HELLLP....MITES

[chong_python]

alright guys, IT FINALLY HAPPENED


I picked up chong for his nighly handeling/inspection and relized when i put him back there was about 10 different sized/shaped bugs on my hands. However i cnat find any in the tank, there are a few on him, deep in his sclaes on the side. and there is a abrasion the size on a small scale on his head, im not sure if this is related

I have repti bark as substrate and pieces of driftwood, how can i get rid of these mites and elinmate all of them from my tank , and driftwood.

HELLP

thanx

[Schlyne]

See this thread.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/PNphpBB2...ic-t-6340.html

[chong_python]

Thanx, but i was looking for somethin mabey a bit more specific, is there any home made products i can use to take care of the mites, Should i take all the substrate out now? , what should i do with the driftwood?
should i soak him?

any help would be appreciated

[invadertoast]

I'm pretty sure you can bake the driftwood to sterilize it... 1.5 hrs at 250 degrees. At least I think... I just read that over on Kingsnake. Maybe someone who has done it before can chime in!

[Schlyne]

You should probably chuck the substrate and switch to paper towels or newspaper until you're sure all the mites are gone. I'm not sure how long you need to bake the wood..I threw in some cork bark into my oven for 10 mins at 400 degrees (and I kept an eye on it, I didn't want it to catch on fire) to steralize it (or so I hoped), but the 1.5 hour method is probably a lot better

At the time I had no idea how long or how hot the oven should be for that.
And the cork bark did smell like it was roasting in the oven..I don't recommend what I did.

[SatanicIntention]

That's ok, it's supposed to smell like that. I've put many things in the oven, including drift wood, and it was fine. I think I put mine on 250-300 for a couple of hours.

[chong_python]

Thanx!

i just spent about an hour and a half fixing everything, if i see one more mite , ill be suicidial lol
I put chong in a contanier filled with water and dish soap and he soaked for about a hour and a half, this killed all the mites that burrowed down in between his scales. I then took all the substrate and chucked it in the garbage. I sterlized everything.
Im now using paper towel substrate, and in the encloser there is only a water bowl and hide, so i can keep a close eye.
Hopefully that will be all thats too it but i wouldnt be suprised if a couple more buggers showed up again, ill just do it all over again.

Chris

[Marla]

You're going to have to stay on top of this, because there should be eggs hatching in the next couple of weeks which are entirely unaffected by soaking. The easiest thing to do is to get one of the professional remedies (I won't debate the relative merits of each), but you can eventually kill them off the way you're doing it if they don't make it to other hosts (like your beardies or any wild critters that may sneak under your house, etc.).

[green_man]

Its near impossible to stop mites without using mite sprays...
cleaning up everything is great, and you will get most of them, but mites dont stay in the enclosure. They go out and lay eggs in your carpet too.
I am a hug fan of reptile relief.



You can spray the animal (not the head), the enclosure (let it air out before returning snake), and all around the enclosure, and that should take care of your problem. I tried all kinds of things when I had mites until I bought this stuff and within a few days the problem was gone. Reptile relief is a bit safer then others... good stuff