Yet another MITES question

[greenman1867]

Yes, unfortuntaly my Boas have mites, my question is not really about treatment, but the spreading of. I found the mites tonight during my daily handling session with my Boa out of the Viv.
Since he was out near my desk, I assume at least one mite fell or got rubbed off him (I know because I seen them on my hand too).

Will these mites survive, say in my carpet and eventually find their way back to my snakes? Or will they die outside the viv?

I would hate to have to torch my whole room because of the lil buggers, but if thats what it takes...............

Thanks

Shawn

[lolaophidia]

They will travel from cage to cage and on your hands and clothes. Check out this site for a great explanation of
The War on Mites (http://www.vpi.com/9VPITipsAndTechs/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites.htm)

You do need to treat everything, not just the one snake or the cages. Mites can spread serious diseases from snake to snake and from collection to collection.
Good Luck in the war!

[HeatherRose]

I agree with lolaophidia, treat everything, as all of your snakes could have mites now. It's pretty easy, go to the link above ^^^ or search the site.

Btw, the maximum signature size is 4 lines ;)

[beanersmysav]

I bought a Snake from LLL reptiles and one of the other snakes that was from there had mites, however I've searched mine over and over and couldn't find a single mite including the bathing method does this mean I should be safe?

[greenman1867]

WHAT?? Max sig is 4 lines? Does that mean I have to get rid of 4 of my pets? LOL

Anyways, thanks for the link.

One more quick question, are snake mites actually snake mites? Or do they like beardies and all the rest of the critters? Including my dogs, wife and I?

Thanks again

[Matt_K]

Snake mites are host specific..

[beanersmysav]

greenman if you want to list are your reptiles do it like ive done

[greenman1867]

LOL I thought of that too, late and now I am too lazy to put it back, at least tonight, I have been cleaning and soaking and dissinfecting all night, not to mention getting another enclosure set up while I make sure I got all the mites.

Okay, another question.
Does anyone in SW Ontario (London area) know where I can find the pest strips talked about in the link provided above by Lora?
http://www.vpi.com/9VPITipsAndTechs/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites.htm


Thanks again. I really appreciate all the advice.

[HeatherRose]

Pest strips are a very bad idea in my opinion, unless you are talking about outside the cages.

Otherwise, they are 1. Toxic and 2. Sticky, two things that just don't mesh with snakes.

[lolaophidia]

I wouldn't use no pest strips as a first choice for mite treatment, since they have been shown to cause neurological symptoms with some snakes and are pretty toxic as the other poster stated.

I've had great success with Black Knight spray (and will hopefully never need it again), but that's no longer on the market. Provent A Mite works well from what I've heard and there have also been numerous posts about using a diluted Nix solution (do a search on Mites or Nix) on the forum. Nix should be available at drug stores as a lice treatment.

[oakley]

I had mites, and I tried everything and they kept on coming back untill i used provent-a-mite ... its great IF you use it properly ... seriously its the greatest. Just read the label and follow it exactly, and treat all your snakes, and then do it again in 2 weeks just to be sure, and then you should be home free ... also be careful when you go to friends houses and pet places and such, especially if you handle snakes there ... also i have learned to only buy animals from people who let you go to their house, that way you can see the set ups they have, and check out the health of all their animals. now i can spot mites a mile away because I am now always looking for them ... there is my 2 cents and then some, hope it helps, all the best!!

[greenman1867]

Okay, the best I could do last night was "Reptile Relief" it seemed to work pretty good, ther a a bunch of dead mites on the newspaper I put them on in the new rubbermaid.

Also, my boy is shedding ATM, I will get the shed out asap. He only has a bit of tail to go.

The reptile releif says not to use again for 3 days. So I will wait 3 days, re-do the enclosure and area along with the Boas.

Thanks again everyone for all the advice.