Egad, mites!

[Frothy]

So apparently one of my CL rescues decided to bring a bit of company with her, and she has since passed it to my albino in the next tank over. What all do I need to do, what do I need to buy, how do I need to go about cleaning everything up? I am hoping it hasn't passed to all of them (via during feeding, or cleaning their cages, etc.), but with my luck they probably all have it.

I have dealt with mites once before when I visited my sister in California I caught a couple Western Fence Lizards (blue-bellies) for my nephew and niece, and a lot of them had mites, but were more manageable because a steady hand and a good pair of tweezers was enough to clear theirs up. I have gotten a lot of them off of my albino thus far and the ones I could see on my female normal, but some are essentially impossible with how they sit under the scales.

I searched for a step-by-step guide or faq for the clearing-up-mites process, but didn't see any, but could have just missed it in my rush/concern, if so, I apologize. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

[sho220]

Home work assignment: research "quarantine" and "provent-a-mite"...

[Anya]

Provent-a-Mite + soaking.


This is why quarantine is so vital, btw. Hopefully your rescue didn't bring anything worse to your albino.

edit: sho220 beat me.

[Pythonfriend]

use provent-a-mite and follow the instructions to the letter.


apart from that, switch from your regular substrate to white paper towels, that makes it easy to keep it clean and to track the amount of dead mites.

you can give the snake a nice bath in lukewarm water. add a tiny drop of dishwashing fluid, just to break the surface tension and ensure the mites will drown.

dont use anything other than that directly on the snake, especially not toxins/insecticides, its risky and not necessary.

for cage cleaning, just the regular. hot water with diluted bleach, and then more water to remove the bleach.

[Frothy]

use provent-a-mite and follow the instructions to the letter.


apart from that, switch from your regular substrate to white paper towels, that makes it easy to keep it clean and to track the amount of dead mites.

you can give the snake a nice bath in lukewarm water. add a tiny drop of dishwashing fluid, just to break the surface tension and ensure the mites will drown.

dont use anything other than that directly on the snake, especially not toxins/insecticides, its risky and not necessary.

for cage cleaning, just the regular. hot water with diluted bleach, and then more water to remove the bleach.

Thanks for an in-depth response that covers more than what I already found by searching on my own.

I had been using paper towels, but for some reason they somehow manage to defecate or find some other manner of making a mess on them almost daily (slight exaggeration, but you get what I mean), so I had to switch to newspapers because I went through multiple rolls of paper towels in no time (they are in aquariums because I haven't been able to get a rack for them yet, so it used a lot more paper towels than smaller tubs).

When bathing/soaking the snakes, what's the proper protocol on protecting their heads/breathing? One of the smaller mites is on the back of the albino's head (I already got the two off that were on the bottom of his head/lower jaw), so how do I go about cleaning those areas without risking anything?

[bcr229]

Thanks for an in-depth response that covers more than what I already found by searching on my own.

I had been using paper towels, but for some reason they somehow manage to defecate or find some other manner of making a mess on them almost daily (slight exaggeration, but you get what I mean), so I had to switch to newspapers because I went through multiple rolls of paper towels in no time (they are in aquariums because I haven't been able to get a rack for them yet, so it used a lot more paper towels than smaller tubs).

When bathing/soaking the snakes, what's the proper protocol on protecting their heads/breathing? One of the smaller mites is on the back of the albino's head (I already got the two off that were on the bottom of his head/lower jaw), so how do I go about cleaning those areas without risking anything?

My vet suggested spraying one of the products like Reptile Relief, which is designed to be used on the snake, onto a paper towel and then gently wipe the snake with it. It keeps the product out of the snake's eyes and you actually get some on the snake - spraying the head/neck usually means most of the product ends up just getting the floor or enclosure wet. Plus it causes less stress on the snake. As for bathing, just put a few inches of water into the tub, your snake doesn't need to swim in deep water. Many snakes will submerge their heads for a few seconds, and I have a boa that likes to blow bubbles in her water.

[Frothy]

My vet suggested spraying one of the products like Reptile Relief, which is designed to be used on the snake, onto a paper towel and then gently wipe the snake with it. It keeps the product out of the snake's eyes and you actually get some on the snake - spraying the head/neck usually means most of the product ends up just getting the floor or enclosure wet. Plus it causes less stress on the snake. As for bathing, just put a few inches of water into the tub, your snake doesn't need to swim in deep water. Many snakes will submerge their heads for a few seconds, and I have a boa that likes to blow bubbles in her water.

