Help! Mites

Hi, so I got my Trans-pecos ratsnake on saturday & she looked fine, I didn't see anything on her that looked even remotely like mites. She ate for the first time with me last night, still looked totally fine, & this morning she had her head poking out of a hide & I saw two mites on her face. I checked under the hide and there were 2-3 more crawling on the paper towel. I don't know how this could have happened, there's nothing in her tank that could have ever been exposed to mites, everything was thoroughly disinfected before she was put in it, I guess they were just hiding on her somewhere since I got her??
Regardless of how she got them, though, she has them & I think I need a little bit of guidance. I'm going to be ordering some PAM today but that wont be here for a few days, what can I do until it gets here? My local petco has this: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcos...-reptile-spray .Would this work for now? There's also a possibility that a reptile store about an hour from me carries PAM but I'm still waiting on a message back from them to be sure.
The poor baby, I can't believe I missed this. I've read a lot about treating mites but now that I actually have to I feel completely lost..
Thank you for reading

Hi, The reptile spray should help while you wait on the PAM. PAM is the best option in my opinion. I would change out your substrate to paper towels while you are treating for the mites.

Your snake probably had eggs on her and once you got her home they hatched. Sorry to hear you are going thru this. If you have other snakes be careful that they too do not get mites. Mites travel very well between animals/cages unfortunately.

Be sure to read the instructions very carefully on the PAM label. That stuff can be toxic if used incorrectly.

Best of luck to you.

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Originally Posted by L.West

Hi, The reptile spray should help while you wait on the PAM. PAM is the best option in my opinion. I would change out your substrate to paper towels while you are treating for the mites.

Your snake probably had eggs on her and once you got her home they hatched. Sorry to hear you are going thru this. If you have other snakes be careful that they too do not get mites. Mites travel very well between animals/cages unfortunately.

Be sure to read the instructions very carefully on the PAM label. That stuff can be toxic if used incorrectly.

Best of luck to you.

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Thank you, I've taken out all of the things in her tank that could be infested so she now only has two nonporous hides & a water dish (& she was already on paper towel for quarantine). I'll check my other snake, I really hope they haven't gotten to him too :(

She brought them home from the show...mites get passed around, even to snakes that arrived 'clean'. Ugh! (Glad she ate for you.)

I have not had to treat any snakes since long before PAM was on the market, so all I can say is follow the directions very carefully. Others here have talked
about using a spray (Natural Chemistry, I think?) on the snake itself & in the meantime, until you can treat the cage with PAM...apparently the spray is safe,
but I've not used that either.

What I'd personally do is to gently bathe that little noodle in shallow & soapy lukewarm water (measure it, if it feels warm to you, remember you're about
98.6*, so it's too hot for her). Use a bit of mild Ivory dish soap...it breaks the surface tension & makes the mites drown (impairs their breathing). Do this
for about 15 minutes, & also clean the cage well, and use white paper towels & only plastic hides (mites will stay behind & saddle up again if you don't).
This will remove & kill MOST of the mites but not all...a few may hide on her face (don't submerge her face & don't allow her to drink soapy water) so you
still need to use the other stuff, but mainly it's important to reduce the mite load as quick as you can on a tiny snake. Mite populations explode exponentially
& can weaken, even kill snakes, especially small ones, faster than you think.

Poor little snake...but you'll get her past this. :snake: Just don't wait a few days for PAM to arrive, get rid of all the mites you can now.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

She brought them home from the show...mites get passed around, even to snakes that arrived 'clean'. Ugh! (Glad she ate for you.)

I have not had to treat any snakes since long before PAM was on the market, so all I can say is follow the directions very carefully. Others here have talked
about using a spray (Natural Chemistry, I think?) on the snake itself & in the meantime, until you can treat the cage with PAM...apparently the spray is safe,
but I've not used that either.

What I'd personally do is to gently bathe that little noodle in shallow & soapy lukewarm water (measure it, if it feels warm to you, remember you're about
98.6*, so it's too hot for her). Use a bit of mild Ivory dish soap...it breaks the surface tension & makes the mites drown (impairs their breathing). Do this
for about 15 minutes, & also clean the cage well, and use white paper towels & only plastic hides (mites will stay behind & saddle up again if you don't).
This will remove & kill MOST of the mites but not all...a few may hide on her face (don't submerge her face & don't allow her to drink soapy water) so you
still need to use the other stuff, but mainly it's important to reduce the mite load as quick as you can on a tiny snake. Mite populations explode exponentially
& can weaken, even kill snakes, especially small ones, faster than you think.

