My first mite problem

Hello there. I am a new owner of 2 female BPs. I posted a thread a few days ago about one of my snakes reaching for the ceiling. But she seems to have adjusted to her new enclosure and destressed.

But, unfortunately I have a mite issue with the other snake. I noticed that on her active hours around 7pm-10pm, I would find her completely soaking her body in the water dish. For the first two days I let her soak for a while just in case of mites and indeed I found just a single mite on her water dish after the soak on night 1, and also a single mite on night 2. So I threw away all substrate and disinfected the enclosure and all of the hides, then replaced the substrate with paper towel.

Yesterday was night 3 and I still found her soaking in the water dish and found even more mites. So i decided to put a few drops of dish soap on the water dish after letting her soak in plain water for a while so she wouldnt get deydrated and drink the diluted soap water. But when she was soaking in the soap water, I saw her put her whole head inside the water a few times. Just in case she drank some unintentionally or the soap water came in contact with her eyes. Would this cause any issue? Anyway I rinsed her with plain water after. But i am just worried about the few times she soaked her whole head in diluted the soap water.

As for a permanent fix, I am waiting for a shipment of Taurrus predatory mites from the UK, should be her in a couple of days.

Best to prevent a snake from drinking water with soap in it- it's likely to cause stomach distress, & since she already has mites, you don't need any more things causing dehydration -assuming the soap would likely cause some diarrhea, so between that & blood loss, dehydration is serious & can kill snakes.

You're better off doing the water soak with a bit of soap only with your close supervision, for about 20 minutes or so. It won't get all the mites, but will help to drown most of them. You also have to worry about mite eggs quickly hatching out subsequent generations to plague your poor snakes. Mites can also carry diseases, so I hope you're quarantining your snakes apart also.

Thanks for the reply. Right now she is in a make-shift tupperware with paper towel for substrate. I can only fit one hide and the water dish in it, but I guess thats the best for now until I receive the taurrus mites. I put her in a separate room also. Thanks again for the help.

I am still a bit anxious about the whole soap water thing though. I mean mites aside, it wouldnt cause her any long-term damage or anything right? to her eyes or internal organs, because of the few times she put her head completely in the diluted dish soap water?

Not sure if this is available over there but it worked great for me. Years ago I ordered some Blood Pythons online and they arrived with mites.:mad: Used this as directed and it worked great. Here the big box pet stores usually carry it.

You want to get on them as soon as possible.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S8KDKNI...ing=UTF8&psc=1

Hello from Indonesia. Unfortunately all but one american mite products on Amazon ship here. The only one that does is Jurrasimite by Jurrasipet, but it has a lot of 1 star reviews there saying it killed the snake. Both my BPs are less then a year old so I opted for the non-chemical option, especially ones that are designed to kill organisms. I honestly dont have the balls to use something like PAM yet, and it doesnt ship here anyway. But I have been hearing good reviews about reptile relief though. I will try to get some on ebay, hopefully there are sellers that can ship it here. Thanks for the suggestion, much appreciated.

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Originally Posted by JAGpenguin

Thanks for the reply. Right now she is in a make-shift tupperware with paper towel for substrate. I can only fit one hide and the water dish in it, but I guess thats the best for now until I receive the taurrus mites. I put her in a separate room also. Thanks again for the help.

I am still a bit anxious about the whole soap water thing though. I mean mites aside, it wouldnt cause her any long-term damage or anything right? to her eyes or internal organs, because of the few times she put her head completely in the diluted dish soap water?

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I can't truly say for sure, as soaps & detergents are not all the same, nor have I ever allowed my snakes to drink soapy water. As I said, I believe the most it would do is cause diarrhea, but for a snake already dehydrated from a mite infestation (that's why snakes die from mites...loss of blood > shock & organ failure, circulatory collapse) it compounds the dehydration, so I'd avoid letting a snake ingest any soapy water. Never put soap in their water bowl & leave them alone to drink it- soaks with soap are only with supervision.

It won't hurt her eyes...they're covered by a clear scale, remember? Their "eye caps" come off with each shed. But the reason you stay right with a snake soaking is to make sure they don't drink it, & because the water is never deeper than the snake's body height (so they aren't having to swim) & you want to make sure the snake stays in contact with the water as much as possible.

FYI, it only takes a drop or 2 at most of soap to drown mites- more than that is wasted. It only takes a tiny amount of soap to cut the surface tension of water, so the mites cannot stay afloat. That's why they drown- you don't need or want a bunch of bubbles in the water. And mild soap like Ivory or Dawn dish soap is preferred.

I've never used taurrus mites nor know of anyone who has, but I hope they work well for you.

