I have mites on my snakes HELP!!

[For Goodness Snakes]

I only took what you typed into context. You said you treat for mites monthly and I don't understand why unless the collection is compromised.
Your resume is yours and I am glad you are happy and proud of yourself. You don't need to try ad convince me of that. LMIAO

What do I currently do? I build trophies in a company that ships all over the world. We build most of every trophy you see on every sports show you see on tv.
Why? To lower my stress level from dealing with stupid people.
What is my original background? Auto mechanic or anything that runs on petrol. The only thing I wont do is rebuild transmissions because they don't interest me.
What are my other two personal businesses? Firearms, CCW holsters and breeding Ball Pythons.
I also have way too many hobbies to list on this dating episode but I am good with my hands.

Just because you don't understand doesn't mean it's wrong.

Like I mentioned in my post I PROACTIVELY TREAT FOR MITES, I DON"T WANT TO REACTIVELY TREAT FOR MITES because I know that nymphs (Based On Dave's Research) are floating around in the air. If they are floating around in the air all of our collections are constantly at risk or as you say compromised, that's what I'm trying to help you guys understand. If we don't continuously kill the life cycle of the mite then in Dave's opinion it is just a matter of time before our animals are exposed. This is what I was taught many years ago by one of the world's leading experts in our community, why wouldn't I want to share that information with the rest of the herp community.

Yes I am very proud of what I do and all of the tens of thousands of people that I have helped through the years, and now that includes you.

When I asked what QT racks means it's because I had never seen that acronym before and didn't have a clue what it stood for no more than I know what LAIMO stands for.

Brian

[Holly_Berry]

*** Reptile Spray ***

Reptile Spray kills mites on contact while wet, once it dries it loses its effectiveness pretty quickly. Reptile Spray is a solution of salts rather than an insecticide; it kills mites by dehydrating them. I don't spray the snakes as more ends up on the floor than on the snake. Instead, I spray a white paper towel with it and wipe it on the snake. That way you get even coverage on the snake, you can work it into the area under their chin really well as that's a favorite hiding place for mites, you don't stress out your snake, and you can look for mites on the paper towel to see how quickly they're being eradicated. Apply twice a week. Note - this stuff hurts like the blazes in an open wound.

I had a question about the reptile spray, somewhat specifically for you since I saw that you use it. I only have one snake, and I don't plan on getting anymore anytime soon. But as a precaution would using the reptile spray on cypress substrate (letting it dry out before putting it into the enclosure) as often as once a month be okay? I wouldn't use it on the snake itself until I see mites on it of course as you said its salt based and would dry the snake out. But it seems that treating the bedding before adding it into the enclosure would seem like a safe bet to prevent mites in the future.

[bcr229]

I had a question about the reptile spray, somewhat specifically for you since I saw that you use it. I only have one snake, and I don't plan on getting anymore anytime soon. But as a precaution would using the reptile spray on cypress substrate (letting it dry out before putting it into the enclosure) as often as once a month be okay? I wouldn't use it on the snake itself until I see mites on it of course as you said its salt based and would dry the snake out. But it seems that treating the bedding before adding it into the enclosure would seem like a safe bet to prevent mites in the future.

That would be a waste of the product as it's only effective when wet and it doesn't kill mite eggs. A far more economical and effective treatment if you are worried about substrate being contaminated with mites and/or eggs is to spread some in a baking pan and put it into the oven at 150*F for an hour.

[cchardwick]

Here's an update on my mites: I had a MAJOR infestation! Last week I didn't know what a mite was, this week I'm in shock that I had so many mites on my poor snakes. I have mostly pied combos and a lot of white on my snakes, they were all turning black and white, like they were sprinkled in pepper. Didn't seem like mites to me since I couldn't really see a bug crawling around.

So last night about midnight after a long day I decided to try my new Natural Chemistry Reptile Relief Spray and go through my rack and treat my snakes. I dumped all the bedding, sprayed down the tubs with reptile spray and wiped them dry, then put several layers of paper towels down and changed out the Dixie cup water dishes.

To treat the snakes I pretty much soaked a paper towel with reptile spray, picked up the snakes and let them crawl through the paper towel several times. Out of 17 snakes I removed mites from 16 of them, couldn't even see the mites on most snakes until I wiped them off. I was shocked that it had traveled through my whole rack system.

Some of the ball pythons that had it the worst were soaking in their water dishes, you could see dozens of mites at the bottom of their water bowls.

The very worst snake was my 'Fire Pied' male, looks like he never soaked in the water at all and was covered with black and red spots. I wiped him down and very few came off, so I put him back in the tub with paper towels. About a half hour later I opened up his tub and all the mites had crawled out of his scales and were crawling all over him, it was really creepy! So I wiped him down a second time and this time I wiped off hundreds of mites! And it's true, you only kill them with Reptile Relief when they are in direct contact with the wet solution, or so it seems. They pretty much die instantly if they hit the wet paper towel and are not in the scales of a snake.

