Help! Mites

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Originally Posted by Ditto

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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Correction, I believe it'll have been 4 weeks since she's eaten on Wednesday?

I've been wondering how your poor unlucky little snake has been doing...:( what a miserable way to start off with a pet.

I'd offer food, personally. I'll leave the PAM questions to those who've used it though, & you might want to PM an experienced member about this?

You should be okay to offer food.

I only do one PAM treatment. If after 4 or so weeks, you still see mites, then go ahead and spray the enclosure again.

Glad it sounds like things are getting better!

Thank you guys! I think I'll try to feed her on Wednesday so she has a bit of time to destress from today's handling?.. poor thing, she must be so hungry. I'm really looking forward to when this is all over & she can just be a regular snake
Also turns out I was right the first time, she hasn't eaten in almost three weeks, I had my dates wrong

Yeah, that's a long time for such a little snake. Poor sweetie...hope the end of the mites comes soon!

A little update, she finally ate last night! She wouldn't take any food last week so I'm really relieved that she finally ate after 4 weeks of nothing

Sure hope the mites are gone now too? And she can get back on track...treating a new snake adds so much stress, ugh!

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Sure hope the mites are gone now too? And she can get back on track...treating a new snake adds so much stress, ugh!

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I haven't seen any mites in a while but I feel like I'll jinx it if I say they're totally gone. I hadn't looked in her tank since she ate on Thursday & I checked on her tonight, she's in shed! I feel bad I hadn't checked on her sooner, the humidity wasn't high enough & she had bits of old skin peeled up around her face :( I misted the tank & put a towel over the screen top to help keep it humid, I'm not sure if I should try to soak her or not

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Originally Posted by Ditto

I haven't seen any mites in a while but I feel like I'll jinx it if I say they're totally gone. I hadn't looked in her tank since she ate on Thursday & I checked on her tonight, she's in shed! I feel bad I hadn't checked on her sooner, the humidity wasn't high enough & she had bits of old skin peeled up around her face :( I misted the tank & put a towel over the screen top to help keep it humid, I'm not sure if I should try to soak her or not

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Keep in mind these are desert snakes: honestly, I never mist them or increase humidity for their sheds, & they do fine. The only reason yours might need help now is
that she was without food for so long, & hasn't caught up much yet. I don't think I'd advise soaking her at this point...poor little thing, see how she
does with just what else you've done.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Keep in mind these are desert snakes: honestly, I never mist them or increase humidity for their sheds, & they do fine. The only reason yours might need help now is
that she was without food & presumably water for so long, & hasn't caught up much yet. I don't think I'd advise soaking her at this point...poor little thing, see how she
does with just what else you've done.

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Okay, I'll wait & see how she's doing tomorrow and update here, I hope she's alright