The dreaded bugs...

[kristan]

So this has to do more with "reptile husbandry" than strictly bps, but..
My large female blood went blue last week so I had gotten her out for a couple of soaks. While getting her out for her second one on Weds I noticed that one eye looked sunken in, and the next thing I know there are mites floating in her bin. In 10 or so years of having reptiles I've only seen mites once (years ago at a store in NY) so I was pretty surprised. I'm dealing with it now but I'm trying to figure out where they came from. The particular snake that is infested has been in my possession since 2009 and has not come in contact with any snakes other than those in my collection. My two most recent acquisitions were 4/11 and 5/11. The snake I got in Apr is currently with the rest of my collection and was CBB from a local person. I have personally seen his collection and am 100% positive that he has clean, healthy animals. The May snake is a BM import, but it is still in quarantine, appears very healthy, and has no signs of mites whatsoever. I have obviously treated all (except the infested snake, she is still in shed) of my snakes and cages (with the Nix solution) but the only enclosure I found any mites in is the original female's. I did not find any mites on any other animals or in any other cages. I have heard of others getting mites on their clothes and bringing them home that way. I only have one friend that has reptiles, who's house I have not been to in probably 6 months, and I have not been to a reptile show since mid May. I did not handle or buy anything at the show. I have been to one pet store in the past several months, two days before I found the infestation, and I did not touch or buy anything while there. So..I began thinking about my feeders, which I've been buying from the same person for a few years now without issue (also they're frozen so I'm assuming that this is not an option). I got new batch of frozen feeders on Memorial Day, which where frozen for several days before I used any. Also, the person I was getting them from (my one friend with snakes) met up with me so I would not have to drive as far..I hopped out of my car, he handed me a box, and off I went. Any ideas? I would really love to be able to figure out what happened to I can keep it from happening again.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to limit exposure, it can still happen. Those little buggers can certainly be a mystery. I had them one time a few years ago and it was exactly like you describe. Only in one enclosure, on one snake I'd had long term, and no reasonable explanation for it. Needless to say I tore my house apart cleaning and treating everything in site for the next 2 months lol!

All it takes is one female to hitch a ride.

[Vypyrz]

When I had my first mite outbreak a couple of years ago, I called Pro-Products to inquire about Provent-A-Mite. During the conversation, they told me that mite eggs can lay dormant for months until specific temperature and humidity requirements are met, and then they will become active and hatch. I haven't come across any studies to back that up, but if I do, I will post them.

[kristan]

Thanks for the replies. My girl finally shed, which by the looks of it, got rid of several mites, so I was able to treat her. I have not found any mites anywhere since treating her two days ago. I'm going to treat all cages and animals again in a week or so, and possibly do a third treatment (not sure yet), and then a maintenance treatment (to catch any stragglers) in about two months. I think I caught them pretty quick, so I'm hoping I'm done with them. I'm wondering if this had anything to do with the weather. I know we've had a bit of an explosion in the tick population this year as well.

[Maixx]

Depending on what kind of substrate and where you get it, they can get transmitted that way.
Example: aspen from Petco, that has a mite infestation can carry mites or eggs.

I treat my new substrate with PAM every time I change it out as a preventative measure.

[kristan]

Thanks, I thought about that as well, but I use paper for half of my critters and the other half (my gtps) do not have any substrate. I do however have potting soil and sphagnum moss. I bought the moss back in March, and it has been used a few times in my gtp cages, which are mite free. I never used it in the infected cage but I'm guessing that snake probably came in pretty close contact with it at some point.

[bkelley02]

I treat my new substrate with PAM every time I change it out as a preventative measure.

I do the same thing.

[Helix]

I was just wondering. Soon I am going to get PAM just to be safe, and I got question about how to use it..

I ve seen that some people after they are finished with the treatment of their enclosure, they throw out the substrate(we are talking about loose sustrate like aspen), and replace it with new one so the snake doesnt ingest treated substrate.

Also, I ve seen people treating the substrate and not changing it, as people say, once PAM is dry, it is safe for the snake.

So which way to use it is the best?

[bkelley02]

If I was fighting a known problem, I'd keep the snake on paper towels until I knew the mites were gone. Then, I'd go back to having the substrate ( treated and dried ) back in the enclosure. Others can chime in if they have a better approach that has worked for them.