How did your snake get mites?

[Bogertophis]

...Back then I used no pest strips, but not sure how safe that is any more....

Same here...they were safe & very effective IF you used them very carefully & in a limited way (in 'cages' so the snakes couldn't touch them) & for not too long,
then repeated the treatment once. I don't consider ANY pesticides really safe though, so prevention is always better than the cure. It's just like the many things
we are exposed to that are carcinogenic etc.-some of us hold up better than others, & multiple exposures probably has a lot to do with what we can fight off.

[Sonny1318]

Same here...they were safe & very effective IF you used them very carefully & in a limited way (in 'cages' so the snakes couldn't touch them) & for not too long,
then repeated the treatment once. I don't consider ANY pesticides really safe though, so prevention is always better than the cure. It's just like the many things
we are exposed to that are carcinogenic etc.-some of us hold up better than others, & multiple exposures probably has a lot to do with what we can fight off.

I remember removing the water dishes, and placing small pieces in little Rubbermaid containers I drilled holes in. And then only leaving them in their enclosure’s for a limited time. I can’t remember more then that at the moment, lol.

[Bogertophis]

I remember removing the water dishes, and placing small pieces in little Rubbermaid containers I drilled holes in. And then only leaving them in their enclosure’s for a limited time. I can’t remember more then that at the moment, lol.

Yes, like you, I only used a small piece, like an inch maybe? Then I suspended it in a wire cage from the cage top, & blocked most of the airflow so there was a space
for incoming fresh air, and a space for outflow (over the UTH where the air was naturally rising). If I remember right the initial treatment was about 12 hours max, &
the follow-up was 8 hours, but don't quote me, it's been many years. I don't miss having mites at all! I do know that I never saw any adverse reaction in the 2 snakes
I treated, but 2 isn't a big study group. There are very few things that I am willing to use a pesticide for: mites are one, wasps are the other, & both are rare occasions.

[kristan]

I've only had one issue with mites...years ago when I lived in an end 3rd story apt of a fairly upscale apt building. I had not added any new animals in probably 2 years, had not been to any pet stores for at least 6 months, used newspaper as substrate, and had been using frozen feeders that I had in a spare chest freezer at my mom's (i was using that batch for quite some time). And I did not (and currently do not) have any friends that kept/keep reptiles. The only thing I can think of is that a baby bird had flown in the window about a week or two prior and it took me several minutes to catch it and get it back outside. I'm wondering if it could have carried some mites in...? Anyways, I caught them very early, mainly in one of my blood pythons cages (I had had her about 3 years at the time). I treated all of my tanks just in case, and they were gone pretty quickly.

[redshepherd]

One of my snakes probably arrived with a mite or two that got onto the shipment box, because the mites didn't show up until a whole month (or a month and a half?) after I had the snake. And they were a ton of babies at that point, plus only two or three adults.

So quarantining is necessary! Things can linger and not show up for an entire month or more.

Anyway, it's not possible to get snake mites just from bringing your snake outdoors, because snake mites are not native to North America. They're only circulating within the reptile trade or new imports, so you can only get them from an infected captive snake at a show, shop, etc. or touching one and accidentally bringing them home.

Finding them on feeders would also be very rare, because snake mites don't live on feeders... The only way would be if the feeder recently came in direct contact with an infected snake.

[zhang317]

Anyway, it's not possible to get snake mites just from bringing your snake outdoors, because snake mites are not native to North America. They're only circulating within the reptile trade or new imports, so you can only get them from an infected captive snake at a show, shop, etc. or touching one and accidentally bringing them home.

Yeah, I realize they are not native to North America. However, I currently live in East Asia. There are many wild snakes around my house, and I found one in the garage once. (Don't worry, my snake is kept upstairs). I'm not sure if snake mites are native to here, but given the warm temperatures and high humidity, I'm guessing its entirely possible, so I just want to be extra careful. Thanks!

[Bogertophis]

Eww, another reason to get rid of snake mites! If correct, this article from a seemingly reliable source says they can get on humans too! I was actually
searching for an article that talks about where -what countries?- snake mites are found in nature. This article claims they are worldwide, while I've previously
found that the distribution, so far, does not include the U.S.A.-? You'll notice at the very top this comes from NIH, the Nation Institute of Health.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4345101/

[Bogertophis]

I've only had one issue with mites...years ago when I lived in an end 3rd story apt of a fairly upscale apt building. I had not added any new animals in probably 2 years, had not been to any pet stores for at least 6 months, used newspaper as substrate, and had been using frozen feeders that I had in a spare chest freezer at my mom's (i was using that batch for quite some time). And I did not (and currently do not) have any friends that kept/keep reptiles. The only thing I can think of is that a baby bird had flown in the window about a week or two prior and it took me several minutes to catch it and get it back outside. I'm wondering if it could have carried some mites in...? Anyways, I caught them very early, mainly in one of my blood pythons cages (I had had her about 3 years at the time). I treated all of my tanks just in case, and they were gone pretty quickly.

Out of curiosity, what country do you live in? Snake mites are not native to the USA (so far as we know) but birds sure do carry their own mites, and when I read your
post it occurred to me that you might not be in the USA, in which case I'd imagine that a bird could have brought in your snake's mites. Or maybe, bird mites might also
like snakes, or vice-versa? (-does anyone know off-hand? We need to recruit some zoo-keepers for membership...)

[kristan]

I'm in the United States (PA). It wasnt until months later that I had considered the bird incident...thinking that maybe bird mites could also live on reptiles. It was just such a bizarre situation, I didn't really know what else to blame it on. Two Nix treatments later I was bug free.

[zhang317]

Eww, another reason to get rid of snake mites! If correct, this article from a seemingly reliable source says they can get on humans too! I was actually
searching for an article that talks about where -what countries?- snake mites are found in nature. This article claims they are worldwide, while I've previously
found that the distribution, so far, does not include the U.S.A.-? You'll notice at the very top this comes from NIH, the Nation Institute of Health.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4345101/

Thank you for the article. Its helpful to also have a perspective from the scientific community, which can help shed light what we find in the pet-keeping community.