Mite treatments and prevention

[kath_]

Buddy has mites. I noticed him soaking in his water dish and changed the water and saw them floating around in there. I feel so bad.
I ordered Reptile Relief spray and Provent a Mite to treat him and his enclosure.
Will these products be enough to protect against the mites coming back? What other things can I do to make sure he doesn't get mites?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Mite prevention is all about good quarantine when acquiring a new animal, preventive treatment of said new animal, not going to your snake room if you just came back from a show, having a clean feeder source (while mites are species specific snake mites can hitch hike on a feeder etc)

It's really not that hard, in 10 years I have never had any mites the only thing I do is pre-treat new incoming animals while in quarantine and avoid my snake room when I return from a show at least until I shower, shampoo my hair and change cloth.

[kath_]

Ok sounds good. I just hope treating the enclosure with provent a mite and my snake with reptile relief will get rid of them for good.

[daniel1983]

Ok sounds good. I just hope treating the enclosure with provent a mite and my snake with reptile relief will get rid of them for good.

If it is reptile mites, then what you have planned should do the trick. A lot of people see "bugs" and instantly assume they are mites that feed on reptiles. It is quite possible some type of mite/bug that is in the bedding. "Aspen mites" are quite common and don't really harm your snake...but they look bad and seem to annoy more than anything.

If you don't want to microscope the mite for proper identification, then your next best bet is to change your substrate in addition to the treatment you referenced. Use paper towels or newspaper while treating/in-between treatments. If the mites appear to be gone while doing this, but they immediately return once you change substrate back to aspen/coco/etc. ....then it may be a substrate bug issue.

[kath_]

he has coconut fiber bedding right now but I think I'll change to paper towels after I treat the enclosure and him just to make sure they're gone. He was ok enough to eat just now, so I hope he can make it til the treatment products come in.

[bcr229]

You can also spray the PAM on the paper towels. Just make sure they completely dry before using them as substrate. I would keep a supply of treated and dried ones on hand for when your snake makes a mess.

Remember PAM is never to be applied directly to the snake or its water bowl, just the enclosure, hides, and paper substrate.

I prefer to spray a white paper towel with Reptile Relief and wipe it onto the snake. That way you can ensure good coverage under its chin where mites like to hide.

[kath_]

That's a great idea. Thanks for all the advice. I just feel so bad he got them in the first place. I did a checkup on my temps and humidity and other husbandry and everything seems to be ok but maybe it's the feeder source or the bedding now or something I didn't have any idea about until now. So many thanks to the forums for educating me.

[kath_]

Also a question about PAM if anyone is still viewing. Would it be ok to feed him on the treated paper towels/substrate once it is completely dry or should I feed him in a separate enclosure until the mites are gone.
should I also treat his water dish? Or will soaking it in water be enough to get rid of any eggs/mites in there? I'm cautious to use chemicals on something he drinks out of.

[cletus]

Don't treat the water dish. I would just clean it with some kind of disinfectant and rinse very well. I soak mine in a weak bleach solution and rinse really well in very hot water.

[kath_]

Thank you. Will do this. Any advice as far as feeding on treated substrate goes?