won't live on reptiles.

There are several species of mites that use reptiles as hosts, several that use birds, and several that use mammals...etc etc.
(There is a mite for almost everything, often more than one).

Gotcha. I don't think the mites I spoke of in my OP were snake mites. Just glad they're gone now, whatever kind they were.

Just to be clear, never ever spray your snakes food with toxic poision designed to kill things and then feed it to the them ! It may just do exactly what it was designed to do, which is kill whatever ingested it.

Yes, thank you. That point has been covered. O_o

Is lice shampoo, diluted to 2oz of shampoo within 128oz of water, really toxic to anything other than lice? I would think not.

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Originally Posted by vintod

Is lice shampoo, diluted to 2oz of shampoo within 128oz of water, really toxic to anything other than lice? I would think not.

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There is a good reason why you take out the snake and the water bowl before treating the enclosure.

This stuff is meant to KILL pests. It should not be ingested by something you want to keep ALIVE.

I was worried that I sprayed the snake with the mixure and that she was in contact with it while I cleaned the enclosure after reading this stuff. She seems to be doing okay - she ate fine afterwards, only difference is she is now in a ball on the cooler side of the tank.

I was working from this set of instructions that I found online before catching up on all your posts:

http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/caresheets/nix.pdf

Look at the second bullet point under "eradicating the snake mites." - it says SPRAY THE SNAKE LIBERALLY! what the heck!

For future questions I will patiently wait for responses here - you guys are fast and thorough enough, and I appreciate the help.

I would never spray poison on my snakes.

There is never any reason to put pesticides for mites directly onto the snake, no matter what it says. The reasons for this are that the mites only hang onto the snakes while feeding, after they get a full blood meal they drop off and lay their eggs into the substrate, so as long as the substrate is treated then the mites will not be able to survive. A number of anti mite pesticides have been suspected of causing neurological damage to snakes, so it is important to be very cautious when using them. I only use Provent-a-Mite, it is a name brand and has been shown to be the most effective and the most safe product for snakes and other reptiles, some people may use other stuff that they say has the same active ingredient but legally they only have to list the general family name for that series of chemicals on these cans, Provent-A-Mite uses a specific compound out of that family of pesticides which once it dries is harmless to the reptile, spray it onto the substrate let it air dry outside (dont spray it indoors, or into the snakes waterbowl), once it dries out the snake can be returned to his enclosure. I have used the Provent-A-Mite when I got snake mites in my collection, it only took 1 treatment to completely eradicate the mite problem. This stuff will last for more than a month after being sprayed, it can remain lethal to mites for much longer, but it slowly loses its effectivness.

You gotta remember you are using what amounts to a chemical weapon, this stuff is similar to nerve gas. Dont put it onto your snake, even if he seems fine now toxins can build up in his body and can cause all sorts of damage that may go unnoticed for long periods of time. Would you want to take a can of Raid bug killer and use it as underarm spray deoderant? obviously not!

go online to dr. Foster`s .com and there is a spray bottle that is called reptile spray, or mite off... There are may organic things you can get on line to fix snake mites!!!!!!!

Sure there are, but most of them don't work, and the rest work fairly poorly.

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Originally Posted by 5snakes

go online to dr. Foster`s .com and there is a spray bottle that is called reptile spray, or mite off... There are may organic things you can get on line to fix snake mites!!!!!!!

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They don't work. They only provide temporary relief. If you only use mite off, you will be constantly battling mites.

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Snake mites will NOT be found on rodents. Mites that infest rodents will be a completely different species from those that infest reptiles, and they will not transfer between them.

If there are snake mites in the pet store, you are more likely to bring them home on dry goods, where they may wander into your cages. (I wound up with a minor, mysterious mite outbreak last year, and have to assume that's how it happened--I breed my own rodents). I keep a can of PAM on hand for such potentials.

So, do not treat, spray, or worry about the feeder rodents bringing in mites to your snakes. They won't. A snake mite that wandered onto a rodent would wander right back off of it again, at the same pace.

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This is wrong. Mites can and do hitch rides on rodents. Especially petstore rodents. They may not feed on the mice, but they do use them for transport.

Treat your bedding, the rodent bedding, and you'll be fine. Wait a day or two after treatment to feed your snake.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Judy, The OP is in new york, where PAM is illegal. NIX has the same active ingredient (and the same amount of that ingredient) that PAM does. It works exactly the same.

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I know I'm late to this, but this argument when comparing other products to PAM always bothers me. Greatly.

My can of PAM says that the active ingredient, Permethrin makes up .50% of the ingredients and lists "Other Ingredients" as 99.5% of the makeup.

Since the "other ingredients" are not listed, it makes ZERO sense to me the claims that Nix or any other product is EXACTLY the same.

Does anyone have access to proprietary information in order to make that claim?

Not jumping on you Kaorte, but I see that claim bandied around everywhere you go, and it's so inaccurate.

OK off my :soapbx:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

They don't work. They only provide temporary relief. If you only use mite off, you will be constantly battling mites.

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I treated my pastel redtail only 2 times and they were gone. the stuff I got DOES work.

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Originally Posted by 5snakes

I treated my pastel redtail only 2 times and they were gone. the stuff I got DOES work.

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If you caught all the mites before they laid eggs then yes it might work. But PAM or NIX will work for 30 days or more after ONE treatment. You also don't need to treat the snake which means less stress for the animal.

If you can afford mite off, you can afford PAM or NIX which are a million times better in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

If you caught all the mites before they laid eggs then yes it might work. But PAM or NIX will work for 30 days or more after ONE treatment. You also don't need to treat the snake which means less stress for the animal.

If you can afford mite off, you can afford PAM or NIX which are a million times better in my opinion.

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yes I check every time right after feeding. I pay VERY close attention to all of my snakes because if there is an outbreak, I want to know when it started and with who if possible.:snake:

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Snake mites will NOT be found on rodents. Mites that infest rodents will be a completely different species from those that infest reptiles, and they will not transfer between them.

If there are snake mites in the pet store, you are more likely to bring them home on dry goods, where they may wander into your cages. (I wound up with a minor, mysterious mite outbreak last year, and have to assume that's how it happened--I breed my own rodents). I keep a can of PAM on hand for such potentials.

So, do not treat, spray, or worry about the feeder rodents bringing in mites to your snakes. They won't. A snake mite that wandered onto a rodent would wander right back off of it again, at the same pace.

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I hate to tell you this but your 100% wrong on the rodent mites issue. They will transfer from your snakes to rodents. You can pick up mites from almost anywhere. Reptiles shows are almost always the source. I got mites from the damn rat breeder... Had them all over my snakes and rats.