ring of white puffiness around eyes, and there are tiny small white bugs! :(

[redshepherd]

They could have come from the breeder. Snake mite eggs can take a month or so to hatch depending on the conditions. That is why it is recommended to treat at least 2 months.

PAM actually leaves residual Permethrin on the spot where it is sprayed, The aerosol is just the propellant for it. Dont breath the fumes. I accidently did a few times and my chest got tight and my throat got scratchy for about an hour. And yes the fumes will kill too because there will be permethrin in that as well but the majority will be in the liquid.

What i did was use paper towels and lay them down and spray them as per directions on the can. Leave the water bowl out for 24 hours. The snake wont die but if there is a spot you missed letting dry and the snake goes through it and then into the water bowl to try and drown the mites, the water will soak up the PAM. That happened to my JCP and i had to rush her to my vet as she lost motor skills and everything. Luckily my vet was able to flush her systems and save her. So yeah, leave the water bowl out 24 hours after application. And after you apply it, quickly cover the top of the cage and let them fumes settle inside the cage for about 15 mins. Then you should be good.

Repeat application every week and check for dead mites on the paper towels. Do this for 2-3 months.

As for mites outside the cage. If you had that many babies and the snake was actually lethargic, i would guess you have them outside the cage as well. Like i said, wipe down the any way the mites could get into other snake cages, table legs, table tops, outside cage walls, cords going into or touching cages, around the doors of cages, around the vents of cages. I never sprayed it on my floors, i just wiped down all the stuff i listed above for about 4 months.

Also watch the other snakes and check them closely to make sure they dont get it. If you find one with it, then you can pretty much assume they all got them ad you will have to treat all the cages and snakes.

Mites can travel long distances. And then can survive a month or so. I'm not exactly sure how long they can go with blood but i know the babies dont eat right away. They kind of hang out. Then once they do take a meal, is when they change color and then they breed and the females wanders off to find a nice dark, damp, warm place to lay eggs. I'm sure you can google the life stages of snake mites to find out. I just know, they can survive at least a month and eggs can last a month or so. So even if you dont see any mites after a month, keep treating as there might be eggs still that havent hatched. Like i said, i treated for about 2.5 months and then moved Luna back down with the other snakes and into her new AP cage.

Oh wow- yeah I will definitely treat at least 2 months. Also, I'm thinking possibly they were even on the shipping box and somehow made their way onto Jack awhile later, because I kept his shipping box this whole time in his room. :S

Also geez, how scary! Thanks for the heads up. I'm so paranoid of using PAM incorrectly, it being so poisonous.

Thanks for the info too, it helps a lot! I never thought I would have to deal with mites... I normally avoided reptile shows for this reason, but here I am lol.