Mite question.

Ok so... I have 3 of 10 snakes with mites, 1 hypo hogg and 2 ball pythons. They are in my wood twin enclosure i built last summer.

My plan of attack is to bathe them for a few hours, move 2 of my adults from 2 40 gallon longs (like a short topped 55gal 48x12). Into a rack I made for hatchlings which I don't have yet now, nor will I anytime super soon. Then use my 2 40longs for hospital/ future quarantine tanks. Then clean the wood setup I made outside to the pole barn so it freezes for a few days, couple weeks, whatever.

So does this sound like a good way to go about it? Or should I be putting the affected snakes in the rack in tubs? I do have 2 yearlings in the rack and I'd hate to get them mites and mites in the rack. Anyway hanks in advance.

I have bought .5% permethryn soloution and am treating all enclosures i have for good measure, just not all animals, affected snakes only.

Actually if you want it to work I would suggest to treat all snakes and enclosures as well as floors around the enclosures.

In the future I recommend treating any new animals whether it is needed or not.

Moving the wood enclosure outside is a good idea. Extreme heat and cold will kill not just mites but the eggs also.

If the .5% permethrin product is PAM then just use as directed. If it's a liquid that you're applying with a spray bottle then I'd dilute it 1 oz per quart of water, which will give the same concentration as the NIX/RID solution that is commonly used.

I wouldn't soak/bathe the snakes for several hours, 15-30 minutes in warm water with a mere drop of dish soap to break the surface tension and ensure the mites drown should do it.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Actually if you want it to work I would suggest to treat all snakes and enclosures as well as floors around the enclosures.

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not all snakes are in one room. And i am not going to soak 10 snakes for hours if i don't have to. Good call on the floors.

hence why my 2 40longs are slated to be future hospital/ quarantine tanks.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Moving the wood enclosure outside is a good idea. Extreme heat and cold will kill not just mites but the eggs also.

If the .5% permethrin product is PAM then just use as directed. If it's a liquid that you're applying with a spray bottle then I'd dilute it 1 oz per quart of water, which will give the same concentration as the NIX/RID solution that is commonly used.

I wouldn't soak/bathe the snakes for several hours, 15-30 minutes in warm water with a mere drop of dish soap to break the surface tension and ensure the mites drown should do it.

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It is not PAM, none of the pet stores in town had any in stock, nor was there any at the expo yesterday. I got sawyer permetheryn stuff for spraying your camping gear and a can of RID lice bedding spray...both .5%

I lined the tubs with paper towels. Kinda sucks though because we have a wood stove and battle low humidity constantly

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Originally Posted by andyroof1979

not all snakes are in one room. And i am not going to soak 10 snakes for hours if i don't have to. Good call on the floors.

hence why my 2 40longs are slated to be future hospital/ quarantine tanks.

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You ask for opinion and I gave it to you now if you do not want to treat all snakes that's fine too but I would because this could turn into a never ending story.

Because you have had a mite outbreak everything and every animals should be treated, you would be surprised how many people have animals in different rooms and the animals still manage to get mites.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Actually if you want it to work I would suggest to treat all snakes and enclosures as well as floors around the enclosures.
In the future I recommend treating any new animals whether it is needed or not.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Deborah

You ask for opinion and I gave it to you now if you do not want to treat all snakes that's fine too but I would because this could turn into a never ending story.

Because you have had a mite outbreak everything and every animals should be treated, you would be surprised how many people have animals in different rooms and the animals still manage to get mites.

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You have to understand,common sense can't be learned. Some have it ,most don't.;)

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Originally Posted by Deborah

You ask for opinion and I gave it to you now if you do not want to treat all snakes that's fine too but I would because this could turn into a never ending story.

Because you have had a mite outbreak everything and every animals should be treated, you would be surprised how many people have animals in different rooms and the animals still manage to get mites.

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And I appreciate your advice and thanked you for the heads up on the floors. You also stated this would not work if I did not treat all the snakes.

I just stated that i am not going to soak 7 other snakes that i just checked yesterday and none had ANY mites, none, nada, zero. And all are also eating and not acting strange in any way.

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Originally Posted by grcforce327

You have to understand,common sense can't be learned. Some have it ,most don't.;)

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Who jerked your flipping chain? You don't know me, i am gainfully self employed with only a High School education...I'd say my common sense is in fine working order....thank you.

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Originally Posted by andyroof1979

And I appreciate your advice and thanked you for the heads up on the floors. You also stated this would not work if I did not treat all the snakes.

I just stated that i am not going to soak 7 other snakes that i just checked yesterday and none had ANY mites, none, nada, zero. And all are also eating and not acting strange in any way.

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I encourage you to brush up on mites cycle and how they can be transmitted.

It only take 1 mite on 1 animal in the other room to lay eggs NOW which would lead to a full blown infestation in 30 days, hence the never ending story hence why I still recommend to do all snakes, I know I would and I have a LOT MORE than 10 ;)

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Originally Posted by andyroof1979

It is not PAM, none of the pet stores in town had any in stock, nor was there any at the expo yesterday. I got sawyer permetheryn stuff for spraying your camping gear and a can of RID lice bedding spray...both .5%

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Understood, I've never tried them but my understanding is that they should be used in basically the same way as PAM.

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I lined the tubs with paper towels. Kinda sucks though because we have a wood stove and battle low humidity constantly

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I also have a wood stove. A pan of water on it helps, as does drying your jeans, sweats, bath towels, etc. on a drying rack after washing them.