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Originally Posted by JAGpenguin

Hello from Indonesia. Unfortunately all but one american mite products on Amazon ship here. The only one that does is Jurrasimite by Jurrasipet, but it has a lot of 1 star reviews there saying it killed the snake. Both my BPs are less then a year old so I opted for the non-chemical option, especially ones that are designed to kill organisms. I honestly dont have the balls to use something like PAM yet, and it doesnt ship here anyway. But I have been hearing good reviews about reptile relief though. I will try to get some on ebay, hopefully there are sellers that can ship it here. Thanks for the suggestion, much appreciated.

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If I had a snake with mites right now (I've only ever had 2, both many years ago) I'd first use the water w/ drop of soap to remove as many mites as possible, then I'd try the stuff that KMG referred to, as I've used other products they make & they're excellent. I believe that's quite safe too (I've read the ingredients), it's not a typical pesticide like PAM (Provent-A-Mite) or other toxic stuff. The water w/ soap is effective at drowning mites, but because you're NOT dunking the snakes head (!), some mites will likely remain around their eyes or chin. And it doesn't take many survivors to reproduce exponentially & return- such nasty things.

I opted for the Taurrus because American mite products dont ship here from Amazon but Jurrasimite and it has a lot of 1 star reviews saying it killed the snake. I am looking for Reptile Relief on ebay as we speak, hoping that some sellers ship it internationally. I heard about Taurrus mites from European forums mostly, apparently it is a big deal over there and it comes from the UK.

Only 2 sellers on ebay have Reptile Relief. They are both Americans and dont specify if they ship internationally or not. I will try contacting them.

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Originally Posted by JAGpenguin

I opted for the Taurrus because American mite products dont ship here from Amazon but Jurrasimite and it has a lot of 1 star reviews saying it killed the snake. I am looking for Reptile Relief on ebay as we speak, hoping that some sellers ship it internationally. I heard about Taurrus mites from European forums mostly, apparently it is a big deal over there and it comes from the UK.

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Hey I'm with you, I'd never use Jurrasimite either- it sounds horrible, & personally I'd avoid "PAM" too- there have been some issues with that too, though it's hard to say if instructions were correctly followed or not. I avoid using pesticides anyway- I grow organic tomatoes & such, & I'm really not into toxic stuff.

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Originally Posted by JAGpenguin

Only 2 sellers on ebay have Reptile Relief. They are both Americans and dont specify if they ship internationally or not. I will try contacting them.

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Good luck with ebay- the sellers might want to ship it but there might be shipping restrictions? I have no idea, off-hand, but I hope that works. One thing is that the air pressure changes on a plane might make the spray leak? It's not an aerosol at least- just a regular spray.

ok, the UK seller of Taurrus just cancelled because they dont want to ship internationally either. I consulted local breeders that I know and they say I should use Hot Shot anti pest. Is this safe for BPs that are under 1 year old? Also I see different approaches suggested, one guy said to put it in the room hanging or standing, another said to cut it into little pieces and put it in a small holed container and then put the conrainer into the enclosure, another guy said I should remove the water dish while having this thing in the snake toom because the water would become poisounous, and another guy says it might just kill the snake.

I dont know who to believe but this thing seems to be the only solution I can get in my country. Anybody got experience with this method?

See my post #2: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...hat-else-to-do

I would be very surprised if you couldn't find permethrin concentrate at a livestock supply store. You just have to make sure it is diluted down enough to be safe for your snake. The Hot Shot strips are also mentioned.

Since you got both ball pythons at the same time from the same expo, I would treat both.

dude, haha. I actually saw your exact same post but on reddit. Thanks man.
I am going to do what u said. So the way u do it is that instead of cutting it into pieces then into a holed container, you just hang it in the snake room with the door closed. So I am thinking I am just going to put it standing whole on top of a closet in the snake room, close the window and door, take away the water dish and leave it for 24h. Then repeat this weekly. Sounds about right?

Hot shot is available locally and I am getting it in a couple hours tops. So if the plan above sounds ok, I am gonna start today.

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Originally Posted by JAGpenguin

ok, the UK seller of Taurrus just cancelled because they dont want to ship internationally either. I consulted local breeders that I know and they say I should use Hot Shot anti pest. Is this safe for BPs that are under 1 year old? Also I see different approaches suggested, one guy said to put it in the room hanging or standing, another said to cut it into little pieces and put it in a small holed container and then put the conrainer into the enclosure, another guy said I should remove the water dish while having this thing in the snake toom because the water would become poisounous, and another guy says it might just kill the snake.

I dont know who to believe but this thing seems to be the only solution I can get in my country. Anybody got experience with this method?

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Yes, I have experience with this method, & with good outcome, no harm. (And "PAM" wasn't even around then, so it wasn't an option.)

