i did not find the original instructions on paper, google didnt help, but i did find this:

http://www.pro-products.com/index.ph...d=53&Itemid=59

it does not explicitly say to not use it on the reptile. (i think the actual instructions do say it explicitly and also say to wait until it has dried and the smell is gone before returning the reptile). But it says that it works by using it on the substrate, and then the product stays active and continues to kill mites in the substrate for 30 days. it says you spray for one second per square foot of substrate.

it says that while no product, not even provent-a-mite, can kill the eggs, the mechanism is that the baby mites get killed as they hatch by the still active provent-a-mite in the substrate and before they have a chance to get to your reptile.

and my google search also uncovered threads like: "help! provent a mite killed 2 of my snakes!" . i guess thats what can happen if you dont follow the instructions, go guerilla, and use it directly on the snake.

so thats what i patched together, unfortunately without the official instructions:

take out the reptile, then spray for 1 second per square foot only on the areas covered with substrate. dont spray naked areas. then wait for the smell to go away and for the product to dry. maybe an hour? then, return the reptile. it will continue to kill mites for 30 days, after 30 days you can repeat the process if necessary.

of course if it turns out the instructions of provent-a-mite say something else, then i am wrong and the instructions are right.