why won't they leave!!?

[hex a holik]

so as most of you know, we bought a very young female blood python in the beginning of febuary. about 2 weeks after we got her, she had a serious case of mites. well, we got that under control....so we thought.

for the last month or so, we have been batteling these nasty little bugs. we check her everyday. some days we find one or two, other days none, and a few rare days, like today, we find six or seven. she will go days w/out any of them on her ( or so we can see), and then they reappear.

we have soaked her in warm water w/ a few drops of antibacterial dish soap, we have sprayed MITE OFF, which by the way, does not work one bit like it should, on her and on her tank. we went and got her a new, all glass tank, non poress house and water dish, we have washed everything w/ bleach and water, and we have switched all of our snakes to newspaper since the last mite problem in feb.

we are really getting fed up w/ these things. if anyone else has a different idea let us know please. my poor little girl is forever gonna hate baths. lol.

thanx for any help.

-kristin-

[bebo]

Is there any wood or porous material near te cage? Also, I believe mites can hang out in carpet as well. They can go a good while without a host, and can cover wyamore distance/area than one might think.

For the surrounding areas of the cage. You can do a couple things. Go to a feedstore and get some 10% liquid permitherin and use about 1/4 to 1/2 oz per gallon and spray everything around the area. It doesn't usually stain, and once dry wont harm anything or animals. Or got o Home Depot and get some No Pest strips. Cut the single big piece into several smaller pieces. Put them in small jars with holes punched in the lids. This can help rid the area as well.

Try using bleach water on the cage, and go to wal-mart and get some Equate bedding Spray from the pharmacy area where they keep the lice products. Its the same as big name brand stuff. Fog the cage for a bit covered. then let it air out. That stuff works well.

Thats what I'd do, but there are other methods folks have that work as well.

Then just keep soaking the snake, at least an hour or more. Shoudl get things cleared up after 2-3 treatments.

[hex a holik]

thanx for the info jim.
the weird thing is , if the mites are in the area around the tank, none of our other snakes have them. we dont even find them in my blood's water. we only find them on her. she is in shed right now, i hope after her shed they will clear up for good.

[lorenmps]

Miracle Cure..... Frontline sells their dog flea product in a spray bottle and it kills mites on contact.
<a href="http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15694">Frontline spray</a>

Here's what you do...
1. clean everything in the cage out
2. spray the entire inside of the cage and all cage decor (except the water bowl). It will dry clear in about 5 minutes and leave a residual that will continue to kill mites and eggs for up to a month.
3. Using latex gloves, spray some frontline lightly on your hands and rub it on the snake, avoiding the eyes and nostrils. It will also dry on the snake and leave a residual which will kill all mites and kill the eggs within 14 days.

Be sure to do all of this outdoors and don't put the snake back in the cage untill everything dries. Do not use a water bowl in the cage for 14 days. Soak the snake in a seperate container every other day so it can drink, but don't allow the snake to be in the water for more than 5-10 minutes.

The whole process takes 14 days to ensure that all the mite eggs, adults and hatchlings are killed. After 14 days remove everything and clean the cage and decor in hot water.
Then.... YOU'RE MITE FREE!!!

[chuck33]

3. Using latex gloves, spray some frontline lightly on your hands and rub it on the snake, avoiding the eyes and nostrils.

OK I know this may sound funny at first but why avoid the eyes? Aside from it leaving a residu on the eye cap scale there is no open contact with the snakes actual eye like ours. The reason for the protective eye cap scale is because they don't have eye lids. So I don't see why you should avoid the eyes. I rescued a snake that had a very severe case of mites and actually had them down in the area surrounding the eye cap scale.

Here are two ways to do it that I have both done....

A healthy snake mite, Ophionyssus natricis.

Our proven method of treatment -

-Upon first sighting of mites....

-Remove the snake form the cage, and immediately start soaking the snake in lukewarm water with a few drops of soap. Plan on leaving the snake in the water for a few hours! Make it worth doing.

-Take everything out of the cage. Water dishes, hides, cage furniture, substrate, everything. All of this stuff needs to be scrubbed, soaked, bleached, or whatever else you can do to ensure there are no eggs or mites on it. Some people recommend the oven.

-Scrub the inside, outside, top and bottom of the cage with a 5% bleach solution. 5% bleach has been proven to neutralize virtually anything (the military uses 5% bleach to clean chemical weapons off equipment, .5% for skin). So... That certainly should be strong enough to kill mites. Eggs? Maybe not.

-Don't waste your money on Provent-a-Mite. It is way overpriced, when you can go to Wal-Mart and get a can of Equate bedding lice spray for $4.00. Stick that can inside the cage (with any ventilation blocked), and spray it REALLY good. Pay extra attention to the corners, glass tracks, seams, etc. Anywhere mites could hide. Don't be afraid to use a LOT, it was only $4.00. Seal the cage up good, and LEAVE it sealed while you continue to soak the snake. By the time you are done soaking the snake, the cage will be ready to be opened and refurnished. Do NOT wash the cage out! If you wash the cage again, you will wash out any remaining spray residue that would have otherwise been effective on newly hatched mites.

