OMG...MITES and possible RI?!?

Several months ago, fairly close to the same time, I got my Orangetail girl and het Albino girl Boas.
They are in condos stacked one atop the other.

I noticed the het girl soaking a lot but the breeder said a lot of his Boas liked to soak and they usually were doing just that when I went to his shop.
I didn't think much of it except for having to constantly wipe up spilled water and refill her bowl.
She ate well.

The the OT started acting weird.
She'd had babies this year and was thin so I was told to feed her 1 jumbo rat per week to get her weight back up which I did and recently switched her to a 2 week feeding schedule.
She became very restless and kept acting like she was looking for a way out of her condo, rubbing her nose rough with all her poking at any possible escape crack.
She ate last week and then acted twitchy again so I tried to feed her tonight.
She was not interested.

So I got BJ's rat and tried to feed her only to discover BJ looking like a shriveled dry mummy as if she had seriously stuck shed which I couldn’t understand until I took her out and she was COVERED WITH SNAKE MITES.
COVERED!!!
They were falling off of her like pepper.

Bella, who lives in the condo below her, had them too.
Now I know why she’s been so restless and upset.
They were sucking the life out of my snakes.

I just spent two hours shop-vaccing, wiping down and spraying their homes, soaking the girls to drown as many mites as I could and *then*, when I took Bella out of her tub, either slime or water ran out of her mouth and I could feel rattling in her lungs and her nose bubbled.
She had her mouth open like a severe RI for a bit but has since stopped that.
I can't feel the rattling like I did when she was fresh out of her soaked and highly stressed but it doesn't mean it's not still there.

I don’t know if it’s an RI or water or what but I'm terrified she might be getting very sick.

As back story to this mess, on Oct 24, the people from whom I'd purchased a Dobermann puppy called me to tell me she was 'in really bad shape, possibly seizing' and to come get her right away.
$1000, many tests, IVs, observations and 24 hours later, she came home from the emergency hospital and I've been doing 4 hour rotations with the hubby, watching over her and giving her food, medicine, etc.
[she nearly died and still has neurological issues from the frigging traumatic brain injury she 'mysteriously acquired' while at the breeder's, along with her having a completely healed broken elbow at the tender age of 5 weeks]

Because of all that, I have not been paying my usual obsessive attention to my snakes.

I feel guilty as sin for that because if I had been, surely I would have noticed this reptile train wreck bearing down upon me.

I have ordered PAM and it's supposed to be here within 3-5 days from "The Bean Farm".

I used DeFlea Reptile mite spray in the mean time.

I am exhausted, sleep and food deprived, a nervous wreck, so broke I can't even pay attention and now this.

How will I know if Bella has an RI?

I have Baytril, Amkacin and Tylan but a trip to any vet is positively out of the question.

There is simply no money left to do so after 'Halla the puppy's bills and the $300 spent on my support dog just last night to make sure his sudden vomiting wasn't a bloat or obstruction.
I'm 'borrowed out' for months.

Could she have inhaled water and that's what I'm hearing?
She was very upset about the soak whereas BJ took it fairly calmly.

What more can I do until the PAM arrives?

I checked my other snakes for mites and so far, there's no sign of them having them, possibly due to the fact that on feeding/cleaning days, the Boas are always the last in line.

I have a neuroses about ectoparasites so naturally, I ran up and hot showered immediately after cleaning them and threw my clothes in the washer.

I'm at a loss.

So much misfortune in such a short time.

How do I safely use the PAM?

Why were some live mites still coming off the girls after their soaks?
I noticed them on the paper towels as I was drying them.

And, they were walking on my arms which just about gave me the screaming-meemies. [see neuroses, above]

It's bad enough that I'm going to have to sell some of my beloved Beeps to make up for the puppy vet bills but I was definitely keeping my Boas.

This is heart breaking.

