How did your snake get mites?

[Bogertophis]

...Back then I used no pest strips, but not sure how safe that is any more....

Same here...they were safe & very effective IF you used them very carefully & in a limited way (in 'cages' so the snakes couldn't touch them) & for not too long,
then repeated the treatment once. I don't consider ANY pesticides really safe though, so prevention is always better than the cure. It's just like the many things
we are exposed to that are carcinogenic etc.-some of us hold up better than others, & multiple exposures probably has a lot to do with what we can fight off.

[Sonny1318]

Same here...they were safe & very effective IF you used them very carefully & in a limited way (in 'cages' so the snakes couldn't touch them) & for not too long,
then repeated the treatment once. I don't consider ANY pesticides really safe though, so prevention is always better than the cure. It's just like the many things
we are exposed to that are carcinogenic etc.-some of us hold up better than others, & multiple exposures probably has a lot to do with what we can fight off.

I remember removing the water dishes, and placing small pieces in little Rubbermaid containers I drilled holes in. And then only leaving them in their enclosure’s for a limited time. I can’t remember more then that at the moment, lol.

[Bogertophis]

I remember removing the water dishes, and placing small pieces in little Rubbermaid containers I drilled holes in. And then only leaving them in their enclosure’s for a limited time. I can’t remember more then that at the moment, lol.

Yes, like you, I only used a small piece, like an inch maybe? Then I suspended it in a wire cage from the cage top, & blocked most of the airflow so there was a space
for incoming fresh air, and a space for outflow (over the UTH where the air was naturally rising). If I remember right the initial treatment was about 12 hours max, &
the follow-up was 8 hours, but don't quote me, it's been many years. I don't miss having mites at all! I do know that I never saw any adverse reaction in the 2 snakes
I treated, but 2 isn't a big study group. There are very few things that I am willing to use a pesticide for: mites are one, wasps are the other, & both are rare occasions.