Mites

crochunter · 08-15-02, 02:45 PM

Hey everyone
does anyone know of the best way to get rid of mites .....I just noticed some on my burms and I want to get rid of them as soon as possible.

PoiSoNouS · 08-15-02, 03:05 PM

I never had mites but I know lot of people that uses a stuff called "Vapona" that kills insects...

First of all you should disinfect all the enclosure, take out the substrat, cut of a piece of this stuff, and put it as far as possible of the water bowl in the enclosure...
This is a strong stuff and you should change the water at least twice a day... it leaves residue on the surface of the water and its not neccessairely good...

The good news is.. You should have to do this only for 10 days....

This is the way I know... but if anyone has another plan,I'll sure be interested to learn about it..

Good luck !

Big Mike · 08-15-02, 04:13 PM

There are a lot of things that can be done. I'm sure this thread will be full of good advice in no time.

First off you should get rid of whatever substrate you are using and go with something easy to clean or replace (newspaper is a good choice). Clean, sanitize and disinfect the enclosure and everything in it. You should do this on a regular basis anyway but repeat this once a week for a few months so that any unhatched mite eggs don't reinfest your snakes.

There are products like "prevent-a-mite" that people use. Apparently it works but can be dangerous if not used properly. There are pest strips that kill the little buggers but can be toxic to the snake as well. I took my snake (Cal. King) to the vet to get rid of the mites and she gave him an oral injection, I don't recall the name of the medication but it worked. It better have for $56.

Nix flea and tick shampoo is also popular. I believe that bathing the snake in a Nix/water solution is what people do.

DO LOTS OF RESEARCH Make sure you have a good idea of what you are going to do and have a good plan of attack for the problem.

How long have you had your snakes? Did you bring in a new snake to your collection? A snake will most likely not acquire mites if you keep it in a clean and healthy environment. If you bring in a new snake (especially from a pet store) it might have mites and then could infest the snakes you already have. You should quarantine any new snakes until you are certain that they will not transfer any parasites or diseases to your current snakes.

sparkon16 · 08-15-02, 06:08 PM

ivermectin is used for sheep and cattle but it works well at the zoo if we ever get mites. Just be sure to dilute it a lot usually 4cc per litre of water but depends on concentration. It is terribly expensive but will last u a long time. Two choices with this stuff
1. spray everyday for about a month and a half and they should all be dead.

2. take out all substrate spray down well with ivermectin and use paper as substrate for two weeks and then spray once more at the end of the two weeks and then u can put mulch down and u should be mite free.

I like to use mulch more than paper but for sanitary purposes use paper if u have to.

If all else fails definately consult a pro, infact u should consult one anyways.

sSNAKESs.com · 08-15-02, 06:28 PM

Buy some NIX from the shoppers drug mart or any pharmacy... its shampoo for head lice. Its sold behind the counter... You then Dilute it with water, 1 teaspoon nix to 1 litre of water in a misting bottle, shake it up REALLY good so the shampoo disolves... spray it on your snake and enclosure and your mites should be gone...

Linds · 08-15-02, 06:42 PM

Ivermectin is one option. I am unfamilair with the procedures surrounding the use of this so I won't comment.

Nix is an excellent treatment and probably one of the safest methods. Diltue 1- 4 oz bottle to 1 gallon of water and spray snake and enclosure, repeat again in a week, then after that in 2 weeks.

Provent-A-Mite is a tried and true method, though if not followed exactly as follwoed the results can be lethal. There have been many deaths resulting from improper use of the product.

Black Knight is another tried and true product, which is also quite safe for the snake. Spray all over snake and enclosure. The stuff is so potent it will kill all the bugs in the room so be careful if you keep any invertabrates.

Vapona is an old method and if you choose to go this method be VERY careful as it is a very toxic chemical. Place a small peice in a small ventilated container so the snake cannot make contact with it and change periodically. And as PoiSoNouS mentioned, the water eneds to be changed frequently.

For some great info on mites, check out this page:
<a href="http://vpi.com/9VPITipsAndTechs/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites/TheWarAgainstSnakeMites.htm">The War on Mites</a>

Good lcuk with your battle

crochunter · 08-15-02, 08:26 PM

Thanks for the input
I'm using newspaper as substrate and it is changed once a week when I clean the enclosure using a bleach solution so I don't know how they got the mites....so far only my two burms are affected my boa doesn't seem to have any yet but I have moved his enclosure away from the rest.....someone at the pet store had told me to use a cat flea collar and cut it into pieces and to put it into the enclosure under the substrate....I'll give the Nix a try and let you all know how it worked
Thanks for the advice.