:tears:

Seriously, screw mites. My little one came from an infested pet store, and I didn't notice he had them for the first week or so that I had him. Here's how I got rid of Will's mites:
I took everything out of his tub. I threw away all of the bedding, and I put his hides and water bowl in a weak bleach solution to soak for an hour or so, and then rinsed them. I put Will in a smaller emergency tub, and let him soak for a while.
I then took the PAM and sprayed it on the floor and wall where his tub had been. I know that this sounds like a no brainer, but definitely open the windows and turn on the ceiling fan while you do this, or use a portable fan in the room if you can't do that.
Then, I followed the directions on the PAM can and sprayed his tub. I'm overly cautious by nature, so I let his tub dry for an hour in a well ventilated area.
I would recommend switching to white paper towels during your infestation, because it's much easier to see the mites that will be dropping off, and whether they're alive or dead.
This is the most frustrating part. The mites will not die immediately. I had to go through this procedure once a week for a month to get rid of mine, and it's nerve wracking knowing that the stupid things are in there with your animals, but it will work.
If I've missed something, I'm sure that someone else will be able to correct it, and give more thorough instructions. I wish you and your critters the best of luck.

An outbreak like you describe takes months to build up to, so they probably came with them :(

I suggest every time you take a snake in to treat it as if it did have mites.
PAM is something every reptile owner should have a can of sitting on the shelf, glad you did the right thing and ordered up a can :gj:
Until the PAM comes I suggest just keeping the cage clean and them on newspaper/paper towels.

The water might have been recently swallowed, ball pythons will spit water out if you hold them right after they drink, so maybe??

Treat once a week for 3 weeks and the problem should be gone.
Treat the whole area lightly including the carpet if there is carpet.
What you are seeing is the results of eggs hatching numerous times creating all those little bugs.

Good luck!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by foxoftherose

Seriously, screw mites. My little one came from an infested pet store, and I didn't notice he had them for the first week or so that I had him. Here's how I got rid of Will's mites:
I took everything out of his tub. I threw away all of the bedding, and I put his hides and water bowl in a weak bleach solution to soak for an hour or so, and then rinsed them. I put Will in a smaller emergency tub, and let him soak for a while.
I then took the PAM and sprayed it on the floor and wall where his tub had been. I know that this sounds like a no brainer, but definitely open the windows and turn on the ceiling fan while you do this, or use a portable fan in the room if you can't do that.
Then, I followed the directions on the PAM can and sprayed his tub. I'm overly cautious by nature, so I let his tub dry for an hour in a well ventilated area.
I would recommend switching to white paper towels during your infestation, because it's much easier to see the mites that will be dropping off, and whether they're alive or dead.
This is the most frustrating part. The mites will not die immediately. I had to go through this procedure once a week for a month to get rid of mine, and it's nerve wracking knowing that the stupid things are in there with your animals, but it will work.
If I've missed something, I'm sure that someone else will be able to correct it, and give more thorough instructions. I wish you and your critters the best of luck.

---

Thank you and I'm so glad Will is all better.

Mites are tiny little demons!

HATE them!

I'm still jumping every time anything touches me because I feel like something might be walking on my arms.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

An outbreak like you describe takes months to build up to, so they probably came with them :(

I suggest every time you take a snake in to treat it as if it did have mites.
PAM is something every reptile owner should have a can of sitting on the shelf, glad you did the right thing and ordered up a can :gj:
Until the PAM comes I suggest just keeping the cage clean and them on newspaper/paper towels.

The water might have been recently swallowed, ball pythons will spit water out if you hold them right after they drink, so maybe??

Treat once a week for 3 weeks and the problem should be gone.
Treat the whole area lightly including the carpet if there is carpet.
What you are seeing is the results of eggs hatching numerous times creating all those little bugs.

Good luck!

---

This is my first ordeal with snake mites....:(

I would bet money that BJ brought them because Bella is very light colored and I've never seen anything on her or seen her soaking prior to this.
Plus, she didn't have nearly as many as the much darker, always-soaking BJ did.

BJ's breeder is a good friend...do I mention the mites to him or just let it go?
He certainly would have never knowingly sent her home with me knowing she had cooties.

They're both Boas...I've seen them drink by submerging their heads but I can't imagine them drinking warm water.

I worry that Bella may have gotten panicky in the tub while I was cleaning her house and inhaled water....or that having mites gave her an RI.

Giving Beeps shots is an ordeal already...I can't imagine how much medicine and how big of a needle I'd need for a 7 foot Boa.....:-\

At least I can be thankful there's no carpet in the house.

They're in a room with a concrete floor that used to be a porch.

Would diatomaceous earth spread under their racks and shelves kill mites like it does fleas?

