Ugh......Mites

[AussieSnakes48]

Mites can be in the bedding when it is purchased if your pet store has ever or does have mites. Mites spread like wild fire, and are always looking for a new host, kind of like fleas. They may spread into bedding and lay eggs, that is why it is always good to treat even the new bedding you purchase from any store as it may have mites inside.

No, but you can give it a large enough water bowl for it to soak in.

Ok. Cant wait to get PAM tomorrow....

[bsash]

I got the snake on July 10th, bedding change was gonna be tomorrow, I have only been doing spot cleanings. I got the snake from a show in Maryland. I only noticed the mites because I was changing the water dish, which is done every two days. I never noticed any before and the snake is fed frozen thawed. The bedding is over two years old, its aspen I had in my basement from when I used to have snakes. It was such a large back I never wanted to part with it. It 6pm here in NJ, no stores are open, Pets smart only had Jurassi mite. Should I use it until I get the provent a mite? I am hoping to find someone in NJ that carries it tomorrow. In the mean time I will take the bedding and all out.

Hey, I didn't realize you lived in New Jersey. However, I'm bringing you bad news by telling you that none of the stores around here carries it. I would of offered you my can of P.A.M if I knew you were local, but I just used the last little bit for my cage cleanings, sorry. You could use any mite killer just to try and get it a little bit under control until you can get the P.A.M. and hopefully give your snake a little relief.

[Bones]

Aussie, I wouldn't worry about trying any other "mite killers" but PAM. PAM will take care of them right away. Don't waste your money on anything else.

[Vypyrz]

You can order Provent-A-Mite (PAM) directly from Pro-Products. Follow the directions exactly. This stuff is potent. You shouldn't need to use the whole can, and you don't need to saturate everything, just a uniform, even coating. Make sure you remove the snake and water bowl. Treat everything else: enclosure, bedding, hides (inside and out), and any furnishings. Spray some on a paper towel and wipe it around the upper ledges and edges of the enclosure. Allow it to dry and then replace the snake and water bowl. One treatment will last for about 30 days. If you need to replace the substrate, just treat the new substrate before putting it in. Most of the live mites will be dead in the first day or two and you will continue to see a straggler or two over the next week or so as any eggs hatch and those mites die off...


http://www.pro-products.com/

[AussieSnakes48]

You can order Provent-A-Mite (PAM) directly from Pro-Products. Follow the directions exactly. This stuff is potent. You shouldn't need to use the whole can, and you don't need to saturate everything, just a uniform, even coating. Make sure you remove the snake and water bowl. Treat everything else: enclosure, bedding, hides (inside and out), and any furnishings. Spray some on a paper towel and wipe it around the upper ledges and edges of the enclosure. Allow it to dry and then replace the snake and water bowl. One treatment will last for about 30 days. If you need to replace the substrate, just treat the new substrate before putting it in. Most of the live mites will be dead in the first day or two and you will continue to see a straggler or two over the next week or so as any eggs hatch and those mites die off...


http://www.pro-products.com/

Thank you very much. I ordered it due to no one carrying it but I talked a retailer into carrying it and he is looking into it. Is there anything I should do in the meantime while I wait for my delivery? I changed the bedding to paper towel and wiped the tank out with a diluted bleach. I feel like I should be doing more while I wait. I did this to the tank last night. Im returning whatever it is I bought at Petsmart. I bought it out of desperation and fear lol.

[AussieSnakes48]

The craziest part of it all to me is Im 31 and been keeping snakes since I was 12 and I never had mites. Ive had kings, childreni, corns, water snakes,JCP's, bull snakes, and one BP I rescued and adopted out after I got it healthy. For people reading this, never say never.....

[loonunit]

Should I soak the snake in water?

If the infestation has gotten bad enough and the snake is starting to look miserable, I'd actually advocate letting him swim for 10 minutes in the bath tub, with room temp water and maybe a few drops of dish soap. (Careful with the dish soap--slightly soapy water speeds drowning of pests on house plants, by breaking the surface tension of the water and not letting them breathe. But snakes absorb stuff pretty readily through their scales. So no anti-bacterial whatever.)

Plus, ball pythons are hysterical when you make them take baths.

But otherwise, yeah, he'll soak himself in the water bowl. Just make sure he has a big enough water bowl to fit in.

[Bones]

I noticed my snake was soaking in his water dish a lot, which he normally didn't do, and that's when I found out he had mites. If he gets mites again, I'm not even going to bother soaking him. After all the stuff I went through to get rid of the mites, it is just another pointless step that didn't really do anything for my snake. I'm just going to bust out the PAM and let it do the job for me.

[Vypyrz]

The only time I had to deal with mites, I just changed the paper towels and water out each night and soaked the snake for about 10 minutes each night to help drown off as many as possible until the PAM arrived. Just make sure the water isn't too deep and supervise the swimming. Also when mine would finish soaking I would dry him off with paper towels and immediately put them in a plastic bag, toss in a little flea and tick powder and tie the bag up and toss it in the can outside. That may have been a little overkill but... meh... It made me feel better. Then I would go throw my clothes in the washing machine and take a shower...

If you are in Jersey, It shouldn't take but a day or two to get the Provent-A-Mite since it is shipped from New York...

*Edit* I forgot to add that, like Loonunit said above, I did use a a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Just enough to mix in with the water but not create any suds.

[AussieSnakes48]

The outbreak seems minimal at the moment luckily, they actually seem more at ease. I also saw it was being shipped from NY, I was so happy! Thanks for everything, everyone!