Treating mites

[bcr229]

Pyrethrins and permethrins in high enough concentrations are deadly to reptiles. Provent A Mite (PAM) is 0.5% permethrin (I just checked the can I have), which is why the directions state to NOT treat the snake directly, only its enclosure and hides.

We got hit with mites and here's how we treated the snakes:

Remove snake from enclosure and treat it with a product designed to be applied to the snake. We used Reptile Relief. We didn't spray it on as ours were wiggly and the directions stated not to spray it in the eyes. Instead, I dampened large cotton balls and wiped each snake down carefully. Make sure to get under the head, along the belly scales, and around the vent as these are favorite areas for the mites. Using cotton balls also allowed me to see how badly the snakes were affected - some looked like I'd shaken pepper on them.

Put the treated snake into a clean tub temporarily.

Remove everything from the snake's tank. Throw away old substrate, run water dishes through dishwasher (I have plenty of spares fortunately).

All of the tanks, hides, fake plants, decorations, etc. were taken outside, treated with PAM, and left to dry for several hours. Fortunately it was a nice sunny day.
Once everything had dried I brought the tanks back inside, set them up with paper towels as substrate (you can also use newspaper, it's just easier to see mites on paper towels), put in the treated hides and decorations, water bowls, etc.

I kept the snakes on paper towels for a few weeks until I was sure the mites were gone. Once I went back to using cypress mulch I took it outside, emptied the bag into a large plastic tub, treated the mulch with PAM, and allowed it to dry for several hours in the afternoon sun before using it. It may have been overkill, but I really don't want a repeat infestation.

DO NOT SPRAY PAM ON YOUR SNAKE OR ON YOUR SNAKE'S WATER DISHES.

To prevent future infestations new arrivals are wiped down with Reptile Relief in the car using the damp cotton ball method, and their enclosures and hides are treated with PAM a few days prior to their arrival. So far we've yet to find another mite.