Acquiring snakes with mites

[Nati619]

So far knock on wood, we've managed to avoid mites. We've quarantined everything that we've added for 12 weeks, and haven't had any problems.

But we've been presented with a unique opportunity/dilemma. A local guy has a group of five BPs ranging from 1-3 years old. A few of the morphs are nice, and he's asking about 1/3 of what their retail value is. The catch, his collection got mites. Again. He's confessed that this is the second go around, and he's decided that its more trouble than its worth.

We were thinking about buying them and treating them, then selling the three that we wouldn't have plans for. But I've been thinking that this ties up our quarantine room while we treat them, and wouldn't be able to bring anything else new during this time period.

We bought Provent, Wipe Out, and Reptile Relief in the past to keep on hand; but never had to use it.

So now I'm curious. Would you knowingly acquire a snake with mites at a good price and treat it? How much of a risk does it pose to your collection being kept in another room? Are mites easy to treat, or can it be persistent? Any possible long term effects on a snake that's had mites?

My instincts are telling me to pass on this, but my partner is telling me that this is too good to pass up.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Nope, I don't shop price, I shop quality HEALTHY animals from quality people.

I would never knowingly buy animals with mites, I would not even take animals for free for that matter if there was any known issues.

Mites means all kind of possible incurable illnesses such as IBD, Nido Virus, OPMV, do you want to leave yourself open to those possibilities?

[Bogertophis]

The problem with snakes that have had mites for a while (& you said his treatment has failed in the past) is that it increases the odds that one or more of the snakes
may come down with "who knows what disease" that was spread from the mites...and even when you get rid of the mites, you won't know for sure they're healthy
for quite some time to come. There's always the risk that you might accidentally transport one or more mites (or eggs) out of the quarantine room also.

Whether or not it's worth the risks & hassles to you, only you can decide...the answer may be different for others, since each of us has our own circumstances to
consider. This guy with the 5 BPs obviously didn't do a good job of eradicating the mites...you might want to ask him what he used, & you might have to toss a
coin as to whether or not to proceed & add them to your household. Good luck either way...I feel sorry for the snakes, it's not their fault.

[cletus]

I would never knowingly bring mites into my house for a good deal.

[RickyNY]

That guy couldn't pay me enough to take those snakes! Let alone me purchasing them.

[Bogertophis]

That guy couldn't pay me enough to take those snakes! Let alone me purchasing them.

Yeah, it's more like a rescue, which reminds me, I once bought a snake (a very large w/c imported female BP) that was covered with ticks that they thought were scales!
...but at least she didn't have mites! She actually did quite well, it just took a lot of tick-plucking. I felt so sorry for her...she came from a well-air-conditioned &
large home in Palm Springs...their kid's "toy" that had no heat since the hot rock was dropped & broke ("maybe a few months"). Their dogs were home alone & ignored
too (real obvious from the carpet) so my mom came home with one of their dogs- the small one was all she could handle...I already had 4 big rescued dogs at the time.
Btw, they had the BP for about a year, they said, but their kid had lost interest & obviously they never had any to begin with. "scales"! (I'll leave it there...)

[bcr229]

Only way I would even consider it is if the snakes were free and I could QT them in another building with a shower, so I could clean myself up before I left. I do not want to risk mites spreading to my adult retics, as it would be rather expensive and a royal pain in the rear to treat them.