waiting on PAM...

[elsie mae]

I discovered mites on my baby ball last night, she is in shed and has just recently passed the opaque stage, is there anything i can do while i wait on PAM. She soaked last night and I cleaned all aroud her aquarium, and scrbbed the aquarium itself....

[spitzu]

Supposedly you can soak it in water with a tiny bit of plain dishwashing soap; just enough to break the water tension but not enough to create suds. I guess it drowns the mites after some period of time.

Sorry I can't be more precise but I've never had to do it.

Edit: Found JLC's post. http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Mite-treatment

Here's what I've heard about palmolive (or any liquid dish detergent). If you get a snake with mites, you put ONE DROP of the detergent into a tub of water and then put the snake into the water. If you just put a mite-infested snake in plain water, a bubble of air forms around each mite because of water tension. The detergent breaks that tension, so mites going into the water will drown. This may very well help relieve your snake of many of the mites infesting it at that moment and help it to feel better for the time being. HOWEVER, there's no guarantee that all the mites will drown, and this treatment does nothing about any eggs the mites have lain.

So...palmolive = safe, immediate relief from biting mites.
Provent-a-Mite = safe, permanent solution to a mite problem.

[llovelace]

Welcome to BP.net

You've already soaked your snake, and being that it's in shed you don't want to soak again, this will leach away the necessary oils for a proper shed.

Hopwfully the soaking killed most of the mites, and will offer some relief until the pam shows up.

You could spray the enclosure with nix or equate lice spray from walmart, let it air out/dry for an hour.

[elsie mae]

would it be ok if i change the paper towels because there are about 18 mites on the paper towels now...

[spitzu]

Yes...

[blueberrypancakes]

I'm waiting on the PAM too! Sounds like we're in the same boat- I was just miserable seeing my little Jackson be miserable! I have done every two days Dawn treatment since I saw the mites, and he is looking soo much better. Just make sure you clean out the tank really well, especially the corners where the buggies can hide and lay their eggs. Use bleach, but then rinse really well with hot water before putting your snake back in. Clean all hides the same way. (This is what I was told to do when I asked the same question, and I had great results.) I had a couple of wooden pieces, so I boiled those and left them out to dry under my heat lamp overnight.

[akaangela]

You can also go down and get some reptile relief. Most pet stores sell it. You can spray it on your snake and it is suppose to kill mites. I would still use the PAM as well when you get it. Be careful if you use something that is not for reptiles. It might be safe it might not be. Since you have a baby you don't want to use anything harsh on it. Good luck.

[llovelace]

Don't waste your money on the reptile relief, soaking with dish soak is a more effective way to kill the hatched mites on your animal.

[Hull357]

im waiting on PAM too i spoke to PRO-Products today they said that anything placed order wise over the weekend will be shipping out most likely tommorow morning just what i was told. figured i would share some relief with you.

[adamjeffery]

dont use any chemicals at all while your animal is in teh shedding process. you can seriously damage the skin if not kill your snake by using chemicals during this time. just keep soaking and wait a full day minimum after it sheds to use any chemicals. i wouldnt even use stuff on the tank until its done shedding.
adam jeffery