Safest mite treatment for snakes

[JJpeep]

Hey everyone,
Unpleased to announce we found mites on one of our corn snakes. I took three off and killed them. Soaked him and two came off in the water. We bleached his enclosure and threw everything that we didn't want to keep out. His bowl and hide were soaked. We put just put paper towel, a bowl and a hide in. My Dad and I did an inspection. We have SEVERAL snakes, corns, ball pythons, house snakes and one spotted python. We only found two mites in the spotted, one was on him, the other was on his paper towel. We soaked him and nothing else came off. Nobody else had them (I understand eggs and such can be embedded and all of that), so I am not saying we are clean by no means. We had a Burmese python one time that had a terrible case. It was awful. This is no where near that extend. But still want to clean everyone and secure everybody so no one gets sick and to rid of these little sh*theads. Can anyone tell me what is the safest way to get rid of them. Products to use (mite sprays? Bleach? Other products) for the enclosure? Also, safest products to use on the snake itself? I heard intervecton (not sure of the spelling) is good but some snakes can have bad reactions. I don't wanna kill any of my snakes. I want to go as natural, but effective. I am open to suggestions. Thanks for the help in advance.

[Bogertophis]

Bleach is not needed, nor is it recommended, for dealing with mites- it's very toxic, and ALL TRACE of the fumes/odor MUST be removed so your snake doesn't get sick/harmed by it. (it's not good for us to breath it either!)

From a previous thread- it comes up quite often: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...=1#post2771656

If the hides are plastic, just soap & water is fine (same for water bowl)- but if they're wood (like the tree bark things) get rid of them (outside in trash can) as mites leave eggs in them to hatch in about a month- there's no good way to clean wood (including any natural branches you might be using) to get rid of mites.

The safest methods (what I'd do first) is a closely supervised soak in SHALLOW tepid water for about 20 minutes (not over the snakes body height- he should not have to keep swimming) with a drop or 2 (ONLY) of mild dish soap (IVORY OR DAWN)- that tiny bit of soap breaks the surface tension, otherwise the mites don't drown, they float/swim. A soak will NOT get all mites, as some can hide on your snake's head- DO NOT DROWN your snake- some mites may hide around the eyes, nostrils, chin.

I've never used it, but many have- but IF I had a snake with mites, I'd personally try the Natural Chemistry product (least toxic option- it desiccates the mites, not a pesticide) but follow directions closely for whatever you choose. Both the bathing & the Nat. Chem. are methods you can (& may need to) repeat, but they're safest.

Keep the snake on white paper towels for a while- so the mites show up easier.

Ivermectin- is dangerous to snakes, IMO. I wouldn't use it...

[JJpeep]

Thank You. I did not want to go the bleach route. Because I want to try provide the least harsh ways to care for all of my animals. But that is the first thing we thought of. We actually ended up using bleach on the old enclosures. We had extras around and put them in all new ones. I am going to check out that product you suggested, but in the meantime I will do the dawn soap thing as well.

What do you think of the olive oil method? Does that actually work?

We just kept the bowl and the plastic hide. Everything else went in the trash.

I really appreciate the response. We were ordering from an online store at the time we found the mites. I had a bunch of mite products in the cart and decided to delete all of that and ask what would be best on here. Thanks again, really appreciate it.

[Bogertophis]

Thank You. I did not want to go the bleach route. Because I want to try provide the least harsh ways to care for all of my animals. But that is the first thing we thought of. We actually ended up using bleach on the old enclosures. We had extras around and put them in all new ones. I am going to check out that product you suggested, but in the meantime I will do the dawn soap thing as well.

What do you think of the olive oil method? Does that actually work?

We just kept the bowl and the plastic hide. Everything else went in the trash.

I really appreciate the response. We were ordering from an online store at the time we found the mites. I had a bunch of mite products in the cart and decided to delete all of that and ask what would be best on here. Thanks again, really appreciate it.

DO NOT use oil (olive or any other kind) on snakes- the idea is to smother mites with it, but the dish soap/soak is the better way. Oils mess up their skin & future sheds, plus they can get it in their nose, etc- just don't...

I hate mites, they're awful, but happily I've only ever had 2 (new) snakes with them, & that was many years ago- none since. I agree with using the least harmful methods (to your snake).

Don't forget that mites can transfer on your clothing to your other snakes- so work on the others first, then the one with mites, & shower/change clothes before handling others- just in case. One snake to treat is bad enough.

[EL-Ziggy]

I’ve heard really good things about Frontline as a treatment for snake mites.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BwCAuhSVRV4

[JJpeep]

I agree. One is enough to treat. Thanks for the advice. This is exactly why I wanted to ask here first. Just to make sure I was doing the right thing. I hate taking medicine myself. So I always lean toward the least harsh way possible. I don't want any one of our snakes to die because of a chemical or wrong way treating something. I liked the olive oil method because it was natural. But it makes sense. I'll use the dawn. I am gonna get that natural chemistry mite spray. In case I notice it gets out of hand.

[Bogertophis]

I’ve heard really good things about Frontline as a treatment for snake mites.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BwCAuhSVRV4

It's apparently effective, but still, it's a pretty potent pesticide & not really designed for snakes (especially tiny ones), but for much larger warm-blooded pets- which are vastly different creatures. I prefer to avoid pesticides when possible, as does the OP. Anyway, I think it's also mentioned in bcr229's post which I quoted above, listing the various options for mites.

[JJpeep]

All our snakes are yearlings or less in age. Another reason I do not want to use anything harsh. Most are very young. I don't even use pesticide shampoo or anything on my dogs. I have had mites on other creatures, warm blooded ones and I have always went the natural route and it seemed to work. So I am hoping the same for our snakes.

[JJpeep]

You guys, is this the spray. I am so nervous about using anything on them. I have been down the internet rabbit hole with this. Horror stories galore. I don't want to lose a snake to some nasty sprays. I ordered this and it came the other day. Yes that is little snake soaking in his dawn water. I used the two drops of dawn in the shallow water like was suggested. Cleaned out his enclosure again, his hide and his bowl. Still have him on just paper towel.

[Bogertophis]

You guys, is this the spray. I am so nervous about using anything on them. I have been down the internet rabbit hole with this. Horror stories galore. I don't want to lose a snake to some nasty sprays. I ordered this and it came the other day. Yes that is little snake soaking in his dawn water. I used the two drops of dawn in the shallow water like was suggested. Cleaned out his enclosure again, his hide and his bowl. Still have him on just paper towel.

That's a different brand, so compare the ingredients (you can read them better than I can) to THIS > > >

https://www.whatsinproducts.com/type...ray/14-023-033

"Natural Chemistry" is the only brand I'm aware of & that's why we recommended it (I've used some other products they make & personally think it's a reliable brand also)- but it's entirely possible that another company is making virtually the same thing. What matters is what's in it. Read carefully.