Mites are easy to kill it's the eggs you need to make sure get killed.
PAM will do that for you.
I've never used anything but Permethrin products to kill mites and it works wonders used properly.

I would suggest to him that maybe they came from him and maybe not, but it might be best for him to check to see and make sure he doesn't have them.
But honestly if he has them bad enough to spread them to you, he already probably knows.

Would it also be a good idea to treat your other snakes enclosures with PAM aswell? Even if they aren't showing signs, as a precautionary measure?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

Mites are easy to kill it's the eggs you need to make sure get killed.
PAM will do that for you.
I've never used anything but Permethrin products to kill mites and it works wonders used properly.

I would suggest to him that maybe they came from him and maybe not, but it might be best for him to check to see and make sure he doesn't have them.
But honestly if he has them bad enough to spread them to you, he already probably knows.

---

I can't wait for it to get here.

I just checked the girls and saw some more but smaller mites crawling around and they've been soaking, again.

[but at least Bella's not roaming and freaking out now]

Did those mites hide under their belly scales to avoid drowning?

I used a damp white paper to wipe out their houses and saw nothing on it but some dust after cleaning them and spraying the DeFlea Reptile stuff inside.

Poor babies.

I'm going to get a bigger, better tub and soak them tonight to help them some more.

I feel so guilty.

He did suggest that I keep a flea collar hanging from the wall of my snake area to 'kill bugs'.

I was worried about it making my snakes sick so didn't.

He also said something about using "NIX" [?] on snakes.

I wish I could remember how that even came up in the conversation but I don't.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RoseyReps

Would it also be a good idea to treat your other snakes enclosures with PAM aswell? Even if they aren't showing signs, as a precautionary measure?

---

I don't know.

PAM sounds a bit scary to me since I've never used it.

Hopefully somebody will answer us both.

I checked everybody else's tubs and water bowls and so far, no sign of my BPs or Boa boy having mites.

Follow directions on the Pam to a tee. Personally I would preventative treat the other enclosures, to keep them from spreading. *knock on wood* I have never had to battle those little buggers. But I do have a can of Pam on hand, just in case.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

I read a recipe for mite killer put out by The Bean Farm, it is using NIX. You have to really dilute it though.
Snake Mites (Ophionyssus Natricis)

Mites are ectoparasites that subsist on blood. They are host-specific, which means that they only feed on one type of animal. Snake mites will not affect lizards, nor will they affect humans or other household pets like cats and dogs.

Mites can be identified as tiny black dots, much like a speck of dirt. However, unlike dirt, mites MOVE and will burst with a small red smear when squished against a hard surface (the remnants of their last meal). Mites can often be spotted crawling around a snake’s back or head area and on cage walls. For every mite you can see on your snake, there are likely dozens more that aren’t visible, that are hidden while feeding under your snake’s scales. These resilient parasites are commonly known as the "plague of snake keepers". Really, with sound treatment and quarantine practices, this shouldn’t be the case.

Snake mites have been known to transfer disease in snakes, much like mosquitoes can with humans (malaria) and with dogs (heartworm). If unchecked, mites on just one snake in one terrarium can multiply geometrically and establish themselves in an entire collection of several terrariums and dozens of snakes in a matter of a week or two. This is a problem that is unique to snakes in captivity. Wild snakes are able to keep these parasites in check through shedding their skin and leaving most mites behind. On the other hand, captive snakes are forced in close quarters with their shed skin and mites, thereby facilitation reinfestation.

Mites will eventually overrun a snake in captivity to the point that their host becomes irritated, mildly anemic and therefore lethargic. Infested snakes are often found to soak for extended periods in water in a vain effort to drown the mites on its body, only to be reinfested once it emerges. Snakes in this situation will seldom eat, or even refuse to eat altogether, due to stress and discomfort.

Why Nix?
Nix was designed to treat human head lice and their nits (eggs). The one characteristic that separates the Nix method for treating snake mites from other mite remedies is its effectiveness at killing live mites AND mite eggs. All other mite remedies to my knowledge do not destroy mite eggs. As such, I have found the Nix method to be extremely effective at eradicating serious mite infestations. I even know of a pet store manager who sells several commercially produced mite remedies, yet uses the Nix method on imported snakes arriving at his store. Another pro to using Nix is economics. Around $12 will produce 4 litres of solution – much more than the largest private collection will ever require.