So after treating all my snakes until 1:30 AM I hit the sack, woke up early and about 6 AM opened up the Fire Pied tub and found hundreds of dead mites on the paper towels all through the tub and about a dozen more climbing all over him! So I sprayed him a third time! The directions say to only spray once every three days but this seemed like an extreme exception. I also totally cleaned that tub and replaced all the paper towels and sprayed it down with reptile relief spray and wiped it dry before adding new paper towels.

Well I came home from work today and it's been about 18 hours since I first sprayed the Fire Pied and he still had a couple mites crawling on him! However, he is bright white and looks fantastic, no black or red spots, he looks amazing. I simply wiped off the few mites he had with a dry paper towel and put his tail in his water bowl to soak a bit LOL. I also opened up a few of my other tubs and saw a few mites here and there on the paper towels. Looks like I hit the bulk of the infestation but have a way to go before I'm mite free.

I also had a very young 'pastel spider pied' that only had about six meals in his whole life, very young. He started shedding as soon as I wiped him with the reptile spray, that kind of freaked me out so I piled a few paper towels on him and wetted them with water to keep him hydrated, hopefully I won't run into problems that that little guy!

[For Goodness Snakes]

Here's an update on my mites: I had a MAJOR infestation! Last week I didn't know what a mite was, this week I'm in shock that I had so many mites on my poor snakes. I have mostly pied combos and a lot of white on my snakes, they were all turning black and white, like they were sprinkled in pepper. Didn't seem like mites to me since I couldn't really see a bug crawling around.

So last night about midnight after a long day I decided to try my new Natural Chemistry Reptile Relief Spray and go through my rack and treat my snakes. I dumped all the bedding, sprayed down the tubs with reptile spray and wiped them dry, then put several layers of paper towels down and changed out the Dixie cup water dishes.

To treat the snakes I pretty much soaked a paper towel with reptile spray, picked up the snakes and let them crawl through the paper towel several times. Out of 17 snakes I removed mites from 16 of them, couldn't even see the mites on most snakes until I wiped them off. I was shocked that it had traveled through my whole rack system.

Some of the ball pythons that had it the worst were soaking in their water dishes, you could see dozens of mites at the bottom of their water bowls.

The very worst snake was my 'Fire Pied' male, looks like he never soaked in the water at all and was covered with black and red spots. I wiped him down and very few came off, so I put him back in the tub with paper towels. About a half hour later I opened up his tub and all the mites had crawled out of his scales and were crawling all over him, it was really creepy! So I wiped him down a second time and this time I wiped off hundreds of mites! And it's true, you only kill them with Reptile Relief when they are in direct contact with the wet solution, or so it seems. They pretty much die instantly if they hit the wet paper towel and are not in the scales of a snake.

So after treating all my snakes until 1:30 AM I hit the sack, woke up early and about 6 AM opened up the Fire Pied tub and found hundreds of dead mites on the paper towels all through the tub and about a dozen more climbing all over him! So I sprayed him a third time! The directions say to only spray once every three days but this seemed like an extreme exception. I also totally cleaned that tub and replaced all the paper towels and sprayed it down with reptile relief spray and wiped it dry before adding new paper towels.

Well I came home from work today and it's been about 18 hours since I first sprayed the Fire Pied and he still had a couple mites crawling on him! However, he is bright white and looks fantastic, no black or red spots, he looks amazing. I simply wiped off the few mites he had with a dry paper towel and put his tail in his water bowl to soak a bit LOL. I also opened up a few of my other tubs and saw a few mites here and there on the paper towels. Looks like I hit the bulk of the infestation but have a way to go before I'm mite free.

I also had a very young 'pastel spider pied' that only had about six meals in his whole life, very young. He started shedding as soon as I wiped him with the reptile spray, that kind of freaked me out so I piled a few paper towels on him and wetted them with water to keep him hydrated, hopefully I won't run into problems that that little guy!

I look forward to hearing from you.

Brian Gundy
For Goodness Snakes
408-981-6694

[tacticalveterinarian]

Here's an update on my mites: I had a MAJOR infestation! Last week I didn't know what a mite was, this week I'm in shock that I had so many mites on my poor snakes. I have mostly pied combos and a lot of white on my snakes, they were all turning black and white, like they were sprinkled in pepper. Didn't seem like mites to me since I couldn't really see a bug crawling around.

So last night about midnight after a long day I decided to try my new Natural Chemistry Reptile Relief Spray and go through my rack and treat my snakes. I dumped all the bedding, sprayed down the tubs with reptile spray and wiped them dry, then put several layers of paper towels down and changed out the Dixie cup water dishes.

To treat the snakes I pretty much soaked a paper towel with reptile spray, picked up the snakes and let them crawl through the paper towel several times. Out of 17 snakes I removed mites from 16 of them, couldn't even see the mites on most snakes until I wiped them off. I was shocked that it had traveled through my whole rack system.

Some of the ball pythons that had it the worst were soaking in their water dishes, you could see dozens of mites at the bottom of their water bowls.

The very worst snake was my 'Fire Pied' male, looks like he never soaked in the water at all and was covered with black and red spots. I wiped him down and very few came off, so I put him back in the tub with paper towels. About a half hour later I opened up his tub and all the mites had crawled out of his scales and were crawling all over him, it was really creepy! So I wiped him down a second time and this time I wiped off hundreds of mites! And it's true, you only kill them with Reptile Relief when they are in direct contact with the wet solution, or so it seems. They pretty much die instantly if they hit the wet paper towel and are not in the scales of a snake.