Poor little snake...but you'll get her past this. :snake: Just don't wait a few days for PAM to arrive, get rid of all the mites you can now.

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Natural chemistry is what they have at petco, I'll get that today & clean her tank really good. Can I bathe her now? Since she just ate last night I'm kinda worried about her regurgitating her meal :(
Thank you <3

It would have been much better to take care of mites first, before she (just) ate, but hopefully she'll digest it fast enough & it won't be an issue. Getting mites
off a little snake takes priority.

After you bathe* her, keep her in a small container briefly while you clean her cage, & before you put her back in. ;)
*She'll probably think you're nuts...but oh well...what are snarents for?

Make sure you don't use the Reptile Spray directly on the snake. I hear you can do it but it is preferred to spray it on a paper towel and gently rub it on the snake.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

It would have been much better to take care of mites first, before she (just) ate, but hopefully she'll digest it fast enough & it won't be an issue. Getting mites
off a little snake takes priority.

After you bathe* her, keep her in a small container briefly while you clean her cage, & before you put her back in. ;)
*She'll probably think you're nuts...but oh well...what are snarents for?

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I know, I wish I had seen them last night, this is just the worst timing. I'll see if I have any mild dish soap, is there any alternative I could use if I don't have it?

Okay I don't have any mild dish soap, only hand soap & more heavy duty cleaners :( could I use one of those heavily diluted? It's all natural ingredients, if that helps.. ugh I feel so helpless right now, I don't drive so I have to wait until I can have someone pick this stuff up for me, is there anything else I could do? :(

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 in my own writeup. You can find out about Frontline at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwCA...&feature=share
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. At the very least new critters should never be in the same room with your established collection.

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.

I had those little monsters just once, and God I hated it. I’m a fan of the no-pest strips personally. Good luck, hope it goes well.

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Originally Posted by Sonny1318

I had those little monsters just once, and God I hated it. I’m a fan of the no-pest strips personally. Good luck, hope it goes well.

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That's all I've ever used too, way long ago...just a tiny piece. It worked with no side effects, done carefully (a specific way). Been lucky ever since...whew!

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Originally Posted by Ditto

Okay I don't have any mild dish soap, only hand soap & more heavy duty cleaners :( could I use one of those heavily diluted? It's all natural ingredients, if that helps.. ugh I feel so helpless right now, I don't drive so I have to wait until I can have someone pick this stuff up for me, is there anything else I could do? :(

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Sorry, I'm home again now...
No detergents & no heavy duty cleaners. A little rub off a bar of soap would probably work & be ok, or a drop of shampoo. (baby shampoo would be best, but get rid
of them nasties!) FYI, "all natural" does not equal "safe"....plenty of hazardous things are "natural". Such terms are just a marketing tool. ;)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Sorry, I'm home again now...
No detergents & no heavy duty cleaners. A little rub off a bar of soap would probably work & be ok, or a drop of shampoo. (baby shampoo would be best, but get rid
of them nasties!) FYI, "all natural" does not equal "safe"....plenty of hazardous things are "natural". Such terms are just a marketing tool. ;)

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Thank you! I ended up using a bit of baby shampoo after reading the ingredients, glad to know that was okay! I'm going to pick up some natural chemistry mite stuff tonight along with some more conventional dish soap, & im going to be using a friend's amazon prime account to order some PAM. Is there anything else I should get?
And yeah.. I know, but I get the natural stuff anyway lol


Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

No, you just want to drown as many of the little nasties as you can. The water isn't supposed to be like a major bubble bath either, just a drop or two will work.

How did her feeding go, by the way? Did she take from the tongs?

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

No, you just want to drown as many of the little nasties as you can. The water isn't supposed to be like a major bubble bath either, just a drop or two will work.

How did her feeding go, by the way? Did she take from the tongs?

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Okay, h yeah I made sure to just put the smallest amount in the water.
She didn't take it from the tongs, I tried wiggling it around for about five minutes & they left it outside her hide. She didn't take a lot of interest in it when I was moving it with the tongs so I didn't think she would take it, but I covered her tank with a towel so it was dark & left it till morning, & when I checked on her it was gone! I'm hoping I can eventually get her to just take it from the tongs, but at least she ate it.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

I would guess that the breeder has not taken the time to interact with her...not to worry, she'll catch up with your "TLC" & she'll get braver.

