I guess it was bound to happen

I have mites.:rage: I have been keeping pythons for over 20 years and this is the first time I have ever had mites. To be honest I have no idea where they came from. I haven't added any snakes in a few months and my last pickup was quarantined for a month with no problems in a different room. How long is their life cycle? I walked through a local reptile rescue's display on a visit to a museum about a month ago. Didn't handle any snakes but that is about the only thing I can think of. I have already ordered Provent A Mite. Does anyone know if it can be used in tubs with gravid females? I have two females that will be laying in the next week and a few more later this month.

If I'm correct their life cycle isn't very long, but once they're there they breed like crazy and the eggs can last for quite some time until conditions are good enough for them to hatch.

As for PAM with gravid females... I don't see how it could hurt, but I've never tried it so you might want a second opinion on it.

It shouldn't cause any issues. Just be sure to use as directed!

Just make sure the PAM has dried completely before putting the snakes and water bowl back in.

You could always email or call Pro-Products to ask them. I'm sure someone would be more than happy to help you.

I just had to treat my boyfriend's baby RTB for mites the other day and I swear I must've read the can 20 times and it didn't mention anything about not treating gravid females. You should really call just to make sure.

Nix is the best thing you can use. You mix the whole bottle with a gallon of distilled water, place the snake in a tub with some of the mixed water, and while the snake is soaking spray down the whole cage, wait about 15min, then clean out the whole cage and wash with soap and water, then place everything back in the cage spary down with Nix again and remove your snake from the tub wipe down the snake and spary the snake again and place in cage. I learned this trick from my brother as he works for a breeder out of a huge warehouse and thats what they use. The thing is with the other products that kill mites they do not kill the eggs, so in a weeks time you could have mites again. With the Nix it kills mites, and eggs, works like a charm, and it does not harm the snake at all. Read up on it alot of breeders use NIX. I had to do this last week as my Alibo Ball got mites I have no idea how as he is the only snake I have but he did and the NIX worked great.

Mites don't just hide on the snake and its enclosure. They can and will lay eggs in random places in your house. The simplest thing to do is just use PAM on the enclosure. You don't need to do all of that extravagant mess with Nix or anything else.

1. Take snake and water out.
2. Spray PAM per instructions on can.
3. The mites on the snake will die in a couple of days just from the snake being in the PAM'd enclosure.
4. Reapply in 10-15 days to kill off baby mites that will have hatched.

That pretty much ends the cycle, as the babies will not have reproduced yet. Some people reapply every month as preventative maintenance.

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Originally Posted by spitzu

Mites don't just hide on the snake and its enclosure. They can and will lay eggs in random places in your house. The simplest thing to do is just use PAM on the enclosure. You don't need to do all of that extravagant mess with Nix or anything else.

1. Take snake and water out.
2. Spray PAM per instructions on can.
3. The mites on the snake will die in a couple of days just from the snake being in the PAM'd enclosure.
4. Reapply in 10-15 days to kill off baby mites that will have hatched.

That pretty much ends the cycle, as the babies will not have reproduced yet. Some people reapply every month as preventative maintenance.

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:gj:

AlbinoBall: PAM does indeed kill mites and their eggs and will continue to do so for up to 30 days. PAM is the only mite treatment that is approved for use with reptiles. If you read this PAM link, it will tell you all you need to know. I personally don't care what breeder uses Nix... I would never put that stuff anywhere near my snakes. It's just too easy to make a mistake and it's for the use of killing head lice on human beings, not for mites on snakes. PAM is the way to go.

To the OP: I do overkill when treating my tanks for mites. Even though it's probably unnecessary, I take out his hides and water bowl and I soak them in a bleach/water solution (like one capful of bleach to a kitchen sink full of water), rinse them very well and then I bake them in the oven at 200* for a few hours. I did this with my BP in addition to using PAM and one treatment of PAM was all it took. I followed the same procedure with my RTB and hopefully, I'll only have to do it one time with him, too.

Good luck in getting rid of those evil little things! :)

Sorry it took so long for an update guys. I called Pro Products ask asked them about using Provent A Mite in a gravid snake's enclosure. He said that in their clinical studies they used boas and had a female drop a clutch on the treated substrate with no problems what so ever. No as long as you use the product as directed there will be no harm to gravid females or babies. Just thought I would share in case anybody is in my position in the future.

As far as the NIX treatment Albinoball suggested I am hesitant to soak and spray my animals with chemicals. With the PAM you just spray the cage, let it dry and the fumes go away, and return the snake to the tub.

