Reoccurring Mite Problem

[msubigdawg]

I live in a dorm and I have a Colombian red tail in a rubbermaid. She has had mite about 5 times since school has started. I always throw away all the bedding and I spray her and the entire enclosure with a Nix(lice medicine) solution that someone told me about. I don't have anywhere around here to get mite spray so I am using this. Now I am moving out of the dorm in less than a month. These are my questions. I have a large rubbermaid full of extra bedding in the same room, do you think the mites are in there? I am also wondering is there a better type of spray I can make that I can do without having actual mite spray? The last one is do you think that when I move out this problem will go away?
Thanks

[Jeff_Favelle]

Screw using the bedding and go to NEWSPAPER until the problem is solved. Have an extra Rubbermaid that's the exact same size ready to switch so you can completely bleach the original cage. You should only have to NIX 2-3 times to get rid of mites.

And mites can't live without a host for long, so unless there's fresh snake blood in your bedding bag, I don't see them taking up residence in there.

[BoidKeeper]

Unless of course they aren't actual snake mites at all. Some times natural substrate has bugs in it. So it could be that it is snake mites and your aren't treating them correctly or it's not snake mites at all and they some type of bug that is living in your substrate. Either way step 1 is like Jeff said, ditch all the substrate and keep it gone until you are 100% sure they are gone. Step two is to indentify the bug in question. Snake mites are the sive of this . and are black.
Cheers,
Trevor

[lostwithin]

If I were you I would take advantage of the fact your moving. I would leave everything behind when you move. Soak your snake in nix solution, and buy a new Rubbermaid all together, in the long run it would be best mites are extremely hard to get rid of, so I would just treat the snake and start over completely new at your new place, making sure you bring NOTHING with you.

Good luck
Devon

[JonD]

Keep in mind mites travel quite abit. you should really spray everywhere. the lid of the cage, any possible hide spots the out side of the cage and about a 3-4 foot radius around it.

[LdyDrgn]

Describe the 'mites' you are seeing. What color are they? What substrate are you using?

[msubigdawg]

little black bugs with big butts lol. I am using aspen

[HeatherRose]

If I were you I would take advantage of the fact your moving. I would leave everything behind when you move. Soak your snake in nix solution, and buy a new Rubbermaid all together, in the long run it would be best mites are extremely hard to get rid of, so I would just treat the snake and start over completely new at your new place, making sure you bring NOTHING with you.

Or, you could just treat the situation properly and not be bothered with it again...mites don't eat or live on rubbermaids or hides. A GOOD cleaning of the rubbermaid and accessories should work. Use bleach.

Keep in mind mites travel quite abit. you should really spray everywhere. the lid of the cage, any possible hide spots the out side of the cage and about a 3-4 foot radius around it.

Mites NEED to be around a fresh supply of food, meaning the snake. They are snake mites, and will stay around the snake.

While I SWEAR by nix, I guess it's not working for you...since there's nothing else around you, try this site: http://www.pro-products.com/miteandtemp.html

If you want to give nix another shot, give the snake a good rub down with it. Don't just spray the snake and the enclosure. Bleach the enclosure and cage accessories, and use some fresh paper towels as substrate for now (easier to see mites on). Soap the snake well with the nix, then rinse and repeat.

This worked for me the one time I needed it to.

Good luck.

[Asian Jon]

Heather that stuff works awesome! Only had to use it once to get rid of the mites that were on my BP.

[LdyDrgn]

Or you can go to the local WalMart into the camping section and pick up a can of Repel PermaNone. It contains .5% permethrin, the same as Provent-a-Mite, only it's $5 per can as opposed to $20. (DO NOT BUY ANYTHING WHICH CONTAINS DEET)

Directions for use are the same as the POM. Do NOT spray onto the snake. Remove the snake and water bowl, spray the substrate (light coating), cover and let sit for 30 minutes. Uncover and allow to air out another 30 minutes, stir up the aspen and give it another few minutes to air. Wash the water bowl well, refill, and place it and the snake back into the enclosure.

Pre-treat the rest of aspen in the bag. Not because there may be mites in it, but as a preventative measure when you go to change the substrate out for your snake.

Good luck :)