Dealing with the mites is a little set-back too, but you have no choice. I doubt she'll regurge the pinkie, they're very digestible. :gj:

How's your 'baby' doing?

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

How's your 'baby' doing?

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I think she's okay, I soaked her again today with a very small amount of dish soap, cleaned her enclosure again & replaced the paper towels with dry ones that were sprayed with natural chemistry. Is there anything else I can do? I feel like I'm not doing a lot but I'm not sure what else would help. Also should I continue soaking her on a regular basis (once a day), will that have any ill effects?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ditto

I think she's okay, I soaked her again today with a very small amount of dish soap, cleaned her enclosure again & replaced the paper towels with dry ones that were sprayed with natural chemistry. Is there anything else I can do? I feel like I'm not doing a lot but I'm not sure what else would help. Also should I continue soaking her on a regular basis (once a day), will that have any ill effects?

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She kept her pinky down, right? Are you seeing any mites anywhere? Does she seem to tolerate the soak alright? (make sure she doesn't drink it)

If no major issues, I'd keep soaking her once a day. I've not used that spray, I thought that was supposed to go on the snake? (PAM goes on substrate towels...)

I don't know how effective it is, you might not need both Nat Chem spray & soaks, especially if you're going to use PAM also??? There are no "ill effects" from the
soaks, that's the safest & most low-tech method, but as I said before, it can miss some mites...it's just the fastest way to reduce the numbers of mites, for the
safety of the snake. (It's a little stressful, sure...but so is applying the spray, & all the cage disruption...can't be helped)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

She kept her pinky down, right? Are you seeing any mites anywhere? Does she seem to tolerate the soak alright? (make sure she doesn't drink it)

If no major issues, I'd keep soaking her once a day. I've not used that spray, I thought that was supposed to go on the snake? (PAM goes on substrate towels...)

I don't know how effective it is, you might not need both Nat Chem spray & soaks, especially if you're going to use PAM also??? There are no "ill effects" from the
soaks, that's the safest & most low-tech method, but as I said before, it can miss some mites...it's just the fastest way to reduce the numbers of mites, for the
safety of the snake. (It's a little stressful, sure...but so is applying the spray, & all the cage disruption...can't be helped)

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Yep she kept her food down. There were one or two dead mites on the paper towel before I changed it & a few dead ones in the water after her soak. She's struggled a bit with the soaks but calms down after a minute & just sits in the water.
The natural chemistry bottle said it could be used both on the snake & in the enclosure, but it said to wait at least three days between applying it to the snake (exact quote is "Reapply as often as necessary, but not more often than at 3-day intervals). I put it on her yesterday so I guess I'll wait to reapply on Sunday?
I'll keep soaking her daily, then, as it's definitely killing some of the mites & it gives me time to clean her enclosure.

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Originally Posted by Ditto

Yep she kept her food down. There were one or two dead mites on the paper towel before I changed it & a few dead ones in the water after her soak. She's struggled a bit with the soaks but calms down after a minute & just sits in the water.
The natural chemistry bottle said it could be used both on the snake & in the enclosure, but it said to wait at least three days between applying it to the snake (exact quote is "Reapply as often as necessary, but not more often than at 3-day intervals). I put it on her yesterday so I guess I'll wait to reapply on Sunday?
I'll keep soaking her daily, then, as it's definitely killing some of the mites & it gives me time to clean her enclosure.

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Good, so glad she kept her food down, & that you're finding dead mites. Also good that she's not too panicky about the soak, but wouldn't the soak wash off the
spray? So bathing her daily might be counter-productive, if you feel the spray is working? Your call, I've never used the spray either, and for sure, follow their
directions (no more than 3-day intervals). Darn mites! :(

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Good, so glad she kept her food down, & that you're finding dead mites. Also good that she's not too panicky about the soak, but wouldn't the soak wash off the
spray? So bathing her daily might be counter-productive, if you feel the spray is working? Your call, I've never used the spray either, and for sure, follow their
directions (no more than 3-day intervals). Darn mites! :(

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Oh that's a good point, I hadn't thought of that! Maybe I'll just soak her on the days when I'm not using the spray? I dunno, that would probably still counter the spray.. I'm not exactly sure what to do :(

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Originally Posted by Ditto

Oh that's a good point, I hadn't thought of that! Maybe I'll just soak her on the days when I'm not using the spray? I dunno, that would probably still counter the spray.. I'm not exactly sure what to do :(

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Sounds like the spray stays on for 3 days...soaking would just wash it off. I think you should pick one or the other, so if the spray seems safe, it would be less stress
for her since you don't need to do it daily.

