Mites. I got 'em now

[Norm66]

So a while back I searched and searched thinking my JCP might have mites. Tonight I got a phone call from my friend Shannon telling me I had mites because some of hers had them (our newest acquisitions were delivered to her house). Sure enough I found some in my boa's water dish. No possible doubt.

So luckily the pet store had the stuff Shannon uses (natural Chemistry Reptile Spray). I bought two bottles for her (my mites, my meds) and a third for myself, came home and turbo-cleaned cages, hides and dishes and treated snakes. I got peed on twice but didn't get bit even by the JCP.

So, welcome to the reptile hobby for me I guess. :)

What about the bedding I have drying out? I assume it's infected, is there anything I can do short of tossing it in the trash? I took it out of the tubs because it turned out to be too wet and was making the humidity go too high but it's definitely infected with mites. It's not going to be below freezing here until Monday night and then only 29. Is there any chemical that I can use on it that'll be safe for the snakes or do I just bite the bullet and chuck it in a garbage bag?

Any advice is appreciated.

[KORBIN5895]

I don't think freezing will kill mites. Someone is .totally going to tell you to treat it wit pam. While someone else will say nix. I uses nix and it worked great. Someone on here said to use rid for the bedding. Good luck

[Shmoges]

Provent a mite!!!! FTW For enclosures and substrate only. Remove snake and water dish spray everything down inside. I still replace bedding myself and spray the new bedding. While its drying, oil up your snaky with mineral oil and let it chill in the tub. Put it back in the enclosure and mites will die from the proventamite/oil combo. X fingers I havn't had an outbreak yet.

[CDN_Blood]

Once substrate has been exposed to any kind of parasite, it's finished. Just pitch it all and use paper until you're positive they're all gone. There is almost always a 2nd batch of mites that will crop-up just when you think you've gotten rid of them, so be on the look-out for that.

I strongly recommend not putting oil of *any* kind on your snake at any time! Just stick to the treatment recommended on the label of whatever you're using and don't forget that this entails treating any shelving your tanks sit on, carpets they may sit on, walls they may be in close proximity to, etc.

Here's hoping the little buggers are contained quickly! It can SO suck when these things make an appearance. The only good thing about it is that it usually teaches a body the value of quarantining new snakes, which is another thing I always strongly recommend :)

[Terranaut]

The stuff you bought will not work. I had mites here once and used Nix as shown on here. I put the bottle of Nix ( its a shampoo for human headlice) into a 4l jug of distilled water and mixed it good. I sprayed all my snakes ( not just the snake with mites) all of my enclosures and tossed all my aspen including the 1/2 bag I had not used yet. I used white paper towel as substrate. 2 weeks later I did it all again even though I didn't see any mites. They are gone. If you use pam ( prevent a mite) do not put it on the snake just the enclosure and bedding. Also treat the outsides of your enclosures as well as any carpet that is near them.
Yes this is a crappy part of the hobby but oh well it happens.
Treat it like they have ebola and wash everything with your pam or nix and it will go away.
These are the only things that actualy work so toss that other stuff and get the right stuff before you have a huge infestation.

[shaunyboy]

i only use provent a mite

its worked first time everytime

it can also be used as a preventative measure,when quarantining snakes

i don't like nix because you have to apply it to the snake directly:no:

cheers shaun

[Norm66]

OK. Ordering PAM now. Thanks folks!

[shaunyboy]

just make sure all the snakes are put in a different room while your spraying mate

also leave a window open and allow 2 hours for the fumes to dissapate

don't spray your water bowls,just wash them in hot soapy water and keep them in another room,until your ready to put the snakes back in their tanks

i usually just put my snakes in pillow cases on a bed in another room,while using doing treatment

cheers shaun

[Terranaut]

just make sure all the snakes are put in a different room while your spraying mate

also leave a window open and allow 2 hours for the fumes to dissapate

don't spray your water bowls,just wash them in hot soapy water and keep them in another room,until your ready to put the snakes back in their tanks

i usually just put my snakes in pillow cases on a bed in another room,while using doing treatment

cheers shaun

Perfect advice. :)

[Brazen17]

My GTP had mites and I used diluted NIX. Worked like a charm. Killed the mites on the first treatment but did a follow up treatment to be on the safe side. I was a little leary applying the NIX directly to the snake but it did not harm it.

If it were a warmer time of year you could put your substrate in one of those dark green lawn bags and let it sit in the sun all day. It gets very hot inside the bag and will kill any critters in it. On the other hand substrate is relatively inexpensive so replacing it is probably the safest route. I still "bake" my new substrate just to be sure to kill any of the wood mites that may be present.

[Norm66]

PAM ordered.

OK, gotcha. I have snake bags for most of them that they came in. I'll make sure they're safe before I use them.

[Shmoges]

I strongly recommend not putting oil of *any* kind on your snake at any time

Elaborate please.

