cypress mulch...

[BreaksBabe]

so i bought cypress mulch for my burmese and it gave her mites. i was soaking her in the tub and felt so bad for her. so its off for a check up on wednesday at the vet.

[rethius]

I've been looking for cypress mulch for a while, Guess I'll stop my search!

[Linds]

It is highly unlikely that your snake aquired mites from the cypress mulch. If your snake aquired snake mites (small and BLACK), it was likely from another source. If you purchased it from a pet store, they most likely had an infestation, and perhaps a mite or two travelled onto the cyrpess mulch to use as a host, or on to yourself and go in that way. Snake mites live on reptiles, not in mulch. If these were WHITE, then they are just harmless little wood mites. These are perfectly normal in natural substrates of any kind, and are of no cause for concern. They will bother you mroe than your snakie :p If you wish to do without the, just make sure you bake the mulch prior to using it ;) If you are indeed battling snake mites, then there are safer methods than Ivermectin (prescribed by a vet). You can use NIX, which is a lice shampoo for humans. This is by far one of the best methods, and is highly effective. Dilute one bottle of Nix (2oz) to one gallon of water, spray all over cage and snake. Repeat in 3 days, then in 2 weeks, and again once more in 2 weeks. Hope this helped :)

[nouserpif]

I have heard freezing all the mulch on a baking sheet, then zapping it in the oven at 350F for a 30 minutes or so(or maybe the other way around...) will kill 99% of the parasites in there... That should help a bit... I am not to sure, though, this is just what I have heard.
Dan Conner

[tHeGiNo]

350 man, wouldnt that burn the mulch?

[stormyva]

I treat any substrate, except newpaper, with Black Knight or Sawyers Tick Spray before it enters the house.
Put the substrate in a plastic tub, spray it, stir it up, and spray it again, then let it set for an hour before putting it in a cage. Since I started this I have not seen a single little bug in any cages!

[snakemann87]

oh, i just bought some aspen, i will definately do that before i put it in, thank you stormy.

[Xetox]

The best way to get rid of reptile mites is with Black Knight!!!! Its around 20 bucks a can but is the best on the market and is not toxic to reptiles!!!

But if u have any kind of insects as far as pets or for use of food, take them out before using it or they will not make it!

here is a great articel on getting rid of mites!!! and using Black Knight!

How in the World do I get rid of these damn mites? (http://www.proexotics.com/FAQ_answers_get_rid_of_mites.html)

[Linds]

Originally posted by Xetox
The best way to get rid of reptile mites is with Black Knight!!!! Its around 20 bucks a can but is the best on the market and is not toxic to reptiles!!!


BK is a very effective method of ridding snake mites, however it IS toxic to many types of lizard (geckos, etc) and all amphibians, and should not be used in the viciity of them. There have also been reports of young snakes being injured (some fatally) by this product, so caution must be applied when using it.

[nouserpif]

Sorry, 250F not 350F... lol
shouldn't burn it
Dan Conner

[Burmies]

Stuff like that always happends, it happend to me with Aspin Chips.

Burmies

[BreaksBabe]

ty all.
i wont be making the trip to the vet tomorrow after all. what with 2ft of snow on the ground today and its still comin down :/

[gfisher2002]

I posted 4th on here a few days ago. Why was my post removed? Oh well. I agreed with linds.