A little update
I just put the spray on her for the second time, I sprayed a paper towel & wiped her down essentially, & I noticed some things. 1, I can see multiple mites hiding in/around her eye socket & I'm not sure how to handle that? And 2, she's making little clicking noises when she breathes, which leads me to believe she may have an RI, but I'm not sure she has any other symptoms?

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Originally Posted by Ditto

A little update
I just put the spray on her for the second time, I sprayed a paper towel & wiped her down essentially, & I noticed some things. 1, I can see multiple mites hiding in/around her eye socket & I'm not sure how to handle that? And 2, she's making little clicking noises when she breathes, which leads me to believe she may have an RI, but I'm not sure she has any other symptoms?

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Bummer! Are you still planning to use the PAM on the enclosure? (-did you order & are just waiting?) If that was me, I'd probably have bathed her just ahead of
re-treating with the spray...didn't think to mention that until now, sorry. Your spray alone still won't reach the mites on her face, nor will bathing alone.

Can you dampen a Q-tip (w/ water) & by slowly & gently twirling it, possibly remove those mites around her eye...yes, that's a typical place those nasties go, even into
nostrils-that's why you'll probably need something stronger (PAM) to get fully rid of mites, I'm sorry to say. (may not be an RI, might be a mite? -but clicking sounds
are enough of a symptom of an RI so you can't rule it out either- make sure she's warm enough)

So sorry you came home with these little creeps, along with your sweet little snake...:( Not the way you want to start off.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Bummer! Are you still planning to use the PAM on the enclosure? (-did you order & are just waiting?) If that was me, I'd probably have bathed her just ahead of
re-treating with the spray...didn't think to mention that until now, sorry. Your spray alone still won't reach the mites on her face, nor will bathing alone.

Can you dampen a Q-tip (w/ water) & by slowly & gently twirling it, possibly remove those mites around her eye...yes, that's a typical place those nasties go, even into
nostrils-that's why you'll probably need something stronger (PAM) to get fully rid of mites, I'm sorry to say. (may not be an RI, might be a mite? -but clicking sounds
are enough of a symptom of an RI so you can't rule it out either- make sure she's warm enough)

So sorry you came home with these little creeps, along with your sweet little snake...:( Not the way you want to start off.

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Yes I ordered the PAM but the shipping was delayed so it's not here yet. I'll try getting them off with a Q-tip & see if that works. The ambient temp in her tank is low-mid seventies & the UTH is set to 86*, I hope she's not too cold :(
Thank you, this just sucks & I really do appreciate how helpful you've been

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Originally Posted by Ditto

Yes I ordered the PAM but the shipping was delayed so it's not here yet. I'll try getting them off with a Q-tip & see if that works. The ambient temp in her tank is low-mid seventies & the UTH is set to 86*, I hope she's not too cold :(
Thank you, this just sucks & I really do appreciate how helpful you've been

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Your temps sound fine, I only asked because if (a big "if"?) it's an RI, slightly warmer temps (by about 2*) may help. Don't change a thing.

I truly feel bad for you & especially for your sweet noodle. I've been SO lucky over the many years of keeping so many snakes. Never brought home any mites when
I picked up snakes from an expo, & only once ever on a snake shipped to me. The only other time was one from a pet store & it was obvious, I just went ahead anyway.

I cannot say enough good things about the Nix method bcr229 mentioned in their post. Worked like a charm and gave me a lot more peace of mind knowing I could use it on both our snakes and their enclosures (unlike PAM).

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Your temps sound fine, I only asked because if (a big "if"?) it's an RI, slightly warmer temps (by about 2*) may help. Don't change a thing.

I truly feel bad for you & especially for your sweet noodle. I've been SO lucky over the many years of keeping so many snakes. Never brought home any mites when
I picked up snakes from an expo, & only once ever on a snake shipped to me. The only other time was one from a pet store & it was obvious, I just went ahead anyway.

