Is Nix necessary?

[treeboa]

I have treated a number of collections and soap was the last thing I would use on a snake.PAM the area, PAM the tub lightly, PAM the paper towels and that's it.I see no need to use anything beyond that.Reptile relief, soap, oils, all unnecessary things to do to get rid of mites imo.

[treeboa]

Don't know what happened to my reply. Anyway, What SnakeRkewl wrote IS the instructions for PAM. I didn't see anyone suggesting an off label use.

[snakesRkewl]

Don't know what happened to my reply. Anyway, What SnakeRkewl wrote IS the instructions for PAM. I didn't see anyone suggesting an off label use.

The directions for using nix or whatever head lice brand you use are the same.

Ginevive
What is wrong with using Dawn? (directed at a past post.) I never had any troubles with it.

It doesn't improve your chances of the mites dying, treat properly,
put snake into treated tub/enclosure and let the treatment work, that is all that you need to do.

I didn't say it would harm them in any way, but I do disagree with anything put on the snake like oils, soaps, reptile relief, etc because it is unnecessary.

[treeboa]

What are you talking about? I don't even know what you are trying to say. The active ingredient in PAM is the same as in NIX, the shampoo for lice that mothers put on their small children's heads to treat lice. It's been used for decades and continues to be what doctors recommend for lice. To listen to you if's mustard gas or ricin or something. What would you have everyone do use olive oil? The Dawn soap (which is pretty much the same as Reptile relief by the way, they both smother the mites without chemicals) and olive oil treatments are fine to treat the mites on the snake, but if used alone you will never get rid of the mites. Cleaning with bleach does absolutely nothing to get rid of the mites either. The way snakesRkewl wrote is EXACTLY the directions from the manufacturer and that's the way everybody here has said to use it.

[treeboa]

Also, you are right that it has sickened and killed some snakes. Every case I've heard of though was from people spraying PAM on a cloth and wiping down their snake or they sprayed the cage and immediately put the snake back in. I've not heard of it harming a snake when used as directed. I think some people think the PAM on a cloth thing is safe because PAM was sprayed directly on Sulcata and Leopard tortoise imports to rid them of the Heartwater tick. Just because it's safe to put on a tortoise doesn't mean it's safe to put directly on a snake.

[treeboa]

Nope no change of tune. I do use it as the package says. What I am saying is your suggestions on how to follow the directions are based on conjecture and are extreme (Tyvek? Really? How about a full biohazard suit?). You have never used it or seen it used. Actually I never meant to sound like it's harmless, just no more harmful than things we use every day. I agree it should be respected. As for the OPer's question, no it's not necessary to treat the snake if you are using PAM. My thinking is that treating the snake (Dawn soak or Reptile Relief, not NIX and NEVER PAM) probably gives it some immediate relief instead of waiting for the mites to crawl off and be killed by the PAM residue. It has to be uncomfortable to have them sucking their blood.