mites!

I think my snake has mites, he was soaking with his head out only when I got home from work... and tonight when i was changing his water there were two specks in there...are there any inexpensive ways of exterminating mites?

Provent-A-Mite

'nuff said

Provent-A-Mite is good when you follow the instructions it comes with. A thorough disinfecting of the enclosure & all cage furniture is beneficial as well, as is a thorough vacuuming of the room, and disposal of any loose substrate where mites could hide. Getting rid of mites on the snake itself is the easy part. Ridding your snake room of them is where it can become tricky. Fortunately there's a lot of good info on this forum about mite eradication. :)

First off though, have you *positively* identified the flecks in your snake's water bowl as mites? As they could be bark from a log hide, bits of substrate, etc. It's good to be tuned in to your snake's behavior & his environment, but also look at other factors - i.e. could he be soaking in the water because his other hide is too warm/cool? Or maybe, the snake is just soaking. It's OK for them to soak, you just want to rule out all other factors (i.e. hides, heat, mites) in the event that it becomes excessive. For example, a snake soaking for a few hours here or there usually isn't a worry. If you observe repeat visits to the water bowl, then it's time to really key in on the cause.

Again, it's great that you're being so observant, especially as a new keeper...that's a really good habit to get into! :gj: Just remember to check up on all the simple causes of a specific behavior before you just focus on one big one. i.e. when you hear hoofbeats, rule out horses before you go looking for zebras. ;)

Good luck!

K~

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KLG

Just remember to check up on all the simple causes of a specific behavior before you just focus on one big one. i.e. when you hear hoofbeats, rule out horses before you go looking for zebras. ;)

Good luck!

K~

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I LOVE it!

With my corn snake, I took him out, put him in a bucket of luke-warm water and disinfected every inch and corner of his tank and accessories.
Then went and cleaned him off really good, and tried my best to get the mites off his head, and I think I did that porcess twice and they were eventually gone.
With my BP I used the Provent-A-Mite stuff....
Dang Pet Stores and there mite infestations!!!!!

If you want something cheap that works great go to Walmart and buy some of the spray you use to get rid of lice. It used to kill lice and mites on your floor, bed, and other furiture. Take your snake out and put him in a pillow case or something. Clean the aquarium out and put in new substrate. Then spray everything in the cage including water dish and hide even substrate. Let it sit for 24 hours and then let him back in. The small amount of spray that did not evaporate in those 24 hours is enough to kill the mites that are still on him. This works better than most products that you can order for herps and is a lot cheaper, not to mention you can get it at your local department stoor.

Is it a pymethrin based product? Provent a mite has had extensive testing specifically for herps... I wouldn't choose less then that. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by herpmajor

If you want something cheap that works great go to Walmart and buy some of the spray you use to get rid of lice. It used to kill lice and mites on your floor, bed, and other furiture. Take your snake out and put him in a pillow case or something. Clean the aquarium out and put in new substrate. Then spray everything in the cage including water dish and hide even substrate. Let it sit for 24 hours and then let him back in. The small amount of spray that did not evaporate in those 24 hours is enough to kill the mites that are still on him. This works better than most products that you can order for herps and is a lot cheaper, not to mention you can get it at your local department stoor.

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I know you are trying to help, but making a general recommendation for a newbie to buy an unspecified insecticide to use for their snake isn't very responsible, especially one containing toxic chemicals.

Instead, recommend a product that has been designed specifically for use for herps (provent-a-mite). I think it is sad that there's people out there that would risk their herps health/life to save $15.

It actually has been tested on reptiles and proven to work. Many Zoos, Aquariums and breeders use it. It alot easier to come by, cheaper, and works just as good. I use to use prevent-o-mite too. But then a friend of mine that is a curator at zoo told me about the spray. I tried it and it worked great.

I also checked with my vet to see if it was safe and he said yes.

If I had the opportunity to see in person how someone uses one of those products safely, and felt comfortable doing the same on my own, that would be one thing. Acting on a vague recommendation on what to do posted in an internet forum probably doesn't sound like a good idea to me.....

You can find detailed instructions on how to use it on the enternet. I will try and find the site again and post it. But I pretty much explained everything. I do agree with you though. I would not just do anything any idiot posted on a forum. Even though a curator told me about it I stilled researched it. Which is what I would recomend to anyone. Always research any tip or piece of advice someone gives you.

Also the spray I am talking about contains the same ingrediants as many products that are sold just for herps.

If you are talking about Permithryn-based products...there are TONS of different formulas out there with varying levels of toxicity. Again, if you can't list a specific product to be applied in a specific way, I wouldn't recommend it at all.

By what you've said, someone might think that it would be ok to go buy that product, and spray down the entire cage and contents, including the snake, water bowl, hides, etc, and could end up with dead mites...and a dead snake. I know that's probably not what you meant to say, but remember, what is common sense to you might be advanced knowledge to others...my experience on this forum has taught me that much ;)

Provent-A-Mite is all of about $18.00 plus shipping...so you're looking at somewhere around $20.00. Unless you have a LOT of mite issues that one can is going to last you a very long time.

I blew more than that last night ordering pizza for my family. For me, Provent-A-Mite is a very reasonable cost if it ensures the health of my collection and the total eradiction of mites (considered a vector for disease transmission in snakes).

It's up to you. I know what my decision will always be. :)

www.albertareptilesociety.org/caresheets/nix.pdf
www.kingsnake.com/TARAS/contents/nix.doc
www.anapsid.org/mites.html
These are just a few. If you search for Nix to treat mites you will get tons of pages with info. I was being responsible. I would never tell a newbie to use something that would harm their snake.

Also I said to take the snake out and spray the cage and content. Then let set for 24 hours then put the snake back in. So how would anyone get the idea to spray their snake from that. Also many experts and Vets!!!!!!! approve of this method. So why you guys are trying to make me out to be a bad guy is beyond me.

Sorry didn't mean to snap. Having a bad day.:oops:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by herpmajor

Also I said to take the snake out and spray the cage and content. Then let set for 24 hours then put the snake back in. So how would anyone get the idea to spray their snake from that. Also many experts and Vets!!!!!!! approve of this method. So why you guys are trying to make me out to be a bad guy is beyond me. Mabey you should do some researching yourself.

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Not trying to make you out as a bad person at all. Just highlighting the fact that Nix or Equate CAN be VERY dangerous if used improperly.

Why recommend something like that when, for a mere $20, you can get something that is specifically designed for use with herps and has been proven over and over to be completely safe. Does Nix or Equate come with direction on how to treat reptile mites? Of course not.....

None of the pet stores where I live carry preven-o-mite. So it would take a while for me and other people who dont live near anyone who sells it to get some. That means our snakes would have mites longer than they need to. And like I said in an earlier post I would recomend someone research anything before the do it. Again sorry for snapping. My wife is in the hospital again she has ITP.:tears:

Provent A Mite is the ONLY product that is federally approved for it’s use with reptiles and the only product that as undergone 14+ years of research.

While the other products will work with reptiles due to some similar ingredients they are not designed for reptiles, nor are they federally approved to be used with reptiles.

Also no one knows the long term effects of such products whether it is Nix, equate or others.

I will leave it to this, is saving a few bucks worth taking the risk of causing irremediable damage to your snakes????

PAM can be find here http://www.pro-products.com/miteandtemp.html and here http://www.entirelypets.com/proventamite.html