There exists a popular reptile care site on the Internet that discusses the toxicity of Nix, but in the two cases cited, Nix was spread over the infested snakes in full concentration. Common sense should dictate that reptiles and amphibians coming in direct contact with any fully concentrated chemical that does not occur in their natural environment would yield deleterious, if not downright fatal, results. The use of Nix discussed below involves a diluted solution (1 part Nix to 68 parts water) that has never produced adverse reactions in any python or boa in my collection over the course of 6 years. In fact, some snakes in my collection are proactively treated every 6 months as they make appearances at semi-annual reptile shows and I am not willing to risk the chance of mites from other exhibitors making their way into my collection. Even routine treatments on these boas and pythons over the course of several years have yet to result in any negative effects.
Materials
• Spray bottle. Preferably one that has never been used, or at the very least, one that has never contained harsh chemicals and has been thoroughly rinsed.
• 56 g (59 ml) bottle of Nix. I have only ever found this one particular size of Nix, which can be sourced at most drug stores and some pharmacy sections of grocery stores for anywhere from $6-$12.
• 4L (1 Gallon) jug of distilled water. Distilled water should be used to extend the shelf life of the solution. With distilled water, the solution’s effectiveness is expected to last up to 12 months as long as the solution is stored at room temperature and in a covered box (light breaks down the active ingredient found in Nix). Although, with one treatment and sound quarantine practices, the first treatment should be all that is necessary.

Creating the Nix Solution
• Pour the Nix cream into the 4L jug of distilled water. Nix is a fairly thick cream substance, so it may take a couple minutes to transfer as much of the cream into the jug of distilled water as possible.
• Replace the cap on the jug of distilled water and shake until the Nix cream is evenly distributed throughout the water. Again, this may take a few minutes due to the thick consistency of Nix.
• Pour the Nix solution into a spray bottle.

Eradicating Snake Mites
• If snake mites are only found on one snake or only in one snake enclosure, it is wise to conclude that mites have infested ALL snakes and their enclosures that are contained within the same room. Mites may have also transferred to snakes housed in another room by "hitchhiking on your hands or clothes. Therefore, absolutely all snakes and their terrariums should be treated to ensure 100% effectiveness.
• First, remove the snake from the enclosure and place in a Rubbermaid container. Spray the snake liberally with the Nix solution. Do not avoid spraying this solution on their head, eyes and heat pits – in fact, this is where mites commonly hide so spraying the head area is essential.
• Remove all substrate from the terrarium and throw away. Do not leave the garbage bag containing this old substrate anywhere in the house.
• Spray the entire enclosure, inside and out, including all cage furniture (branches, hide boxes, water bowl, etc.) and glass viewing area. Make sure that all corners and crevices are well covered with Nix solution, as this is where mites and their eggs are often hiding. Even spray the outside back of the cage and a 2-foot perimeter around the cage on the floor. The Nix residue that forms after drying is thought to even be effective at killing mites hiding out elsewhere in the room that may attempt to re-enter the snake cage.
• Replace the substrate with paper, preferably paper towel, as it is easy to spot mites on this. It is essential to use paper until you are absolutely certain that full eradication has been accomplished. I suggest waiting 3 weeks after the last live mite is spotted before using non-paper substrate.
• Remove water bowl from cage and replace, filled with water, 24 hours later. This ensures that the Nix solution is not washed off the snake by soaking in the water bowl before the active ingredient has had a chance to destroy all mites hiding under its scales.
• Return the snake to its enclosure and spray it, the cage, furniture and paper one more time.
• When the snake defecates during treatment, remove the paper and clean the messed area as usual, but be sure to re-spray the cleaned area and new paper with Nix solution.
• Repeat in 5-7 days twice, for a total of 3 treatments. With all likelihood, the last live mite will perish within a few hours of the first treatment, but repeating treatment is good practice in case the outbreak is severe and mites are able to re-enter cages.
Preventative Maintenance
Any snake entering a collection should be quarantined for 2-3 months, ideally in a completely separate room from where other snakes are housed, but at the very least in a separate cage. It should be assumed that any new snake has mites, regardless of how well respected the previous owner or pet store is. I have personally been let down on several occasions by leading breeders in our hobby, and from personal friends. It is my experience that employing the "better safe than sorry" approach is of paramount importance in ensuring mite breakouts never occur.