So after treating all my snakes until 1:30 AM I hit the sack, woke up early and about 6 AM opened up the Fire Pied tub and found hundreds of dead mites on the paper towels all through the tub and about a dozen more climbing all over him! So I sprayed him a third time! The directions say to only spray once every three days but this seemed like an extreme exception. I also totally cleaned that tub and replaced all the paper towels and sprayed it down with reptile relief spray and wiped it dry before adding new paper towels.

Well I came home from work today and it's been about 18 hours since I first sprayed the Fire Pied and he still had a couple mites crawling on him! However, he is bright white and looks fantastic, no black or red spots, he looks amazing. I simply wiped off the few mites he had with a dry paper towel and put his tail in his water bowl to soak a bit LOL. I also opened up a few of my other tubs and saw a few mites here and there on the paper towels. Looks like I hit the bulk of the infestation but have a way to go before I'm mite free.

I also had a very young 'pastel spider pied' that only had about six meals in his whole life, very young. He started shedding as soon as I wiped him with the reptile spray, that kind of freaked me out so I piled a few paper towels on him and wetted them with water to keep him hydrated, hopefully I won't run into problems that that little guy!

Be patient and diligent! Sounds like a major infestation and it may take several weeks of treatment and constant cleaning to finally break the life cycle. As Brian mentioned, the BEST way to prevent mites in a collection is being proactive and taking action (action is always better than reaction). I know there are many products on the market, but personally I use Provent-A-Mite. I spray the sides of my racks, the floor around the racks and the area at the entrance of my room usually on a biweekly to monthly basis. Because of the nature of my career, I'm handle many different reptiles in the clinic and visit many facilities- so the chances of bringing home ectoparasites is much higher. Most hobbyist don't think about it, but when you visit a show or a petstore that has mites you can potentially track eggs/nymphs on your hands, clothes, and shoes back into your car and directly into your home/herp room. I routinely spray Provent-A-Mite on the bottom of my shoes, switch shoes when I enter the house and as previously mentioned take proactive measures to prevent mites.

Good luck and I hope you defeat those pesty mites!

Here is a good link by the Barkers on mite lifecycle: http://vpi.com/publications/the_life...of_snake_mites

[cchardwick]

I might give that Provent a mite a try, but I have to be careful of what I use since I have a pet tarantula in the snake room. His name is 'Beetlejuice' and he is a Brazilian Giant White Knee Tarantula.

[cchardwick]

I just saw this from that article link you posted about the mite life cycle, I also have my rodents in my snake room so I have to be careful they don't get any provent a mite on them if I decide to use that stuff.

" Rodents that have been treated with insecticides for mite infestations can be highly toxic to snakes."

Now that I'm using paper towels instead of aspen bedding I'm going through my rack twice a day instead of weekly and changing it out when the snakes mess on it. Gives me the chance to spray down the tub for mites and to keep a better eye on my snakes.

[PitOnTheProwl]

I might give that Provent a mite a try, but I have to be careful of what I use since I have a pet tarantula in the snake room. His name is 'Beetlejuice' and he is a Brazilian Giant White Knee Tarantula.

Yeah I would think of moving this guy to another room for a while. This enclosure would also need to be cleaned.

[cchardwick]

Well I have a new strategy for cleaning my rack. Once a day I go through each tub and check for either mites on the paper towel substrate or poo from the snakes. Either one and I move the snake to a clean tub and clean up his mess and kill the mites. If I see mites I spray the paper towel substrate with reptile spray to instantly kill them. Then I remove the paper towel and spray the inside of the tub with reptile spray, use a paper towel and wipe the whole thing down inside and out with reptile spray, then use a dry paper towel to dry it off. Then I spray the inside of the tub with water and wipe it out and dry it real good with a paper towel. I change out the water and Dixie cup and put down several layers of fresh paper towels.

Ever since I removed the aspen bedding, put down paper towels, and started checking on my snakes every day their attitude totally changed. My wild and crazy king snakes are really mellow now and don't mind being handled at all. My woma python is all coiled up in the back over the heat, just loving the new paper towel substrate, seems very happy! It could also be that I'm removing the smell from the tubs every day if they poo, or that they are pretty much mite free now, or a combo of all of these.

I noticed a few red spots still on my Fire Pied, the one that had the worst infection. So I sprayed him down again today, it's been a couple days since I last sprayed him down. I checked on him after about a half hour and he just had one mite on him running around, it was so small I could barely even see it. I'm guessing that mite will die eventually.

I also noticed that the tub below the one with the worst mite outbreak had quite a few mites in there on the paper towel tonight. This is the tub with my Woma python, I didn't see any mites on the python itself, only on the paper towels all around him.

I plan on wiping all my snakes down once a week until I get to the point where I don't see any mites at all on the paper towels. I'm also wiping down the rack all around the tubs with reptile spray if I remove one and before I put a new one back in the rack. This has been one crazy experience!