Zues, thanks for that update. I hope to be breeding in the next six months or so, and I'm just a little more knowledgeable thanks to your phone call. Good luck getting rid of the buggers!

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Originally Posted by zues

Sorry it took so long for an update guys. I called Pro Products ask asked them about using Provent A Mite in a gravid snake's enclosure. He said that in their clinical studies they used boas and had a female drop a clutch on the treated substrate with no problems what so ever. No as long as you use the product as directed there will be no harm to gravid females or babies. Just thought I would share in case anybody is in my position in the future.

As far as the NIX treatment Albinoball suggested I am hesitant to soak and spray my animals with chemicals. With the PAM you just spray the cage, let it dry and the fumes go away, and return the snake to the tub.

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If it remains in the tub and kills the mites on your snakes, it is not much different then using the Nix solution. But by all means use whichever. Personally, I think a product designed to use on humans has more testing than a product used on snakes. In other words, I bet it is likely less toxic. None the less, neither are great if they can be avoided :)

Good luck, and I hope your snakes are doing well.

All the local breeders here use NIX for treatment against Mites, they use NIX on the high end morphs, I doubt they will use something thats toxic on there animals. NIX has no effect on the snake besides killing the Mites, and eggs. None of the Reptile Mite Killer, kills eggs so you will most likely have another out break.

To prevent this I keep a couple cans of nix spray (exact same active ingredient as PAM) on hand.. It is $5 at Walgreens for their generic brand of lice bedding spray. Use in the same way as PAM. Let everything dry and air out for a while. I wait 30 minutes before putting snakes back in.

After the initial treatment, just spray a line around all tubs, racks, floorboards, door ways, and anywhere else they can enter the area but you won't need to treat the insides of the enclosures again. Do this about once a month. This way you will never get mites, or any bug for that matter, anywhere near your snakes and you don't have to needlessly expose them to continued treatments of chemicals.

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Originally Posted by Johan

If it remains in the tub and kills the mites on your snakes, it is not much different then using the Nix solution. But by all means use whichever. Personally, I think a product designed to use on humans has more testing than a product used on snakes. In other words, I bet it is likely less toxic. None the less, neither are great if they can be avoided :)

Good luck, and I hope your snakes are doing well.

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Nix is a product designed to be used on humans, so of course it's had more testing done on humans. PAM has been tested on reptiles for over 25 years. You don't see people using PAM to treat head lice, do you? I would never use PAM on a human and I would never use Nix on a reptile, regardless of how much testing has gone into either product. Your statement about how you "bet it is likely less toxic" is false. Funny how you'd have to rinse out the tank after a Nix treatment, but you don't do that after a PAM treatment. Also taken from their website "Provent-a-mite™ is specifically formulated for use with all reptiles and has been extensively tested to be sure it will not pose any health risk to a reptile, either acutely or chronically when used as directed. No other product has our patented formula and many other formulas, despite any claim, do use chemicals that may potentially harm your animals".

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Originally Posted by AlbinoBall

All the local breeders here use NIX for treatment against Mites, they use NIX on the high end morphs, I doubt they will use something thats toxic on there animals. NIX has no effect on the snake besides killing the Mites, and eggs. None of the Reptile Mite Killer, kills eggs so you will most likely have another out break.

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Ummm, PAM does kill mites and their eggs and will continue to do so for up to 30 days after use. A quote directly from their webpage states "No current product can make any claim that it will kill eggs. Provent-a-mite™ is the only product that is proven to provide long-term residual protection, so it will kill any larval mites or ticks when they hatch and try to infest your reptiles. All other products quickly break down, becoming ineffective soon after drying".

You guys that are making these false statments really need to read up on PAM. I bet if you took the time to use it the next time you get mites after a Nix treatment, you'd swear by PAM.

All you have to do is read the ingredient label. (Permethrin)..

That is the exact same thing that provent-a-mite is.

Neither nix nor the PAM is supposed to be used ON any living thing. Not humans or reptiles or any pet. The lice bedding spray is to be sprayed lightly on bedding, carpeting, furniture, etc, and allowed to completely dry. Just like PAM.

They are the same thing, many breeders use lice spray knowing this because it costs about $15 less per can and is available at drug stores.

The same caution is to be used with either one to ensure the safety of your animals.

If anyone has any doubts, all they have to do is read the active ingredient. Lice spray came first. At some point it was tested on reptile enclosures to see if it could be used in the same way without causing harm. No false statements here. Simply fact.