Sudden mite outbreak

[Damariscotta]

So it's two days before I move and of course I open my snake's cage to find her water bowl infested with mites. I'm going to order the provent-a-mite to be sent to my new address and buy the reptile spray at petco but I'm not sure what I should do for the trip down there or in the coming days until I leave. Should I start treating right away or wait until they're set up in their new home? Since I won't have the provent-a-mite until I get down there should I just use the spray to soak her in?

[bcr229]

Treat immediately. Use the move as an excuse to completely sanitize the enclosure. Water at 135*F will kill mites and eggs in seconds if you want to use hot water to sanitize her enclosure.

[treaux]

I had a similar experience after taking in a rescue right before I moved.

Treat right away, and take advantage of the move to permethrin the heck out of your new place before you move everyone in. I bought a 10% concentrate (by Martin's) that's just the pure ingredient of Provent-A-Mite. Mixed it up in a gallon sprayer (I mix 1 oz of the mix in a gallon of water) and sprayed the hallway, snake room, and every doorway top to bottom. It won't hurt anything in your house (unless you keep insects or spiders as pets, then skip this entire step and just do your snake's enclosures).

Mites will quickly take over a room and even a house if not put in check.

Use the Provent-A-Mite on your actual snake's enclosure as it's the only thing officially approved for that use and be sure to let it dry fully before putting your snake back in there. Lastly, NEVER spray it directly on the snake. That's what the reptile relief is for and even the PAM can kill your snake if directly applied.

[Regius_049]

I've only had one relatively minor encounter with mites, but I can tell you what I did:

1. I immediately went to my local Petco and Walmart and picked up: (A) a New tub, and (B) This mite spray that can be used directly on snakes. When used properly provent-a-mite works well, but if the snake is introduced prematurely, there can be issues.

2. Remove the snake and toss it's current tub and all furniture (water dish, hide, etc.). Typically these can be replaced for relatively little cost. This aids in getting rid of both mites and eggs which as often invisible to the naked eye.

3. Spray the snake down generously using the mite spray taking care with the head and eyes. Then bath him in warm water to remove excess spray and hopefully drown any missed mites and wash away potential eggs. The spray kills mites on contact, so this can be done relatively quickly. You can do this once or twice for good measure.

4. Place the snake in his new tub with white paper towels and cheap furniture. This will allow you to observe any resurgence of mites.

5. After a week or two give the snake another light spray to get anything you might have missed. Eggs are notoriously resilient, but live mites die pretty easily.

This approach did the trick for me.

[Sunnieskys]

All I have to say I mites suck! Especially when you have 8 snakes your dealing with! Hate those buggers. I used the spray for the snakes themselves.

[Prognathodon]

PetCo also has smaller spray bottles of the stuff Regius_049 linked to. I got some of it to start anti-mite operations until I could get some PAM shipped to me, but haven't ordered the PAM as this stuff seems to be working well.

My mite victim (only one so far, knock wood) is in a clear polycarbonate Cambro food service tub, which on a light-colored surface makes it fairly easy to see the little monsters. I wipe down his hides with the spray, and switch water bowls. Water bowl goes in soapy water. I figure a 48+ hour soak is plenty to drown any mites. If you're worried, use bleach water. At this point I'm changing his paper towel and water bowl and wiping down the hides once a week. (first couple times were 4-5 days, per spray instructions). I let the spray (mostly) dry on the fresh paper towels before cleaning the tub. While tub-cleaning the snake goes in a lightly-sprayed deli cup.

I'll be treating this way for a month at minimum, possibly longer, as it was over a month after I got the snake that the mite population exploded.


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