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Aw thank you, I feel so bad for her, she's going through so much stress :(
That's so great you've managed to avoid mites so well! & on a bit of a lighter note, I've found a name for the sweet little lady, Orla

:welcome: little Orla :snake: and don't worry, things will get better! You picked a great snarent.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

That's all I've ever used too, way long ago...just a tiny piece. It worked with no side effects, done carefully (a specific way). Been lucky ever since...whew!

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I remember buying these tiny little Rubbermaid containers. Drilling holes in the lid. Putting one in each cage, removing the water. Letting it stay in there x amount of time. Returning the fresh water and repeating. It worked great. It was so long ago, I promised myself never again, lmao. Been lucky or careful, but thank God ever since.

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Originally Posted by Sonny1318

I remember buying these tiny little Rubbermaid containers. Drilling holes in the lid. Putting one in each cage, removing the water. Letting it stay in there x amount of time. Returning the fresh water and repeating. It worked great. It was so long ago, I promised myself never again, lmao. Been lucky or careful, but thank God ever since.

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Same here...Shell No-Pest Strips, not sure they're still on the market, & definitely contains a nasty pesticide that could harm if not used sparingly. Just a piece (.5-1")
that I suspended in a "welded wire cage" (so the snake couldn't touch it) in their cage, with airflow mostly restricted except for 2 places, one over UTH (out-flow, warm
air rises) & one other side (cool air going into cage). As I recall, first treatment about 12 hours, a follow-up (maybe a week later, I can't recall now) for 8 to 10 hours.
Mites gone, never to return, & snakes apparently* unharmed. *I say "apparently" because most such chemical exposure to us or animals probably raises cancer risks
that won't be seen for years. People who over-used this product or who didn't follow directions for sure harmed some, just as is the case with PAM & other methods.

I wonder if anyone has ever tried to kill mites with diatomaceous earth??? It supposedly kills fleas pretty fast & it's probably much safer.
(would probably need to re-treat for eggs that hatch later) Ditto, you might look into this??? It is sold in home improvement and health
food stores...some ppl consume it, it has several uses...I am by no means an expert on the stuff, but if I had mites, I'd be looking for the
LEAST toxic way to rid my snake of them. And it should be available locally, much faster. Just a thought...

There's a lot of info online about using diatomaceous earth to kill all kinds of bugs- it apparently dries them out so they "dehydrate to death"...you'd want to
make sure your snake (or you) doesn't breathe it in, but it could probably be dabbed (via Q tip) on the mites adhering around your snake's eyes...it's said to
kill fairly soon after contact...it must make contact, & while it's irritating to eyes, they aren't thinking about snake's eyes which are covered & protected. I would
think it would be fairly safe on the snake's body (much like what Natural Chemistry does?). I dunno, any other thoughts on this stuff? As I said, I'm just throwing
a suggestion (another possible solution) out there.

A sample from Wiki:
"How long does it take for diatomaceous earth to kill fleas? Well research shows that once the fleas come into contact with the powder, they usually die about 4 hourslater. However, I recommend leaving it for 12 hours before vacuuming up all the powder (and any dead fleas) to ensure they die."

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

There's a lot of info online about using diatomaceous earth to kill all kinds of bugs- it apparently dries them out so they "dehydrate to death"...you'd want to
make sure your snake (or you) doesn't breathe it in, but it could probably be dabbed (via Q tip) on the mites adhering around your snake's eyes...it's said to
kill fairly soon after contact...it must make contact, & while it's irritating to eyes, they aren't thinking about snake's eyes which are covered & protected. I would
think it would be fairly safe on the snake's body (much like what Natural Chemistry does?). I dunno, any other thoughts on this stuff? As I said, I'm just throwing
a suggestion (another possible solution) out there.

A sample from Wiki:
"How long does it take for diatomaceous earth to kill fleas? Well research shows that once the fleas come into contact with the powder, they usually die about 4 hourslater. However, I recommend leaving it for 12 hours before vacuuming up all the powder (and any dead fleas) to ensure they die."

