Dish Soap for Mites

[Auskan]

I know this has come up many times, but what is the "recipe" for using dishsoap to get rid of mites? I've done a search on the forums but couldn't find the one I saw a couple of weeks ago when I didn't need the info LOL. Someone had posted about water & dishsoap in a rubbermaid & letting the snake swim for about 30 minutes, but I can't remember the proprotions. Also, about how deep would you fill the container? I would guess that warm to lukewarm would be best, keeping in mind that it will cool during the 30 minute period?

[MouseKilla]

I've used this method successfully but I couldn't tell you the exact soap to water ratio. If I were to guess I would say 1:10 soap/water. You want a solution thick enough that it leaves a film if you stick your hand in it. On the other hand you don't want it to be too soapy, I imagine if highly concentrated the soap would have some strong odour but I'm not sure that it would harm the snake. It's not an exact science, I would just recommend that you don't go too nuts with the soap.

So you mix up the soap with warm water, as you said (I would reccomend you use a thermometer and heat the water to 90 F or so just to be safe) in a small rubbermaid with a lid with air holes. You want the stuff about an inch or so deep so the snake has no choice but to sit in the soap and soak but won't have to tread water. When you put him in make sure he gets totally coated, he'll likely do this on his own anyway.

After that get the lid on it and put the container back into the enclosure (you do that so you don't need to worry about the bath getting cold). Do this only after you have sanitized your enclosure, and anything that is going to be inside, with a bleach solution and have rinsed it all off really well. Also get any garbage in that room out and preferrably out of the building and also vaccuum the room. Leave the snake in the container for at least 8 hours (I go over night to be sure).

When you later open the soap bath you should find a bunch of dead mites peppering the bottom of the container (now who's bad?!) At this point you can rinse your snake off and let him go in his very clean enclosure.

Now you watch and wait. Use paper towel substrate and search the enclosure every day for two weeks. If you find a single mite in that time you start the whole process over again. If not your animal is clean, congratulations! Now take him out and sanitize the enclosure one more time to make extra sure they are gone. That might sound redundant but it's better than starting all over again because one or two eggs got left behind.

Good luck man, I hate stupid mites.

[Derrick]

you just need a small amount I used about a table spoon in a couple of liters of water for my corn some time ago. The purpose of the soap is to bkeak the surface tension of the water to allow it to get right in between the scales where air would normally be trapped so that the mites drown. I dont know if my proportions are right but it worked. You dont really need much

also add the soap after the water so it doesnt foam just gently mix it by hand.

hope this helps a bit sorry I couldnt be more exact I only hand mites once and I kinda winged it.

[Auskan]

Thanks both of you for the lengthy replies. I'll do all this tonight. Kind of PO'ed that I have this problem as I got this corn from a breeder.

[Derrick]

What did you use for bedding. My mite case show up not long after i got my guy from a breeder but I came to the conclusion that it was the petstore bedding that they got it from after talking to a few people that got snakes from the same breeder at around the same time.

[Auskan]

I have always just used paper towels for my baby corns, but the breeder was using some kind of wood shavings, I believe (I don't know what type).

[Linds]

Originally posted by MouseKilla
I imagine if highly concentrated the soap would have some strong odour but I'm not sure that it would harm the snake. It's not an exact science, I would just recommend that you don't go too nuts with the soap.


Almost all dishsoaps contain ammonia, or an ammonia-like substance. Also, it's best to avoid soaking your snake in any dishsoap labelled as "anti-bacterial"... these contain added toxins to fight off bacteria, dishsoap already contains agents that kill bacteria.