Mites....need help asap...

so when i got my boy, i bought him from petco and they discounted me Anubis....but i though i got all the mites, he quit soaking all the time and now i just found two mites....the guy at petco said soak them in a vinegar/water combo bath...is that a legit home remedy for mites? the stores around here in poincianna Florida dont have trusted Mite treatment....anything i can use that would work right away, i have a BP and two dragons i also have to worry about....>.> Please i need help!

I know people use the nix for head lice but you need to dilute it. Not sure what the proper dilution is.

Petco should have this https://t.petco.com/shop/en/petcosto...reptile-spray#

I had mites one and used this which killed them in one treatment.

You can use this on everything. I even sprayed my carpet around the infested snakes, then vacuumed.

It is safe to spray on the animals and worked great for me.

Place the snake on paper towels for now with just hides and a water bowl. You don't want to give the lil buggers a place to hide and they are really seen dead or alive on the white paper towels.

You may see it listed as Reptile Relief or Reptile Spray, they are the same thing but most recently the label reads Reptile Spray.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KMG

Petco should have this https://t.petco.com/shop/en/petcosto...reptile-spray#

I had mites one and used this which killed them in one treatment.

You can use this on everything. I even sprayed my carpet around the infested snakes, then vacuumed.

It is safe to spray on the animals and worked great for me.

Place the snake on paper towels for now with just hides and a water bowl. You don't want to give the lil buggers a place to hide and they are really seen dead or alive on the white paper towels.

You may see it listed as Reptile Relief or Reptile Spray, they are the same thing but most recently the label reads Reptile Spray.

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awesome thanks for this i will switch out everything tomm!! im just curious about this whole vinegar thing....is that a legit thing? or was this employee just pulling :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: outta his rear?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aerries

awesome thanks for this i will switch out everything tomm!! im just curious about this whole vinegar thing....is that a legit thing? or was this employee just pulling :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: outta his rear?

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I don't recall anybody using it here.

Usually it's PAM(provent a mite) and Nix I read about other than Reptile Spray.

I used that reptile spray from petco when I got my pastel and she had mites, it took care of them really well.

Yes. Reptile spray works wonders.

I just got back from the pet store, petsmart didn't have the spray so I got it from pets Supermarket. Ugh my poor boys still soaking in his water since last night. I feel so bad

once you get everything cleaned up and sprayed down he should start to feel better.

This http://pro-products.com/provent-a-mite/ is the surest way to get rid of mites and keep them gone.

Just a pity you guys can't get hold of Callingtons spray !
Surely it's available online unless the postage makes it too expensive ?

Hey so I cleaned and sanitized his cage and only left him a hide and water, sprayed everything and the paper towels and hide with the reptile spray, and sprayed him....now he went back into the water...should I be concerned about him getting poisoned?!?!

I wrote this up after my second battle with the little so-and-so's. While other treatments, such as ivermectin injections and wiping the snakes with Frontline, do exist, I have not tried them so I've not included them here.

Mite Eradication 101:

*** Permethrin ***

Permethrin comes in many forms - Provent-A-Mite (PAM), NIX/RID head lice treatment, Permethrin-10 from a livestock supply store, etc. Once mixed with water its half life is 30 days if kept out of direct sunlight.

PAM has several advantages. It has been tested for use with reptiles, and it comes ready to use. The disadvantages are that it's expensive and most reptile stores don't have it in stock, so you have to wait for it to be shipped to you if you don't have any on hand. Meanwhile the mites are busy feeding and breeding.

NIX/RID is cheaper than PAM and is readily available at WalMart, CVS, and other drug stores. It is also easy to dilute: mix one two ounce (59 ml) bottle of the cream rinse with one gallon of water.

At a dollar per ounce Permethrin-10 is the cheapest of the three options; one eight ounce bottle will make 240 gallons of solution, as only 6 milliliters of it are needed per gallon of water to make an effective mite spray. The upside is that if you have a lot of snakes to treat this will do it very economically. The downside is that it's all too easy to make too strong of a permethrin solution which can seriously injure or kill your snakes.

No matter which product you use, it must be used correctly. I've never applied any permethrin product directly onto my snakes as it's not needed for mite treatment, and permethrin poisoning in a snake can cause irreversible neurological damage or death.

Permethrin use: spray the enclosure, paper substrate, and hides with the diluted solution or PAM. DO NOT SPRAY THE WATER BOWL.

Allow everything to dry completely before returning your snake to its home. Also keep a supply of treated and dried newspaper or paper towels and treated hides available so that when a snake makes a mess, you replace the soiled paper and hides with treated ones. Treat the enclosure every two to three weeks.