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I actually know someone who uses diatomaceous earth for a whole range of things & seems to know a lot about it, I'll ask her & do some research on my own, it never occurred to me to use it for this sort of thing

This is regarding ball pythons, but it may work for other species.
A very safe and effective method is soaking. It is the snakes first line of defense in the wild. I have ball pythons and the two times I had mites, I discovered it because the pythons were crammed in their water bowls. I then take them out of the tub, clean the tub spotless, soak and wash the snake off, (optional, but recommended: spray a piece of paper with NIX and let dry, if you do this step, make sure not to add the water bowl until the paper is totally dried out)

Then you put the snake back in the tub, and give them a water bowl large enough that they can submerge their entire body in it. THEY WILL submerge themselves as this is their natural instinct to drown the mites and relieve the pain. Every day, take out the water bowl, dump out the water with the dead black mites laying on the bottom of the water bowl. Wash the entire enclosure, put back the paper, put the snake back with a fresh water bowl.
Repeat every day for about 10 days, and the mites and their eggs will be completely drowned out. I know it is said the eggs can last 30 days, but in my experience, after 10 days of soaking, the entire colony is destroyed, eggs and all.

good luck!

p.s. The second time around, I also used Nix on the paper substrate as an extra measure, but you can skip this part if you are afraid of toxins and such.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

This is regarding ball pythons, but it may work for other species.
A very safe and effective method is soaking. It is the snakes first line of defense in the wild. I have ball pythons and the two times I had mites, I discovered it because the pythons were crammed in their water bowls. I then take them out of the tub, clean the tub spotless, soak and wash the snake off, (optional, but recommended: spray a piece of paper with NIX and let dry, if you do this step, make sure not to add the water bowl until the paper is totally dried out)

Then you put the snake back in the tub, and give them a water bowl large enough that they can submerge their entire body in it. THEY WILL submerge themselves as this is their natural instinct to drown the mites and relieve the pain. Every day, take out the water bowl, dump out the water with the dead black mites laying on the bottom of the water bowl. Wash the entire enclosure, put back the paper, put the snake back with a fresh water bowl.
Repeat every day for about 10 days, and the mites and their eggs will be completely drowned out. I know it is said the eggs can last 30 days, but in my experience, after 10 days of soaking, the entire colony is destroyed, eggs and all.

good luck!

p.s. The second time around, I also used Nix on the paper substrate as an extra measure, but you can skip this part if you are afraid of toxins and such.

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The only problem is that many mites don't drown without a bit of soap in the water to break the surface tension...they just float & survive. I have a feeling that the
NIX you used this way is what actually did the mite-killing. (And please, don't anyone leave soap in a snake's drinking water hoping they'll drown their own mites,
as drinking soap water WILL have gastrointestinal consequences on the poor snake.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

The only problem is that many mites don't drown without a bit of soap in the water to break the surface tension...they just float & survive. I have a feeling that the
NIX you used this way is what actually did the mite-killing. (And please, don't anyone leave soap in a snake's drinking water hoping they'll drown their own mites,
as drinking soap water WILL have gastrointestinal consequences on the poor snake.)

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No. The first time I didn’t use nix, nor soap, just water.
The mites didn’t float, they drowned. It was so satisfying dumping the water bowls out every day with the tiny black specks at the bottom of the bowl!


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The first time, when I used the soaking method, I only had one snake .

a couple years later, when I brought a snake home with mites.... i has too many snakes to worry about, so I just used the nix sprayed paper substrate the second time and it worked as well.

I hope there is a never a third time. I am keeping all new snakes on nix sprayed paper while in quarantine from now on, no matter how perfect and healthy they look.


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So the PAM arrived today and I've realized I have a bit of a problem? It's been below freezing temperatures here the past few days, and I don't have access to a ventilated area in my house to spray anything. Will it work okay if I use it outside? Also, what all should be sprayed with it? I know to do the paper towels but I'm not sure if I should do anything else?
Slightly unrelated, but it's been a week since I last fed her and I'm wondering if I should even try to feed her again this week? She's probably too stressed, right? And if I have to move her once a day to clean I don't want to risk a regurgitation (but someone mentioned pinkies being easily digestible so I dunno). And on that note, one last question for now. How often should I be cleaning her cage? I've been replacing the paper towels and wiping everything down with the nat chem spray once a day, is that too much?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ditto

So the PAM arrived today and I've realized I have a bit of a problem? It's been below freezing temperatures here the past few days, and I don't have access to a ventilated area in my house to spray anything. Will it work okay if I use it outside?

