Mites. Dang.

[Derekroth91]

How exactly do I treat mites? I have ten cages in my room and somehow I picked up mites. I know I have to spray every cage and everything in every cage and rub down every animal. Can I use provent a mite or all this? Do I have to do everything outside the cage too? Like in my room

[Pythonfriend]

first, identify the "mites". Many things that look like mites can be harmless, while real mites are often underestimated. Springtails cannot bite, cannot sting, eat only microscopic biofilm, are harmless and near impossible to wipe out, but they are soft and when you manage to squeeze one against anything it just turns into a tiny smudge without resistance. And they are barely visible as black dots, but when your finger comes close they jump. Mites cannot jump, they stick to the snake and suck blood from the snake, and their bodies are hard, almost like a grain of sand. And if they break and the result is a red smudge, meaning it sucked blood, thats a problem.

Can you make pictures that show the issue? I know its hard because the mites, be they harmless or not, are small.

Best Regards

EDIT: are they active on the snakes? if yes, thats bad.

[Derekroth91]

I've tried for a few minutes but they really don't show up on pics. They were indeed hard. The first one I saw was a under a scale. I picked up the scale a little bit to actually look at it with a magnifying glass. It went from under the scale and tried to run away and almost dug under another scale before I got it

[Pythonfriend]

sounds very bad. sounds really like some nasty mites. If they like to be under the scales of snakes, they are bloodsuckers.

You need to visit a vet ASAP. I guess it will be a medication that is (more or less) harmless for the python but deadly for the mites, or the whole surface of the snake gets treated with something. And at the same time all substrate and everything needs to be replaced or cleaned to the point of being sterile. Good luck! But this time, i think, this forum cannot replace a veterinarian. Consider anything i said merely as hints, except that you really need a professional now.

[Inarikins]

Provent a mite. Follow the directions. The ones not on the snakes will either go back to the snakes or die. And the ones that go back to the snakes will get killed off by another treatment of provent a mite.

[Pythonfriend]

"Provent a mite. Follow the directions. The ones not on the snakes will either go back to the snakes or die. And the ones that go back to the snakes will get killed off by another treatment of provent a mite."

That might work. But i would still maybe cautiously advise to see a vet. Preferrably one with snake and/or reptile experience. Thats the safe way.

Best Regards

[Derekroth91]

Thanks guys! I think I'll do a really thorough provent a mite treatment tomorow and if I still any alive or any signs I'll call in to the vet. He has much reptile experience but he is a bit pricey cuz he worked at a zoo for thirty some years. So it's a good thing cuz he has experience but either way ill give him a call

[Evenstar]

Thousands of snakes get mites very frequently and unless the snake is already weak or has been infested with mites for a very long time and become anemic as a result, a vet visit simply for mites is an overstatement. I am NEVER one to suggest staying away from a vet - that is quite often my very first suggestion for a problem. But mites are common and fixing that problem is not hard if you do it the right way with the right product. A vet visit is quite unnecessary at this point.

You could use PAM for your enclosures - follow the directions VERY carefully. Do NOT use this directly on your animals.

I highly recommend that you use this stuff on your animals: http://www.reptilebasics.com/mite-killers. You can spray this directly on your animals and it will kill the mites on contact by destroying their exoskeleton. Personally, I would also use this in the enclosures as well and not use the PAM at all. The Reptile Spray is much much safer than PAM and it, too, kills with a residual effect and kills eggs too.

You should not need to use anything in the room, although, depending on the substrate you use, multiple treatments may be necessary.

To illustrate my point, I purchased a baby sunglow boa at the Tinley Park expo in October. Found mites on her that first night in the hotel room. Promptly went back to the expo the next morning intending to grab a can of PAM and nuke everything. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to speak with Rich from Reptile Basics before I did that and he gave me a bottle of Reptile Spray and told me how to use it. I sprayed down my baby in the hotel room sink and watched the mites die (and, yes, these were the little hard ones that squished blood and were active on the snake). My baby was instantly and completely mite-free! I sprayed and wiped down her small travel tub and put in fresh paper towels. Also sprayed the other boa I'd purchased the day before as well to be on the safe side. I didn't come home with a single one of these little buggers, the problem was solved in one morning after only 30 minutes, and no vet was involved.

Mites are a nuisance for sure, but nothing more than that if treated promptly.

[reptilelove18]

i just finished treating my BP for mites that were also underneath her scales, unfortunately she brought them home from the pet store..
i used a pesticide called Sevin Dust, the 5 percent dust at the recommendation of the local reptile rescue. she has used it to get rid off mites off of her snakes when she brought a rescue home and all of hers were infected after that.
you can find Sevin Dust at lowes, walmart, orchard and you want to make sure you get the 5 percent dust. what you do is pull any toys, rocks, substrate, and hide out and place in plastic bin or plastic bag. if using bin, line the rim of the bin with some kind of vegetable oil to prevent escape. dust heavily on all of the stuff and seal it up for bout 1 and 1/2 weeks or 2 weeks because it doesnt kill the eggs but if you leave it for that long the eggs will hatch and it will kill the new mites. now, clean out the bp's home with bleach water and rinse really really well to get all the bleach out. place paper towels or clean pillow case on the bottom of the home and put a couple properly size cardboard boxes in for hides, as well as a water bowl.
next step, oil your hands with vegetable oil and allow your snake to slither thru your hands, coating it with the oil, but not soaking it so its dripping off. get some on its underthroat and a little on the very top of the head but none in the vents or nostrils. place it back into its home and let it be.
the oil will sufficate the mites and not hurt your snake at all, may cause a crappy shed, but mites wil do that anyways. you can repeat the oil treatment several times, bout 5 days in between each treatment. you can also bath your snake in between treatments just to wash away dead mites but you dont absolutely have to.
after 2 weeks of all the stuff from the tank sitting in the dust and the mites on your snake being killed from the oil treatment, rinse all the stuff and shake out the substrate and place back in home, removing paper towels or pillowcase and card board boxes and your snake will be good to go! mites all gone!!!!

[SquamishSerpents]

I'd rather use PAM