The "Mineral" oil helps to get adult mites off of the snake because they can't breath, it also helps with shedding, and is safe. If you put a snake in a tub of oil yes thats not a good idea and expensive but there is nothing wrong with what I explained. Its similar to soaking a snake in water except you can cover there head as well were mites are hard to remove.

[Shmoges]

On the other hand substrate is relatively inexpensive so replacing it is probably the safest route.

Exactly why try to save $2 worth of substrate with possibly more expensive chemicals? Pitch it and no worries.

[Shmoges]

just make sure all the snakes are put in a different room while your spraying mate

Heck yeah you don't want anything breathing the fumes while it drys

I think it says on the can but also if you have any invertebrates food or pet I would recommend removing them from your house. proventamite is like a bug bomb!! It will kill tarantulas ded!

ventilate ventilate ventilate

When I used it I set the rack outside so I didnt have to open every window and hide everything that was alive. Lucky for me the rack was a tinny thing.

[alessia55]

Good luck getting all the mites out!

[shaunyboy]

forgot to say norm.....

just spray the substrate and spot clean it for 4 to 5 weeks

provent a mite remains active for 30 days,which is way longer than the complete life cycle of mites

it don't kill the eggs,but kills the mite the INSTANT it trys to hatch

re mineral oil
i'm NOT a fan of putting oil on a snake.that said i'm not a fan of putting anything directly onto my snakes skin though

i had to help a guy get a jungle carpet back to health,after he soaked it too long,in too much oil and gave the snake a bad case of water blisters

cheers shaun

[Shmoges]

I agree to much of anything is bad and I didn't say to "soak the snake in oil" I wouldn't do that I just put some on my hands and touch the snake from head to tail and let is sit in the bath tub with just oil oil on its skin while I am cleaning the enclosure (10 mins maybe) then wipe it off and the rest will come off on the substrate.

[Norm66]

Thanks Shaun. It's actually about $35 worth of substrate. I'd like to save it if possible. And I sounds lie it is. Cheers!

[Aaron_S]

$35 bucks or the health of your collection?

[pythons9991]

ive used nix on my ball pythons and carpet python with no ill effects and the mites are gone if it is diluted and mixed preoperly it will work great and its very cheap, 4 L for about 15$

[Shmoges]

WTH kind of substrate do you use? I huge bag of aspen only costs me like 10-15. Is this for multi snake treatment or just one?

[Brazen17]

You could aslo put it in an oven safe container and bake it at ~200-225 degrees for a few hours. Nothing is going to live through that!

[shaunyboy]

$35 bucks or the health of your collection?

if the substrates sprayed with provent a mite,imo there will be NO danger of mites spreading as they will all be dead

cheers shaun

[shaunyboy]

ive used nix on my ball pythons and carpet python with no ill effects and the mites are gone if it is diluted and mixed preoperly it will work great and its very cheap, 4 L for about 15$

i honestly don't which product it was,either frontline or nix were causing neuro problems even killing snakes recently in the uk

it could have been misused but i'd rather not take the chance,just my personal prefference mate

cheers shaun

[Aaron_S]

if the substrates sprayed with provent a mite,imo there will be NO danger of mites spreading as they will all be dead

cheers shaun

You are correct but I don't like to take risks where possible. I rather empty it all out and use something like paper towel to ensure I don't see them. That's just me. On a side note I just switched to beta chips where I get a ridiculously huge bag for 12 bucks. I changed over all my adult snakes and used only 18% of the stuff. So I don't really mind changing it when needed.

[shaunyboy]

You are correct but I don't like to take risks where possible. I rather empty it all out and use something like paper towel to ensure I don't see them. That's just me. On a side note I just switched to beta chips where I get a ridiculously huge bag for 12 bucks. I changed over all my adult snakes and used only 18% of the stuff. So I don't really mind changing it when needed.

i agree 100% about not taking risks whenever possible mate

i was using aspen the twice i've had to deal with mites,i found it was ok to just spray the aspen and leave it in for 4 or 5 weeks

i stopped using aspen as imo it was too dusty,a few morelia keepers including myself,witnessed it bringing mild respiritory signs in some of our carpets

i use newspaper now but if i had mites,i think newspaper would be more trouble ?

i'm thinking you would have to spray extra sheets of paper,then store for use when spot cleaning

i don't go to reptile shops or visit other peoples collections these days.

i also give my quarintine tanks a spray of provent a mite 24 hours before the new snakes arrive

so hopefully i'll never need to find out if using newspaper in my tanks,would create problems while treating mites

cheers shaun

[Aaron_S]

I think if you had mites on newspaper the better option is to just go out and get fresh paper whenever you need it.

By your logic of spraying down extra bedding and storing it then you should be doing it with aspen and loose substrate too! That may not be a bad idea if you have an outbreak anyway. A spray over all substrate in the house.