*** Natural Chemistry Reptile Spray ***

Reptile Spray kills mites on contact while wet, once it dries it loses its effectiveness pretty quickly. Reptile Spray is a solution of salts rather than an insecticide; it kills mites by dehydrating them. I don't spray the snakes as more ends up on the floor than on the snake. Instead, I spray a white paper towel with it and wipe it on the snake. That way you get even coverage on the snake, you can work it into the area under their chin really well as that's a favorite hiding place for mites, you don't stress out your snake, and you can look for mites on the paper towel to see how quickly they're being eradicated. Apply twice a week. Note - this stuff hurts like hell in an open wound.

*** Hot Shot No-Pest Strips ***

Some people take a Hot Shot No-Pest strip, cut it into pieces, put each piece into a small sealed container, poke some holes in the container, and put each container into the snake's enclosure. I've used the No-Pest strip but I just hang it in the snake room and close the door. Either way is effective, especially if you have a major outbreak.

If you do use it, remove the water bowls as the insecticide is strongly attracted to water and you don't want the snake drinking it. After 24 hours remove the strip (or pieces), put them into an airtight container for future use, air out the room, and put the water bowls back. Repeat treatment weekly.

Important! If you also keep tarantulas, feeder roaches/dubias, crickets, etc. do not use the No-Pest Strip as it can kill them too!!!!

*** Mild Dish Soap ***

One or two drops of mild dish detergent in your snake's bath water will break the surface tension and prevent mites from floating in the water so they drown. No more than that is needed, your snake should not look like it is taking a bubble bath.

*** Heat ***

Don't laugh, but a temperature of 135*F for five seconds will kill mites and the eggs. I purchased a heat gun used for stripping paint that can be set to blow hot air from 180*F through 1200*F. Using the heat gun and a temperature gun I heated the surfaces and crevices of my racks and enclosures to kill off any mite eggs that may have been laid outside the tubs. Don't get your enclosure surfaces and joined/glued areas too hot or you can damage them.

Mite treatment should continue for 30 days after you stop finding mites on your snake, as an egg can take that long to hatch.

*** FINAL NOTE ***

Effective quarantine means that you treat every new arrival as if it has mites, and new snakes are kept as far away from your established collection as possible for at least 90 days. I treat the quarantine enclosure, hides, and paper with permethrin a day or so before the new snake arrives, and I wipe it with a paper towel soaked in Reptile Spray as part of my inspection process when it comes out of the shipping box. If it has mites I will know it within a day or two at most. This also goes for snakes from "trusted" sources, my first mite outbreak ever came from someone I trusted.

- - - Updated - - -

Use of Frontline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwCA...&feature=share

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I wrote this up after my second battle with the little so-and-so's. While other treatments, such as ivermectin injections and wiping the snakes with Frontline, do exist, I have not tried them so I've not included them here.

Mite Eradication 101:

*** Permethrin ***

Permethrin comes in many forms - Provent-A-Mite (PAM), NIX/RID head lice treatment, Permethrin-10 from a livestock supply store, etc. Once mixed with water its half life is 30 days if kept out of direct sunlight.

PAM has several advantages. It has been tested for use with reptiles, and it comes ready to use. The disadvantages are that it's expensive and most reptile stores don't have it in stock, so you have to wait for it to be shipped to you if you don't have any on hand. Meanwhile the mites are busy feeding and breeding.

NIX/RID is cheaper than PAM and is readily available at WalMart, CVS, and other drug stores. It is also easy to dilute: mix one two ounce (59 ml) bottle of the cream rinse with one gallon of water.

At a dollar per ounce Permethrin-10 is the cheapest of the three options; one eight ounce bottle will make 240 gallons of solution, as only 6 milliliters of it are needed per gallon of water to make an effective mite spray. The upside is that if you have a lot of snakes to treat this will do it very economically. The downside is that it's all too easy to make too strong of a permethrin solution which can seriously injure or kill your snakes.

No matter which product you use, it must be used correctly. I've never applied any permethrin product directly onto my snakes as it's not needed for mite treatment, and permethrin poisoning in a snake can cause irreversible neurological damage or death.

Permethrin use: spray the enclosure, paper substrate, and hides with the diluted solution or PAM. DO NOT SPRAY THE WATER BOWL.

Allow everything to dry completely before returning your snake to its home. Also keep a supply of treated and dried newspaper or paper towels and treated hides available so that when a snake makes a mess, you replace the soiled paper and hides with treated ones. Treat the enclosure every two to three weeks.

*** Natural Chemistry Reptile Spray ***

Reptile Spray kills mites on contact while wet, once it dries it loses its effectiveness pretty quickly. Reptile Spray is a solution of salts rather than an insecticide; it kills mites by dehydrating them. I don't spray the snakes as more ends up on the floor than on the snake. Instead, I spray a white paper towel with it and wipe it on the snake. That way you get even coverage on the snake, you can work it into the area under their chin really well as that's a favorite hiding place for mites, you don't stress out your snake, and you can look for mites on the paper towel to see how quickly they're being eradicated. Apply twice a week. Note - this stuff hurts like hell in an open wound.