You would be surprised how far a mite can travel in a night much less 2 or 3 nights. They can easily infest a whole house, upstairs and downstairs. Best of luck at fighting the mites. I have been fortunate enough to never have had to deal with them(knock on wood) but I have had friends who have and......god be with you with 10 animals :)

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Originally Posted by andyroof1979

And I appreciate your advice and thanked you for the heads up on the floors. You also stated this would not work if I did not treat all the snakes.

I just stated that i am not going to soak 7 other snakes that i just checked yesterday and none had ANY mites, none, nada, zero. And all are also eating and not acting strange in any way.

Who jerked your flipping chain? You don't know me, i am gainfully self employed with only a High School education...I'd say my common sense is in fine working order....thank you.

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I heard a rattle that woke me..................

So you checked all your snakes for mites? Was it the last 3 that had mites? If not did you shower between handling each snake?
Care to guess how I had my only mite outbreak? Didn't even buy an animal from the expo.
Wound up having to wash all the curtains too. It was a pain in the butt.

You could however go to petco and get the Natures Chemistry Reptile Spray, its also safe to use on your snakes so you don't need to soak them.
Also hope those wood enclosures you made were sealed VERY well.

Advise is given for a reason, should you take it and comprehend it is up to you.

Well, i knew the hogg had mites and also the 2 balls in the enclosure on the bottom had to have them as it is a single unit. I didn't touch any of those 3 snakes at all the day I checked the rest of my animals, as i already knew they had mites. As far as the enclosure i built, it was sealed with 3 coats of water based poly, I actually spilled a can on the upper sections floor so that part would have the equivilant of 8 or 9 coats.

I guess my main question was
A is it a better idea to leave everyone where they were at,
or B move my known clean snakes into treated tubs in the rack, and then move the 3 with mites into clean and treated hospital tanks while the wood enclosure is cleaned then frozen for a week or so, or leave everyone where they were at. I went with option B

Well the problem is you need to treat the whole room and beyond since if 3 of your snakes have mites, you know damn well that more are in that room on the floors, in any drapes, or on any furniture. I would definitely move the snakes to bins with the bare minimum of stuff in there and treat them all and move the rack/enclosure outside and treat that as well as let it freeze but I would also spray any furniture, carpet, floors etc too. Remember those mites will travel and if you got snakes in other rooms, they will find them. Good Luck.

mites are the devil! :soapbx:

i came across this website looking for information on the mite problem i have.

this thread has helped.

My first ball had mites when i got him and I tried many ways to get rid of them. What worked for me was very thoroughly cleaning the tank, soaking the snake with a tiny bit of dawn dishsoap nightly, and spraying the enclosure down with the diluted nix combo I read about.
I did a lot of research before using nix and i suggest extra research yourself. I also over diluted a bit. Instead of diluting in 1 gallon of water i put 3/4 of the nix in 1 gallon and 1/4 of the nix in a second seperate gallon. I used the stronger stuff on the tank and new substrate and the weak solution to wipe the snake down.
I also cleaned (with bleach and water) everything in the tank then removed everything i could afford to dispose of. I also sprayed the area around the tank with the solution for good measure. This is what worked for me!
Good luck and always be cautious with chemicals around your animals :).

Andy, treat everything.

You can use any permethrin product at the same percentage as PAM.

Spray down the enclosure. Remove the water bowls only.

Let everything dry.

Put the snakes back in.

Spray the permethrin product on a rag and wipe down the outside surfaces of the enclosures.

As Pit said, instead of soaking, spray the animals down with Natures Chemistry.

Make life easy on yourself and your snakes.

Well, i appear to have gotten my lemonblast and bumblebee free of mites, but the hog island boa still has a few (he is the one who brought them in). I am going to a show tomorrow so i will get something to treat the snakes too.

All my other snakes are still mite free and in the rack, i have one BP not in the rack but still mite free

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I wouldn't soak/bathe the snakes for several hours, 15-30 minutes in warm water with a mere drop of dish soap to break the surface tension and ensure the mites drown should do it.

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i am trying this at this very moment :salute:

Ok...so i hve been mite free for almost 2 months now. The enclosure has been in the pole barn for almost 2 and a half months with at least 6 weeks at or below zero. I am almost ready to move into the new house, I have been painting etc etc getting the place ready to move in.

Think it is good to just move it inside or should I fumigate the thing one more time?

I would hit it with PAM or the permethrin-based product of your choice (NIX/RID, P-10, whatever) and let it completely dry before moving it back in. I've read reports of heat killing mites and eggs (150*F for 5 seconds), but not the threshhold for cold.

That is what i was thinking

Yeah Andyroof, it's better to be safe than sorry later on. It's tedious but absolutely necessary to treat all snakes, enclosures and surrounding areas. Personally I would ditch the whole wooden enclosure. I try not to use anything wooden in any of my tubs or enclosures ever. No decorations or anything whatsoever! Wood is the number one attractant material for mites! Hope you get rid of them soon! Stay in peace and not pieces. Don't forget to support USARK and the "lacey act" lawsuit.:gj:

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Yeah Andyroof, it's better to be safe than sorry later on. It's tedious but absolutely necessary to treat all snakes, enclosures and surrounding areas. Personally I would ditch the whole wooden enclosure. I try not to use anything wooden in any of my tubs or enclosures ever. No decorations or anything whatsoever! Wood is the number one attractant material for mites! Hope you get rid of them soon! Stay in peace and not pieces. Don't forget to support USARK and the "lacey act" lawsuit.:gj:

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Ditching the enclosure is not an option, i spent over a grand on the materials for it...and the mites have been gone for 2 months.http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...b524f7dcea.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...95ab1b1f98.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...aee642c849.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...8b650fb38c.jpg

I am not throwing this away any time soon