[shaunyboy]

aaron,my aspen was quite deep,so i just used to spot clean and take out the soiled stuff,then spread the rest of the aspen over the bald spot

cheers shaun

[Aaron_S]

I wasn't arguing with you Shaun, just putting some thoughts I had out there! ;)

[shaunyboy]

I wasn't arguing with you Shaun, just putting some thoughts I had out there! ;)

same here mate ;)

its crap not being able to hear voice tones or see facial expressions on here mate

i was just having a chat with you and boncing ideas off your posts mate,nothing more ;)

i was trying to explain to you,why i felt that on that one occasion,aspen was better over newspaper,other than that i think aspens terrible for carpet pythons

i ALWAYS value your opinion aaron mate...!!

cheers shaun

[pythons9991]

i have my carpet on reptile carpet but the urine ext soaks into it and you pretty much have to change out the whole piece everytime so that means removing all branches , plants, hides everything that sits on the reptile carpet, i was thinking about switching to aspen but after what shaun said i am not sure.....whats the best substrate for carpets????? besides paper towel or newspaper.

[millertime89]

this just reminded me, I should order some, just in case.

[Lankyrob]

i have my carpet on reptile carpet but the urine ext soaks into it and you pretty much have to change out the whole piece everytime so that means removing all branches , plants, hides everything that sits on the reptile carpet, i was thinking about switching to aspen but after what shaun said i am not sure.....whats the best substrate for carpets????? besides paper towel or newspaper.

I use bark for all my snakes, easy to spot clean, and for those that need it keeps good humidity.

[KORBIN5895]

I use coco husk for my Columbian boas. 3 bucks for a massive block at Canadian tire. It expands to 56 liters and is sold as mulch.

[Aaron_S]

Glad neither of us were hostile sir!

[Norm66]

The mite fight seems to be going well. Every other day I'm treating the snakes with the stuff I listed above along with changing paper and turbo-cleaning the tubs, water dishes & hides. As of last night I'm seeing no mites but plan to continue treatment for another week to 10 days to break the cycle. PAM should be in this week and then I'll use the cypress/coconut mixture I have.

Today is the scheduled feeding day but it's also treatment day. My plan is to wait until tomorrow to try and feed, but I was wondering if I should simply wait until treatment is over. Thoughts?

[Gungirl]

I would wait until your 10 day cleaning is over. If you feed tomorrow then go to clean the next day you could stress one of your snakes out and cause a regurgitation.

[Norm66]

Ah, yea. Good thought. I obviously don't do my best thinking early in the morning. Thanks for doing it for me! ;)

[Gungirl]

Always happy to help once my coffee kicks in.

[shaunyboy]

Glad neither of us were hostile sir!

me to my good man ;)

i leave that to mykee lol :laugh::D;)

cheers shaun

[MoreliAddict]

i was trying to explain to you,why i felt that on that one occasion,aspen was better over newspaper,other than that i think aspens terrible for carpet pythons

cheers shaun
can anyone elaborate on this please?

i keep my carpet on aspen as recommended by the breeder...

[millertime89]

can anyone elaborate on this please?

i keep my carpet on aspen as recommended by the breeder...

its dry, it gets in heat pits and nostrils, it doesn't hold humidity well, it molds, I know plenty of people that use aspen, but cyprus is better IMO.

[pythons9991]

so whats the best substrate for ball pythons and carpet pythons??? i suppose there s no difinitive answer......

[Terranaut]

Seeing as everyone seems to have a different opinion I mixed a large bag of aspen with a large bag of cyprus and a large bag of reptibark in a big garbage bag and am using it right now. Holds humidity, smells nice and looks great. I tried newspaper but first pee from my 71/2' jcp saw half the cage floor covered in stinky and she was too so after changing it out and a nice bath I went to this mixture.

[SnakeyJay]

I mix as well... For my Brb I use bark and forest moss.... Just don't mix anything that is damp with aspen or you'll have mold in the viv.. :D

[Gungirl]

I use a 50/50 mix of Aspen and Cypress for all my snakes.

[millertime89]

so whats the best substrate for ball pythons and carpet pythons??? i suppose there s no difinitive answer......

not really, just personal opinions

Seeing as everyone seems to have a different opinion I mixed a large bag of aspen with a large bag of cyprus and a large bag of reptibark in a big garbage bag and am using it right now. Holds humidity, smells nice and looks great. I tried newspaper but first pee from my 71/2' jcp saw half the cage floor covered in stinky and she was too so after changing it out and a nice bath I went to this mixture.

that's actually not a bad idea, thanks for that.

I mix as well... For my Brb I use bark and forest moss.... Just don't mix anything that is damp with aspen or you'll have mold in the viv.. :D

that's my fear with aspen as most of my snakes need higher humidity (BP and corn are the exceptions).

[pythons9991]

has anyone tried carefresh or a similiar substrate?? (recycled paper pellets) i am worried about dust causing respitory issues... i used reptibark before it looked nice and held humidity very well but here on the west coast humidity isint an issue for me and i found the reptibark not very absorbent with a wet mess it spread everywhere also i saw my bp get a piece stuck in his mouth and he swallowed it. i switched to paper towels but i don't feel that the bp's like it i swear the feeding responses weakened after the switch from bark to paper soooo i think i am gonna try aspen for my bp's and carpet.