Mites

[Bellatrix]

Hello!

Well, I recently purchased two adult female ball pythons (lesser and mojave) from a breeder on a private reptile bidding forum on facebook. Now, I got VERY good prices on the two snakes, but one thing I did not expect to get along with them was mites.

I have dealt with mites before on one of my other ball pythons (she got it from a feeder mouse that I bought at a HORRIBLE pet shop...they were cheap). I soaked her in a betadine/water solution a few times a day for 20-30 minutes and then cleaned her cage. It worked, but it was very slow.

The two females that have them are now being soaked while their cages are being disinfected (bleach).

I wanted to know if there is anything I could do MORE than the betadine?

Also, I have only had the snakes for about a week and they are still quite skiddish and head-shy. When my other female had mites around her face I felt very comfortable touching her face and cleaning it up because she was use to me and didn't mind. But these females aren't and I do not feel comfortable putting my hands in their faces. Ideas?

[satomi325]

You can use Provent-a-Mite or Nix lice spray to treat the enclosures.
Do not spray the snakes themselves. Just spray down the encloaures and let them air dry until you can no longer smell the fumes. Then lay down paper towel subatrate and put the snakes in. Repeat treatment 3 weeks later. That should take care of your mite issue.

It might be better to bathe in water with dish soap rather than betadine. Betadine is an antiseptic.
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[Eazyyyb]

You can use Provent-a-Mite or Nix lice spray to treat the enclosures.
Do not spray the snakes themselves. Just spray down the encloaures and let them air dry until you can no longer smell the fumes. Then lay down paper towel subatrate and put the snakes in. Repeat treatment 3 weeks later. That should take care of your mite issue.

It might be better to bathe in water with dish soap rather than betadine. Betadine is an antiseptic.
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x2. My boa had mites so i soaked everything in his cage, including himself and i never saw one again. Definitely use paper towel as substrate so you can see the mites and maybe boil any wood decorations you have in the cage. Hope this helps

[LBbp]

Second that. Use your above solution to soak the snake. Keep him in a different enclosure/container. Spray his original cage with prevent a mite and his bedding hides etc. let sit overnight let fumes go away. While keeping snake in a diff container use paper towel as substrate you can see mites dead or alive easy on paper towels. I always use prevent a mite when I deep clean my cage. They make a mite off little blue spray bottle that you can spray on snakes. I use that on any new snakes I bring home. If u got mites from a mouse or rat then id suggest freezing them from now on and then feed time thaw them out. That would kill any mites on the mouse. Goodluck. Preventative measures are the best thing to prevent mites. If you have mites dont buy anything but prevent a mite. Its abt $30 bucks it looks like a spray paint can white with a black top.

[Bellatrix]

I have dawn dish soap and am going to change out the betadine water with dish soap water. Thank you!

I currently do not have any prevent-a-mite I will see if petco has some, if not I will have to order it...what should I do in the mean time? Just soak them?

[Eazyyyb]

I have dawn dish soap and am going to change out the betadine water with dish soap water. Thank you!

I currently do not have any prevent-a-mite I will see if petco has some, if not I will have to order it...what should I do in the mean time? Just soak them?

I would soak everything in the cage for a while, and soak the snake in a water and dawn soap for as long as the snake is okay with it. Replace your substrate withe paper towels and check for mites daily and repeat until they are gone

[Bellatrix]

Okay, PetCo does not carry prevent-a-mite, I will have to order it off of LLLreptile. LLLreptile said something about reptile relief and Zoo Med Mite Off? Is that something I should buy?

[bcr229]

Okay, PetCo does not carry prevent-a-mite, I will have to order it off of LLLreptile. LLLreptile said something about reptile relief and Zoo Med Mite Off? Is that something I should buy?

The reptile relief and mite off are for treating the snake directly, provent-a-mite (PAM) is used for the enclosure, substrate (paper towels!), and hides. Do not use PAM on the snake or the water dish.

My vet suggested that rather than spraying the snake with the reptile relief or mite-off, spray a paper towel and gently wipe the snake with it, it's less stressful to the animal. I do this to all new arrivals when I pull them out of the shipping box, because if they have mites I'll know immediately. My vet also said if you soak you don't need a lot of Dawn dish soap, just a drop in the tub is plenty. Your snake isn't getting a bubble bath, the water just needs a touch of soap so the mites can't float on the surface and then they drown.

[Bellatrix]

I ordered the Prevent-A-Mite, I don't know when it will get here.

Going to PetCo today and picking up some Reptile Spray (and then some Dawn dish soap, we ran out).

Should I wipe down ALL of my snakes in my collection? I checked them and they had no signs of mites...but better safe than sorry.

Thank you to everyone who is helping me. I appreciate it.

[MarkS]

The nice thing about provent-a-mite is that it lasts so long. When mites hatch from their eggs into nymphs, they search out snakes to bite and drink from, when they've reached adult size, they drop off the snake and search out any tight nook or cranny they can squeeze into to lay their eggs (like the corners of your cages). Mite eggs are very tough I don't know of anything other then exteme high heat that will kill them in the egg. Provent-a-mite will stick to the surfaces of your cage for a long time, even after washing, and will kill the mite nymphs as they hatch and begin to wander around looking for snakes. People who only treat the snake and not the environment will often find themselves being re-infested with mites over and over and over again. This is why it's important to treat both the snake AND the enclosure.