Mites Question???

[travis11]

What happens if you know your BP has MITES and you don't treat them? The reason i ask is because you always here everyone talk about how bad MITES are, but i have never heard what happens if you don't take care of this problem. (Besides the obvious discomfort to your snake). By the way this is something that i would never do, just curious as to what potential outcomes may take place from this neglect.

[The Serpent Merchant]

If mites are not dealt with, they can cause problem such as:

• stress
• shedding problems
• anemia
• loss of appetite
• and eventually death.

[travis11]

Wow ok. Apparently it is as serious as people make it. Well i did discover MITES on my BP about 5 days ago and am currently waiting for the shipment of Mite Off and PAM to come in, which should be here Thur or Fri. So i hope that a 1 week time frame of when i first found them to actually treating them is ok?

[The Serpent Merchant]

You should be ok, just make sure you follow the directions with the PAM (it is a very dangerous chemical not to be messed with)

In the mean time remove everything from the cage and clean it very well. then set the cage back up with a very minimalistic set up like so



Paper towel substrate (makes it easier to see the mites and doesn't let them hide in the substrate and help speed up the mite eradication process) 2 hides and a water bowel. (If you use half log hides don't use them right now because the mites can get into them and make it take longer to solve their problem.

2 times a day (morning and night) you should soak your BP in warm water (water temperature in the mid to upper 80's) with a drop of Dawn dish soap. this will help relieve the irritation and get the mites off the snake. this alone won't solve this issue but will hold you over until the PAM gets to you. (continue doing everything I just said until you are 100% sure that all of the mites are gone)

[Rob]

You noticed them five days ago and your just addressing it now? Take everything out of the tub clean everything out . Give your snake a bath and drown the mites that living off him now. Look around the eyes and pits, mites love those areas. You can gently pop them out of his scales. They will be hiding under the scales so look extremely close. Change over to paper towel substrate. All you can do is make your snake as comfortable as possible until the PAM comes in. When it does follow the directions on the can to the tee and they will die, PAM is great stuff. Good luck.

[RobNJ]

When it does follow the directions on the can to the tee and they will die, PAM is great stuff.

Pro Products should be paying you to use their product with lines like that!

[Rob]

Pro Products should be paying you to use their product with lines like that!

lol!! I know right. But hey the stuff saved a couple of my snakes when they got mites, so I can't say enough good things about the stuff!

[travis11]

No, as soon i found the mites i ordered the products to rid of them the same day. I would not let the snake suffer. The Original Question had nothing to do with taking care of the mites (i have read dozens of forums and helpsheets on them). I was just wondering what would happen if i didnt take care of it.

[Maixx]

If mites are not dealt with, they can cause problem such as:

• stress
• shedding problems
• anemia
• loss of appetite
• and eventually death.

I'll add-
* They can transfer blood born parasites
* They can transfer diseases
* The bite wounds can become infected

[Rob]

No, as soon i found the mites

O ok, good deal your first post made it seem like you were just getting around to addressing it. Good to hear you jumped on it.