Quote Originally Posted by Slither Seeker View Post
snake mites have 5 life stages, 4 of which are basically invisible. If you see one, there are many more on the way to becoming visible. the visible stage is the last, adult stage where the mite has a blood meal and reproduces using the proteins from the snake. oil used to be common but has been deemed ineffective now that there are strong but relatively safe pesticides. PAM is the go to now a days.

I have spider morph babies and given the propensity to develop neurological issues I am reluctant to dose them with a strong pesticide like the one in PAM. I have taken a stepped approach to wiping out the mites one of my babies came with and it appears to have worked well.
1) remove the snake, take everything out of the enclosure including substrate, spray with reptile spray (less toxic than PAM) and let sit sealed up for 15-20 minutes, dry and add "mite guard" powder (even if all it does is dry them out as a desiccant). for about 5-6 weeks, keep the enclosure very simple, two hides, water dish and paper towel lining and thats it. you must break the cycle of baby mites becoming adults and laying more eggs.
2) clean hides, line enclosure with paper towels then put hides back in.
3) wash off snake in running water, being careful to use 85ish degree water. inspect for adult black mites, remove if on the surface of the snake and squash between fingers or wash down the drain.
4) set up a water bath, using a shallow tupperware container with firm fitting lid. fill with 85-90 degree water covering the snake, not too deep, leaving air for the snake to breathe. allow snake to soak for 20-30 minutes, checking on the snake periodically to assure it's not distressed, opening lid for fresh air at least once.
5) dry off snake and and put snake away, then inspect water bath for mites and discard. place all paper from the cleaning process in a zip lock bag and discard.
6) I repeated the baths and changing the paper out and washing the hides daily for the first week or so, until I no longer saw adult mites, then every couple of days. then resprayed the enclosure with reptile spray and wiped it out again. If I held the glass tupperware over a dark surface I could see tiny white specks sunk at the bottom and I'm assuming they were juvenile mites but I can't be sure.

this approach takes a lot of work at the beginning. I wondered if it was stressful for my snakes so I tried feeding them after one of their baths and they ate readily, so it must not be too bad if care is taken to get the temp right.

PAM is the nuclear bomb, and it is very effective but I do see reason to not use it as the first line of defense. good quarantine practices for new snakes in a collection should help reduce the risk of an outbreak and lesson the need for drastic measures. if it can be avoided then great, as is potentially toxic to snakes. something that is not talked about much is that mites, like all bugs, quickly build resistance. avoiding over use of pesticides is a good idea just like avoiding over use of antibiotics, you want to use them sparingly so they work well when you need them most rather than helping to produce a PAM resistant strain of mites. If I were a breeder or had a large collection, I probably wouldn't have the time to bother with the harder more natural approach, so I'm certainly not blaming anyone who chooses to use it as directed, it's just my personal inclination to err on the side of caution with it's use if possible. that said, it's also important to complete the course of treatment with any pesticide once you determine it's necessary to use, till all the bugs are eradicated so as not to leave even a few resistant ones to pass on their resistant genes.
Looks like you have done a little research on mites which is a good thing. I think I do need to clarify some things for the record however. If you have multiple animals PAM as of right now is the best way to get rid of them. Even if you quarantine it is possible for the mites to hitch a ride to the rest of your animals. If that happens your quarantine is in effect broken. I would not ever place a ball python in a pan of water especially with a lid. Especially a spider morph. Last point. Spiders do not develop neurological issues. They are born that way. They can show "more" issues when under stress, such as feeding or being stuck in a pan of water. I do not think it has been determined that they have neurological issues at all. It may be nothing more than a balance problem. I have my opinion on that subject but it is just an opinion.