Given the above assumption new acquisitions, in addition to their cage and cage furniture, should be treated with Nix solution 3 times (one full treatment every 5-7 days). Same should hold true when a snake enters your colony for a breeding loan, even if it is your own specimen that was lent out and is returning. As previously mentioned, it is also wise to treat snakes that attend shows, where other exhibitors and spectators may have mite infestations. With the large number of people that handle your animals, or even just touch the enclosure in which your snakes are housed, the chance that a mite is hitchhiking on at least one of these snake enthusiasts at the show is good. Don’t become complacent and cut corners in this area, or you may find yourself right back where you started.

Cage furniture and substrate purchased at pet stores can also serve as mite vectors and should be treated with caution. Mite-free substrate can be purchased from pet stores that do not carry reptiles, from a livestock feed stores, or from landscape centres. Newly purchased cage furniture should be sprayed liberally with Nix solution. Highly porous cage furniture (wood hide boxes, branches, etc.) should be soaked in a 10% bleach solution for a day, then rinsed thoroughly, sprayed with Nix solution, and allowed to dry for a week.

So I bought the NIX [and the CVS cashier backed away from me because she thinks I've got lice] and mixed it with the distilled water.

It's not mixing totally, no matter what I do.

There's still little 'gobs' of the undiluted NIX swirling around in the bottle and I don't want that on my snakes due to the 2 snakes who died after having undiluted NIX applied.

Is 'some blobs' acceptable?

I've shaken/stirred/"whipped" with bamboo skewers until my arms are about to fall off.

We ripped their condos apart, vacuumed, steam cleaned and reassembled everything with a fresh coat of white paint to seal any cracks [and entomb any eggs in said cracks] and have been changing newspapers and soaking the girls daily.

The mite population is drastically reduced but I want them ALL deader than dead.

Bella the much larger hypo seems like she'll be okay but Beej, the smaller 2 YO het Albino looks dehydrated, wrinkly and shriveled.

She was a bit perkier last night but not her normal happy self by a long shot.

Will she recover once the mites are gone?
Will her appetite come back?

They both just ate last week so the article must be horribly right....this obscene mite explosion happened that fast.

Beej has been a chronic soaker since day 1 so she's likely the carrier, even though while handling her, I never saw any mites on her *or* me afterwards.

But Bella has been restless and acting like she was trying to "escape" for about 2 weeks, which coincided with her new, back-to-normal weight feeding schedule.

I truly thought she was just annoyed that she wasn't getting a jumbo rat every 7 days like she's accustomed to doing.

She and I had a cuddle last week and I didn't notice mites on me then, either.

[contrasted with the last few days where if I stuck my hand anywhere near them, I had mites marching around on my hands....gaaaaaaah!]


I feel so bad for them.

I feel like I failed them.

I would not apply the clumps themselves to the snakes but they should break down in the spray bottle nozzle.
Your snakes should be fine again once the mites have been completly killed off, it's hard because no one wants to see their snakes go through something like this. Good luck.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TROYG

I would not apply the clumps themselves to the snakes but they should break down in the spray bottle nozzle.
Your snakes should be fine again once the mites have been completly killed off, it's hard because no one wants to see their snakes go through something like this. Good luck.

---

So I did the NIX thing last night and after reading that one shouldn't NIX a snake in shed, naturally, Beej shed about 3 hours later.
[I had no idea she was in shed...she just looked crunchy and wrinkly]

Now she looks wonderful again and all the scary crunchiness is gone.

They're both disgusted with me after all the soaking, moving, spraying, etc of the last week but they seem to feel better.

Beej almost looked like she was looking for food this morning.

Despite following the directions obsessively, I did see a few live mites wandering around on the newly bright white walls...so I squashed them.

Are stragglers "normal"?

I will be repeating the whole treatment again as prescribed.

You will have to treat a couple times to get everything, just follow the directions and it should work out fine

Keep those snakes far, far away from any other snakes you still have. My biggest fear with boas is IBD. They can be asymptomatic for a year (possibly longer). Good luck.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TROYG

You will have to treat a couple times to get everything, just follow the directions and it should work out fine

---

Thanks!

:D