The mites are back! HELP!

[anendeloflorien]

OMG so I bought my first BP a little more than a week ago and she had mites. So this weekend I took everything out of the cage sprayed everything down, soaked the snake and sprayed her with Mite-away and soaked all the cage furniture in a bleach and water solution. Well the little bastards are BACK! And it looks like there's more of them now. I see them all over her and all over the cage (probably due to the fact that I have no substrate just a reptile carpet down now). I am really getting pissed off at these things I thought I was doing everything right but I guess not. I have some BK-II that I'm gonna try using now so hopefully that works. Is there a better way to remove the mites from the snake?
HELP!

[JLC]

The BEST way to remove the mites is to get online and order some Provent-a-Mite. What happened (most likely) to you is that you killed off the visible mites, but then the eggs they'd laid hatched and now you get to start all over. P-a-M will kill the eggs off as well.

What is BK-II?

[Patrick Long]

What is BK-II?

Black Knight II

[JLC]

I see you're in New Hampshire. I don't know for sure if they carry it, but I'd be surprised if they didn't....you can call NERD (Zoo Creatures) and ask and probably pick some up even more easily than ordering it online. (Not to mention any excuse to visit their store is a good one!)

[anendeloflorien]

I actually went to NERD this last weekend and they recommended Black Knight. So I bought some of that and I'm going to try it tonight. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

[roosterman2173]

I use De Flea shampoo after every fedding so I don't get tagalongs from the rats. luckly I never had a mite problem. I also would soak my thing again and you can put your wooden things in the oven at 275 for 20 min. I do this when I find a piece of wood in the woods I want to use. you know heat kills most things.

[anendeloflorien]

Ok well, I used the BK-II so hopefully that does the trick. I haven't seen any of the buggers moving around in there. I saw quite a few dead ones though. So we'll see what happens. I gave her a good soaking in some cage temp water with a little dish soap in it so all the ones on her should be deceased and won't be coming back. Thanks guys.

[anendeloflorien]

Ok sorry guys another question. What can I do about the mites around her eyes? She didn't have her head under water while she was soaking so I'm guessing that they're still alive. Is there a way to remove them without hurting her?

[dr del]

Hi,

Where abouts is she in her shed cycle?


dr del

[FloridaHogs]

A warm (80 degrees) diluted listerine soak will help remove some mites as well as sterilizing the ones left on her. Then give your BP a nice light mineral oil rubdown. Avoid getting it in her nostrils. This will smother the remaining mites. You can use a Qtip to get around the eyes. While the animal is soaking, completely clean the cage and all furnishings. You will also want to treat the surrounding area (carpet, tables etc. - anywhere the mites could have fallen or climbed) Ditch the carpet in the cage and put down white paper towels until you are 100% the mites are gone. Repeat in a week. This is a basic chemical free way to treat your animal that I have used with great success.