Thanks for the advice, I will try bathing them tonight, even if I don't have the sprays yet (unless bathing them too often is bad for them?).

What stores can I find Reptile Relief at? There's only one pet store around here that's about 30 mins away, but I doubt they have it. Nearest Petco/Petsmart is probably a good 1.x hour drive, so wouldn't be able to get there until tomorrow evening anyway. Also, is PAM in any stores, or just online? $9 for shipping is a bit excessive.

[Pythonfriend]

even if there are products designed to be used directly on the snake, i would reject them all and buy none of them.

mites drown in water, especially if you break the surface tension with just a tiny tiny little bit of soap / dshwasher fluid. so you dont need to use anything on your snake that is more risky or dangerous than water.

especially not on the head, the snake will breathe it in, absolute no-no. EVEN IF (and i advise against it) use anything directly on the snake, you need to cover the head with a damp towel to ensure NOTHING of it gets into contact with the head. mites move, they are not stationary, if one is on the head, then better get it a few hours later when it is elsewhere instead of risking your snake.

provent-a-mite is not to be used on the snake, you spray it into the substrate or the paper towels, where it stays active and keeps killing mites for 30 days. and 30 days is one full life cycle of the mites. you put the snake in after it is fully dried and all fumes or smell is dissipated. that alone should kill the mites even if you do absolutely nothing with the BP and dont even give it a bath. baths are for temporary relief and to clean the snake and to drown 95% of the mites that are on the snake.

dont panic, mites wont kill your snake in a day.... overusing the wrong products on the other hand can kill a snake by poisoning.

about the head: BPs can swim and dive really well. just let them swim in the bathtub, supervised, unless the snake has a serious wobble or trouble orienting all will be fine. heck if they want they can totally outswim a human. ive seen footage of a cobra crossing a large swimming pool, damn that thing was fast.

[Frothy]

even if there are products designed to be used directly on the snake, i would reject them all and buy none of them.

mites drown in water, especially if you break the surface tension with just a tiny tiny little bit of soap / dshwasher fluid. so you dont need to use anything on your snake that is more risky or dangerous than water.

especially not on the head, the snake will breathe it in, absolute no-no. EVEN IF (and i advise against it) use anything directly on the snake, you need to cover the head with a damp towel to ensure NOTHING of it gets into contact with the head. mites move, they are not stationary, if one is on the head, then better get it a few hours later when it is elsewhere instead of risking your snake.

provent-a-mite is not to be used on the snake, you spray it into the substrate or the paper towels, where it stays active and keeps killing mites for 30 days. and 30 days is one full life cycle of the mites. you put the snake in after it is fully dried and all fumes or smell is dissipated. that alone should kill the mites even if you do absolutely nothing with the BP and dont even give it a bath. baths are for temporary relief and to clean the snake and to drown 95% of the mites that are on the snake.

dont panic, mites wont kill your snake in a day.... overusing the wrong products on the other hand can kill a snake by poisoning.

about the head: BPs can swim and dive really well. just let them swim in the bathtub, supervised, unless the snake has a serious wobble or trouble orienting all will be fine. heck if they want they can totally outswim a human. ive seen footage of a cobra crossing a large swimming pool, damn that thing was fast.

So best bet would be to try and bathe them with a small amount of dish soap in the water yet tonight, and then quarantine them in clean tubs/containers until I can get any of the sprays? Then when I get them, proceed to use them as directed?

Good to know about their swimming abilities too. Thanks.

[Pythonfriend]

So best bet would be to try and bathe them with a small amount of dish soap in the water yet tonight, and then quarantine them in clean tubs/containers until I can get any of the sprays? Then when I get them, proceed to use them as directed?

Good to know about their swimming abilities too. Thanks.

Yep thats basically it. for now nothing too drastic, you can keep them under control with good hygiene and occasional soaking, that buys you as much time as you need to get provent-a-mite. and then its easy, provent a mite will just eradicate them while being very safe for the snake.

EDIT: another thread reminded me... if the snake doesnt like the water or freaks out, take her out, dont force it. generally they are quite relaxed in water, if they are not, maybe something is wrong.