Hello all

The dreaded word....MITES... I notice for the last two days my snake was acting very different. Quite active during the day which never happens and hanging by the water bowl more than usual. Just by looking at her in the cage I couldn't notice anything so I took her out for a up and close inspection and found three mites that I could see. Of course I am freaking out. I quarantined her in a tub, moved her out and took the cage to the garage for cleaning. For the cage I am going to use prevent a mite which leads me to my question. The direction say leave substrate in and not to spray in a bare cage. For me the first thing I did was get rid of the substrate that was in there. My plan was for treatment just use paper towels for the bottom. So why can't I just spray an empty cage (along with the fake plants I have in there and water bowl removed), use paper towels for the duration of treatment and when finished, place brand new substrate back in? Maybe I am just reading into the directions too much, but with that said this is my first time having to deal with this and I want to make sure I do it right and be safe. Also I did treat the snake itself with Natural Chemistry Reptile Spray. Any kind of advice, tips, etc is so much appreciated!

Thanks