Help with mite issue on rainbow boa.

[Rainbowboachaos]

A friend refferred me here, and said you guys are super helpful. So here's my issue. I purchased my first snake saturday, and to my surprise he has mites. I have taken in so much information on how to eradicate them, yet I have hit an unfortunate snag. Whilst there are next to none exploring his body, eyes, or mouth, there are two or three clusters inside his belly scales. I have soaked him, tried any sprays that were recommened. This is my last attempt before I go to the vet. I currently can not handle him because he should shed tonight. I checked him and he already has a little peeeling off. I was advised to await further treatment until after shedding because they might come losse when he sheds. I don't know much, but I deduce shedding is just the outer layer of skin. Not entire scales lol. So... I'm not sure what to do or how to essentially get them out of the scales.

[dwilliams]

Get a can of Provent a mite .follow the directions on the can and mites will disappear guaranteed.Nothing works like Provent a mite

[Rainbowboachaos]

I am awaiting my older to come in, but the other sprays I have used are killing all of them. I just can't get the stuff under his scales. I'm up in arms about this. I'm assuming they are alive being they are still there. I'm a new snake owner so I might be a little paranoid.

[gaitedappy]

Just stay calm the provent a mite should help. If he is not on paper towel as substrate you should make the switch until the misses are gone


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[Rainbowboachaos]

I have been advised to do that. But I'm waiting on the product. He is currently burrowed up in some eco earth. I appreciate the time. I'll give it a whirl. I'm a new snake owner so all advice is welcome. Thank you.

[gaitedappy]

The sooner you get him on paper the better because you'll actually be able to see the mites on the paper as they die. Also if he's on paper give him a humid hide to make up for the switch from the Eco earth to paper. Just keep your chin up, mites are annoying but with a little patience and hard work they are fairly easy to be rid of


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[bcr229]

Get him off the eco-earth and onto newspaper or paper towels, the mites will love laying the eggs in the eco-earth and you will never be rid of them. Throw away the eco-earth from the enclosure.

While you wait for the PAM you can soak your snake in lukewarm water with a mere drop of mild dish soap in it to reduce the surface tension of the water; your snake should not look like it's taking a bubble bath. Since the mites can't float they will drown.

Or instead of PAM you can use the instructions here:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...it-with-AaronP

BRB's in particular are very sensitive to chemicals so don't ever use a permethrin-based product like PAM or NIX on them directly.

[Lady mkrj58]

.kjj

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[Gilligan]

I recently dealt with mites. It was terrifying but not as hard to manage as it may sound. What I did was go thru all my tubs, put the snake in a gently warm soaking tub for like 20 minutes (not so deep that they have to swim), and while soaking, I went and washed the cage with bleach water, rinsed thoroughly, and sprayed Walgreens lice bedding spray in the cages. Very light coating I think like one second per cubic foot of cage. There are many threads out there debating whether or not to use it instead of Provent A Mite. It has the same active ingredient, just the bedding spray is like .5 percent instead of 1 percent. I never had any problems with it, and it's cheaper and accessible in stores. I was freaking out so much about the mites that I didn't want to wait for a shipment. Let the spray dry completely, then you can put the hides and water bowl in the cage. Use paper towels instead of bedding for a few weeks until you see no more signs of mites. Hides and water bowls should be washed thoroughly before being put in the cage.

So, I also used the Natural Chemistry reptile relief/reptile spray. You can sometimes find it in major pet stores. Call and ask. You can spray it on a paper towel then rub the towel along the snake, maybe wrapping it around them and letting the snake slither through it. Do not get it in the eyes and mouth. It will safely kill what's on the snake by drying them out. Make sure to maintain humidity levels in the cage. Do not put anything in the cage for now except paper towels, hides for security, and the water bowl. Don't spray the water bowl with the chemical sprays at all.

I changed the paper towels daily for a little while. Put the trash outside of your house ASAP. Mites will travel. You can use the Provent a mite or bedding spray around your home in case they're travelling. I sprayed my shelf/rack with it to prevent them from traveling to other cages. I soaked the snake and washed the cage and supplies and sprayed the bedding spray once per week for a few weeks. Follow the directions on the bottle for the reptile relief spray.

It's scary, but they're not so hard to get rid of. These steps worked very well for me. Good luck!

[Sauzo]

Have you tried predatory mites? Google Stratiolaelaps scimitus. That's the name of them and I guess they only eat reptile mites and other mites. So they will breed in the reptile enclosure and eat all the snake mites, eggs and juveniles. Then they die off when there is no food left. I haven't tried them personally but I guess they are a big thing in the UK for snake mites and seem really safe.