FYI, I've only ever had to treat 2 snakes for mites, long ago as mentioned in previous post. I first did the "soapy water thing" to remove most mites.

Then I used a small piece (1/2") of a "Shell No-Pest Strip" (which I believe is similar to your current product "Hot Shot"-it was later re-named to the best of my knowledge) in a "cage" suspended from the top of enclosure so the snake could not make any contact with it. I covered the screen top to minimize air-flow (this was a 20 gallon glass tank) leaving 2 ventilation areas, one on each end of the screen top, so air would circulate (rising up & out from the UTH-heated end, & air drawn in on the cool side of tank) & treated snake for about 10 hours ONLY; I retreated the same way a few days later, to be sure, & mites were completely gone using this method, with no apparent harm to the snake. I had many snakes at the time, & no mites ever spread, thanks to quick treatment & good separation of glass tanks (none right next to each other). Do remove the water dish!- & I'd suggest providing cardboard boxes with door-way cut as temporary hides you throw away right after treatment, & use disposable paper as substrate for the time being too (throw it away afterwards, as it can absorb vapor from the "Hot Shot".) Don't leave ANY decorations in during treatment.

To your post #14 above: I would not treat the whole room as you describe. I can only predict safety & success with controlled use as I described- there is MUCH more air in a room or closet & leaving for 24 hours could be "over-kill"...literally & for your snake, or it might not quite get the job done. It's impossible to know the dose you're giving as you describe.

Got it a couple hours ago. Treatment in ongoing. Fortunately I dont have any decor for the sake of longterm practicality. It is just 2 plastic hides and the water dish. I did have coconut husk for substrate though. Since they are not expensive, I guess I will just throw them away after. I am pleasantly surprised that you eradicated the mites with just 2 treatments, my initial thought was that it was gonna take months. Good to hear. Wish me luck guys and thank you.

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Originally Posted by JAGpenguin

Got it a couple hours ago. Treatment in ongoing. Fortunately I dont have any decor for the sake of longterm practicality. It is just 2 plastic hides and the water dish. I did have coconut husk for substrate though. Since they are not expensive, I guess I will just throw them away after. I am pleasantly surprised that you eradicated the mites with just 2 treatments, my initial thought was that it was gonna take months. Good to hear. WIsh me luck guys and thank you.

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I do wish you luck. :please: Just remember this is a very potent pesticide & can easily kill or injure a snake if over-used or used improperly.

To whom it may confuse ;)

Just to clear up any confusion about methods advocated (in posts above) by myself & bcr229, they all work. When I've dealt with mites in the past, I was keeping quite a few snakes BUT they were housed in well-separated glass tanks throughout my large house, & thus the 2 that arrived with mites never managed to share them with other snakes I had. Because I had no wish to expose myself or all the other snakes to such a potent pesticide (No Pest Strip) for no reason, it was far more effective & made more sense to treat only the 2 with mites, as I described in post #16. But for those keeping all their snakes in a "snake room", close together where the spread of mites is likely or has already occurred, it makes sense to treat the room as a whole.

Your call entirely. Either way, it's best to minimize exposure of these chemicals to both you & your animals- "First do no harm" as they say.
Always remember that just because something doesn't kill you (or your pets) doesn't mean it's good for either of you, especially in the long run.

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Originally Posted by JAGpenguin

I opted for the Taurrus because American mite products dont ship here from Amazon but Jurrasimite and it has a lot of 1 star reviews saying it killed the snake. I am looking for Reptile Relief on ebay as we speak, hoping that some sellers ship it internationally. I heard about Taurrus mites from European forums mostly, apparently it is a big deal over there and it comes from the UK.

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Yes its available here in the UK, but I guess they don't ship to other countries well as they are living and delicate.
I have used predatory mites with plants and they work 100 percent and with one dose. As long as you get the right number and with a quick delivery so they are mostly still alive.
I would use them for any snake mite outbreak as my first choice. Chemicals can cause neurological issues if not perfectly balanced.
I guess they don't travel well, but Hopefully they will be bread in other countries soon so we can all get local supplies. that's unless thy could be invasive. They like high temperature's, so they would not survive in the UK outside.

An update from me about my mite issue. They have been completely eradicated by following advice from bcr229 and Bogertophis. I soaked my BP in soapy water a few days after the hot shot treatment and found exactly 0 mites. Thank you all for the help.

Wonderful news! :gj: Mites get no love from me!

That's good news but continue to treat, it's only been ten days. Just one surviving unhatched female can turn into another full blown outbreak six weeks from now.

For sure! ^ ^ ^ Stay vigilant & re-treat as suggested to be sure that your snake is never again over-run with mites.