Also, what all should be sprayed with it? I know to do the paper towels but I'm not sure if I should do anything else?

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Should be fine to use and let dry outside. Make sure it's fully dry, let it sit for hours, make sure it doesn't smell (I let mine sit overnight, I pretreat for OT with PAM).
I only spray the enclosure (usually a tub) and that's it. Then, once dry and ready, I put in papertowels, water bowl, and a simple hide (usually a cardboard food box that can be tossed when done).
I believe you can spray the towels and hide if you want to but don't spray the water bowl. I don't bother with those, just the enclosure and I've (sadly) brought home a snake into QT that had mites, this killed them off just fine on it's own.

I would also wait to feed another week.

Hope that helps a little, good luck

So I've had her on the dry PAM sprayed paper towels since Wednesday evening, I put the natural chemistry on her again today & when I had her out I saw that the mites in her eyes have pretty much tripled. I lightly rubbed the natural chemistry stuff on her face but couldn't get any of the mites off, I tried Q-tips with water but that didn't do anything either. I'm not sure what to do, will they just die off eventually or could I be doing more?

PAM should take care of the mites if used properly. I think they recommend a second treatment if I'm remembering correctly. Natural Chemistry I have mixed feelings about.

If you are wanting a solution that you can use on both your snake and the cage/cage items, look into the Nix method. It's much cheaper than PAM (a consideration if you have lots of snakes), a simpler process, and IMO a lot safer. We also use this as a preventative in bringing new snakes home.

http://bamboozoo.weebly.com/snakes-n...treatment.html

There are several YouTube videos on it as well. Others swear by the Frontline method, but I have not personally tried that.

Did you spray the enclosure as well or only the paper towels?
Mites have, I believe, a 30 day life cycle. Any eggs laid will continue to hatch until killed off by the PAM. They may also have clustered on the snake trying to get away from it. It does take some time.
I've only ever needed the initial spray treatment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

Did you spray the enclosure as well or only the paper towels?
Mites have, I believe, a 30 day life cycle. Any eggs laid will continue to hatch until killed off by the PAM. They may also have clustered on the snake trying to get away from it. It does take some time.
I've only ever needed the initial spray treatment.

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I only sprayed the paper towel, should I have treated the rest of the enclosure?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ditto

I only sprayed the paper towel, should I have treated the rest of the enclosure?

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Yes. With PAM you do a brief spray of the entire enclosure (including lid) so the fumes/aerosol can touch everything. Mites can crawl and lay eggs all over cages and are especially fond of crevices.

yes... as I stated above, the enclosure is the only part that *needs* to be sprayed, the rest isn't necessary.

Oh, oh no! Okay, I wasn't sure if it was completely necessary and didn't want to over stress her by taking her out of the enclosure for awhile while it dried. I'll spray the enclosure tonight . I'm really sorry if it seems like I'm not listening to your comments, I'm really trying to soak in all this information and do my best for the poor baby but this is just all so overwhelming :(

It's all good, just wanted to be clear so you can get rid of them. I know how stressful mites can be, I had a breakout early on in my keeping. I hated seeing the animals uncomfortable with all those little nasties on them. You're on top of it, you mentioned what was going on and what you are doing, that's the best way for people to be able to help.
:)

Hey everybody, it's been a little while & I have a few questions.
Firstly, would it be okay if I attempt to feed her this week? On Wednesday it'll be 3 weeks since she's eaten and I don't want to leave her without food for so long but I'm not sure if she'd even eat because of the stress.
Second, how often should I be spraying the tank with PAM and replacing the paper towels? I've only fully sprayed the tank once & replaced the paper towels twice since I got the PAM, I believe the bottle says it remains effective for 2-4 weeks once sprayed but I'm not sure if that's how often I should be reapplying it?
And to top things off just a little update (with an added question), the mites seem to be dying off more now. I soaked her before I put the natural chemistry on her today & there wasn't anything in the water, and when I actually put the stuff on her there weren't any mites coming off on the paper towel (and none on the paper towel substrate when I opened up her tank). I know they're not gone yet but I'm cautiously optimistic, so my question is how long should I keep treating her? I think I've heard people say to keep treating them for a long time after you think they're totally gone because of the eggs, but I can't remember exactly how long

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