-After you've soaked the snake, and the cage is now open, venting off the nasty fumes, it is time to give the snake a back-up treatment. I know the water/soap is supposed to be effective... But it just isn't sometimes. We've found a good backup treatment to be Reptile Relief. If it is used properly, it sure seems to work. On a dry snake, spray it all over the snake. Don't spray it in the snake's eyes. Use a cloth for the around the eyes, on the head, etc. Make sure you get the groove under the chin. And DON'T rinse this stuff off either. If you want it to WORK, leave it on the snake. It is an acid, and needs to etch through the mite's exoskeleton.

Sounds like a lot of trouble... And the worst part - you need to do it again in a few days. Eggs will hatch, mites will reappear, and you will start all over again. But if you treat again within a few days, you can kill off any new mites before they start laying eggs.

Just useful info - adult female snake mites may lay eggs at somewhere around 2 weeks into their life, may live up to around 1 month, may lay 60-80 eggs in a lifetime, and can move about 55 feet per hour on an empty stomach.


Credit to Mark Burger for the above quote.

I have used in the past a product called Ivermectin. It is a injection used on cattle and livestock to controll tics. Well you take it and make a 2 % solution with it. This requires you doing some math so make sure you do it right and double check your math. After making your 2% solution put it in a spray bottle and hose the cage down. This product will kill the mite on contact. It will also kill the eggs. No need to remove anything from the cage, and can be sprayed directly on the snake, face and all. it is ok for it to get into the water dishes as well, it is also used to get rid of round worms, lice, mites, ticks, and heart worms for cattle and is used in swine (pigs) for round worms, lice, and mites. just make sure you spray the cage every 3 to 4 days for about a week as this is the average hatch time for any eggs that might have gotten by. The cost is about 25 dollars so it cost more then the lice spray cans, buy you don't have to empty the cage to use it. depending on what the size of your enclosure is and the substrate you use it can be costly to replace the stuff. This you just spray on every 3 to 4 days on everything in the cage and you will be mite free. you can also spray this around the cage and kill anything that might be living in any carpet or cloth near the cage. This is just another option to pick from, hope it helped you and anyone else that might be wondering.


Chuck

[lorenmps]

Also a good suggestion by Chuck. I have used the the frontline a number of times with 100% sucess, but this sounds like it'll work too. Try whatever seems easiest for you. Good luck!!!!

[carpondro17]

When I got my ''new'' chondro he had mites soo I bought bk ll from pro exotics and I sprayed the cage and havent seen a mite scince.. But when he had mites I would soak him for 10 min a day ... My suggestion is buy pam or the thing from pro exotics....

[hex a holik]

thank you so much guys!

we have done everything you guys have suggested up to the more medicine products (frontline, etc,).

its just weird that if the mites were living anywhere else in our snake room, wouldnt some of our other snakes have them?? cuz we check them everyday and its only our baby blood. i feel so bad for her. her life has sucked since she hatched. poor thing.

[carpondro17]

Dont worry eventually the will go away!
Are you useing paper towls? I was useing papertowls and I could see mites walking around and I would kill them...

[TailsWithScales]

Black Knight II is really the best product because it gets into EVERY tiny little notch, hole, seam, nook and cranny.

My routine for rescues with pests are:
Snake goes into lukewarm tub of water (no soap) and soaks for at least 30 mins.

While snake soaks sterilize the enclosure regardless if it's been used or not. First close off all holes /vents with tape or cover screen with towel. Spray BK II into cage until you see "the fog" fill the entire cage. Close up and let sit until it's clear inside and there aren't heavy fumes. The clean as normal with bleach /water mixture. Allow cage to air out.

Add a little bit of Ivory liquid dish soap to snakes 'bath' water after soaking at least 30 mins. I usually let mine soak an hour before adding soap.

Check cage. If no fumes set the cage up for its new tenant.

Take snake out of tub and rinse it off. Spray Reptile Relief ALL over the snake drenching it. By drenching I mean nose to tail tip soaked and dripping. It's to rub this into the eyes, nares (nose) and heat pits. Place in cage. :D

If the floor is carpeted sprinkle flea and tick power or lice powder on your floor and let that sit for 15 or mins then vacuum it up.

I hope all this makes sense. If not feel free to ask. :D

[TheVipersHouse]

the best thing i have found and takes a little work but has 100% results
is to put the snake in a bag and spinkle flea and tick powder over the snake while its in the bag and leave it over night .
make sure you use a name brand podwer for cats ..
then procede to clean out the cage .
once done in the bag take the snake out and rinse it off under warm water and place it back in its cage . on my wood cages i even sprinkle it under their newspaper to prevent any future outbreaks that may occur ..

[accordsirh22]

i went with P.A.M. and R.R when i had them, cleared it up in 1 shot, no relapse. and i still have a good 80% of the sprays left should i ever need them again. also the cage i had is enormous and full of real wood and porous substrate, and it still killed them. jsut make sure you dont have feeder insects in the room, as it will kill them.