*** Hot Shot No-Pest Strips ***

Some people take a Hot Shot No-Pest strip, cut it into pieces, put each piece into a small sealed container, poke some holes in the container, and put each container into the snake's enclosure. I've used the No-Pest strip but I just hang it in the snake room and close the door. Either way is effective, especially if you have a major outbreak.

If you do use it, remove the water bowls as the insecticide is strongly attracted to water and you don't want the snake drinking it. After 24 hours remove the strip (or pieces), put them into an airtight container for future use, air out the room, and put the water bowls back. Repeat treatment weekly.

Important! If you also keep tarantulas, feeder roaches/dubias, crickets, etc. do not use the No-Pest Strip as it can kill them too!!!!

*** Mild Dish Soap ***

One or two drops of mild dish detergent in your snake's bath water will break the surface tension and prevent mites from floating in the water so they drown. No more than that is needed, your snake should not look like it is taking a bubble bath.

*** Heat ***

Don't laugh, but a temperature of 135*F for five seconds will kill mites and the eggs. I purchased a heat gun used for stripping paint that can be set to blow hot air from 180*F through 1200*F. Using the heat gun and a temperature gun I heated the surfaces and crevices of my racks and enclosures to kill off any mite eggs that may have been laid outside the tubs. Don't get your enclosure surfaces and joined/glued areas too hot or you can damage them.

Mite treatment should continue for 30 days after you stop finding mites on your snake, as an egg can take that long to hatch.

*** FINAL NOTE ***

Effective quarantine means that you treat every new arrival as if it has mites, and new snakes are kept as far away from your established collection as possible for at least 90 days. I treat the quarantine enclosure, hides, and paper with permethrin a day or so before the new snake arrives, and I wipe it with a paper towel soaked in Reptile Spray as part of my inspection process when it comes out of the shipping box. If it has mites I will know it within a day or two at most. This also goes for snakes from "trusted" sources, my first mite outbreak ever came from someone I trusted.

- - - Updated - - -

Use of Frontline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwCA...&feature=share

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holy hell this is a buttload of into my little brain is shot lol, I can say that my BCI is cleaned and quarantined, now I'm only worried that for some god forsaken way the mites went to my BP that's on the other side of the room, I havnt handled him without properly washing my hands and arms....but I suppose one cannot be too safe

When I had mites I always attended to them last. No contact until I had a shower with my other snakes.

Use the RS as directed and you'll be fine.

Here is why treatment is required once a week for at least 30 days.

Life cycle of the snake mite: http://vpi.com/publications/the_life...of_snake_mites

Well i sprayed everything down and removed everything okay a hide that he doesn't use and his water bowl that he just soaks in....i cant keep the humidity above 50 and even after using the reptile spray i was only hoping to see dead mites on the paper towels....nope instead i find a mite crawling on his head...>.> ill treat him again tomm as the directions say no more the three day intervals...please for the love of god i hope this isn't being detrimental to him...im fairly new to reptiles, within only the last two years ive only had my BP and its grown very quick to 5 other reptiles....this being the first with mites....sorry for the many cries for help....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aerries

Well i sprayed everything down and removed everything okay a hide that he doesn't use and his water bowl that he just soaks in....i cant keep the humidity above 50 and even after using the reptile spray i was only hoping to see dead mites on the paper towels....nope instead i find a mite crawling on his head...>.> ill treat him again tomm as the directions say no more the three day intervals...please for the love of god i hope this isn't being detrimental to him...im fairly new to reptiles, within only the last two years ive only had my BP and its grown very quick to 5 other reptiles....this being the first with mites....sorry for the many cries for help....

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Treating for mites is not a "one and done" deal, you have to continue to treat for 30 days after you stop finding mites because that's how long it may take for an egg to hatch out. You should start seeing fewer and fewer mites as the days go by though.

I thought Pam was good for 30 days? I know he didn't use that, but I just want to confirm for myself. Is this true? I know you don't treat the snake with Pam and have a basic understanding of how to use it, just trying to gain more knowledge. I hope I never need it though

It is but you should do two rounds to be safe

That's what I thought also. You wouldn't spray it every three days though. It would be every 30 days. Would you keep a treated extra tub for when there is a mess? Seems like it would be easier than waiting for it to dry again.

Read what I wrote above. The active ingredient in PAM is permethrin, which has a half-life of 30 days if kept out of direct sunlight. Also, when your snake makes a mess and you clean the tank/tub/enclosure you will also clean out the PAM which is why re-treatment is needed.

Reptile Relief can be used every three days according to the package directions.

Use reptile spray.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HeidiHudson

Use reptile spray.

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This thread is 5 weeks old, but thanks.

Has this info been turned into a sticky? Please, you never know when it'll be your turn :(
And don't ever by a compromised bag of bedding. Mites/eggs can travel in it. Been there, done that.