Columbia rainbow - Page 3

SnoopySnake · 03-02-17, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GyGbeetle

Started with PAM for the tank and JurassiMite on the animals. Switched to Nix for everything. Now going back to PAM for the one tank and Nix for all other tanks and on all the animals. It's been 2 months. We've brought in 2 rescues during that time, both are in quarantine, both without mites (thankfully), but I can't in good conscious bring in another snake into quarantine right now. Unless I quarantine at a friend's house, which isn't fair. So I'll wait and pray the mites are gone soon.

How long do you go in between treatments? I found I had to treat about every 5 days and I would also spray around the cages and the floor of the room. Mites creep me out

GyGbeetle · 03-02-17, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnoopySnake

How long do you go in between treatments? I found I had to treat about every 5 days and I would also spray around the cages and the floor of the room. Mites creep me out

For the PAM, we treat the tanks every 2 weeks. For Nix, we were treating once a week, but we treated the infected tank yesterday, which was 3 days after our last treatment.

JurassiMite is relatively safe for snakes, so we treat the affected snakes daily, or as frequently as we can. With Nix, we will only spray the snakes once a week; I'm worried, even with the dilution, about over-exposing them to the pesticide in Nix.

We're going to buy PAM again this weekend (our pet store is like an hour away, so suffering through traffic during the week with 3 kids isn't my idea of a good time. We'll wait for the weekend), and only plan to treat the affected tank with PAM. Everyone else will continue with Nix.

I just don't know how much longer I can keep this up. We're going on our second true full month of treatments. I want the CRB, so I'm going to see what can be done. I've already resolved to picking her up. Now I just need to make this a mite-free home first.

GyGbeetle · 03-02-17, 09:49 AM

We spray around the cages, on the cats, the windows, the plastic containers the tanks are sitting on, the carpet, anything we can think of. It's just this one tank. It's seriously frustrating to have it just be one tank, and we don't even see a lot like I'd expect. If we had an infestation, why aren't they in all the tanks, or why don't we see a lot? Where the heck are these suckers living while we're trying to kill them?????

**Aaron_S** · 03-02-17, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GyGbeetle

We spray around the cages, on the cats, the windows, the plastic containers the tanks are sitting on, the carpet, anything we can think of. It's just this one tank. It's seriously frustrating to have it just be one tank, and we don't even see a lot like I'd expect. If we had an infestation, why aren't they in all the tanks, or why don't we see a lot? Where the heck are these suckers living while we're trying to kill them?????

What is inside that tank? You may want to just replace the tank and all the furnishings inside it.

SnoopySnake · 03-02-17, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

What is inside that tank? You may want to just replace the tank and all the furnishings inside it.

^^^^ yeah, I'm curious what might be causing that, do you have photos of the tank and everything that stays in it?

Scubadiver59 · 03-02-17, 10:30 AM

Did anyone think about closing the tank inside a LARGE plastic bag, or just seal it up with some kind of saranwrap-like wrapping, and then fogging the inside of the bag and sealing it up with tape and letting it sit for a while.

Just a thought...

GyGbeetle · 03-02-17, 10:31 AM

Please don't laugh at my horrible picture taking, and the horrible tank setup. They are all on plastic bins with the tops left off, since we have UTH, and found if we sat the tanks on plastic bins with the lids on, the heating element overheated.

So this tank typically has a plastic hide, and a plastic water bowl, and that's pretty much it. We've been wanting to change up EVERYONE'S setup since Christmas, but with mites, we're not doing anything. So they have been on paper towels now since January. It's all glass, with the mesh tops. Standard aquarium type tank. It came with our first snake, Fang. Fang is in an 80 gallon tank now, and we switched the baby boa (almost a year old now) to this tank.

There was paper on half of the lid, to help insulate humidity until we transitioned to new tanks (we're looking at animal plastics to convert over the next year), which I pulled off last night, and sprayed the heck out of everything with Nix.

Those plastic bins get treated along with the tanks. It's a 2-3 hour process to do the entire room and all the snakes, but it definitely gets done.

**Andy_G** · 03-02-17, 11:09 AM

Are you treating the bottom of the tanks as well?

GyGbeetle · 03-02-17, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_G

Are you treating the bottom of the tanks as well?

everything gets sprayed. to the point where I'm now worried the UTH units will need to be replaced.

the only thing we haven't done is remove the UTH, spray, and then put the units back on.

My husband is now considering getting a hot strip and placing it in the tank, which will guarantee to eliminate mites and their eggs within 3 days. I'm against it; it's an industrial pesticide that will kill a snake within an hour of contact, and can only be handled wearing gloves. Even putting the strip in a plastic container is no guarantee that the animal won't become exposed to the pesticide carried on the strip.

Skipper7 · 03-02-17, 01:06 PM

I have no experience with mites or snakes really, so take my advice for what its worth.

It seems to me like Nix just isn't strong enough to do the job for you. Perhaps you should try something else? Something stronger? Even if just something stronger in the room or around the tanks.

I know F10 has a mite product. I don't know much about it, but their products are generally good.

GyGbeetle · 03-02-17, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skipper7

I have no experience with mites or snakes really, so take my advice for what its worth.

It seems to me like Nix just isn't strong enough to do the job for you. Perhaps you should try something else? Something stronger? Even if just something stronger in the room or around the tanks.

I know F10 has a mite product. I don't know much about it, but their products are generally good.

This is also my thought. Provent-a-mite is hella strong, and toxic to snakes. We are going to blast the tank this weekend and treat the snakes with JurassiMite. PAM should only be used every 2 weeks, which is what we're going to do. And pray. Lots and lots of prayer

GyGbeetle · 03-02-17, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scubadiver59

Did anyone think about closing the tank inside a LARGE plastic bag, or just seal it up with some kind of saranwrap-like wrapping, and then fogging the inside of the bag and sealing it up with tape and letting it sit for a while.

Just a thought...

Mites get up under the scales of the snakes and lay eggs. They also deposit eggs in corners of the tanks. I'd have to wrap the snakes up too, which isn't going to help. Plus, to get any kind of effect, would probably have to tie up the enclosures for a minimum of 24 hours; where would the snakes go?

**Andy_G** · 03-02-17, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GyGbeetle

everything gets sprayed. to the point where I'm now worried the UTH units will need to be replaced.

the only thing we haven't done is remove the UTH, spray, and then put the units back on.

My husband is now considering getting a hot strip and placing it in the tank, which will guarantee to eliminate mites and their eggs within 3 days. I'm against it; it's an industrial pesticide that will kill a snake within an hour of contact, and can only be handled wearing gloves. Even putting the strip in a plastic container is no guarantee that the animal won't become exposed to the pesticide carried on the strip.

That sounds like the vapona (no pest strip) I was talking about previously...which covers everything with a pesticide vapour. Dichlorvos is the active ingredient. If you're going to use that, don't be surprised if some snakes or even non-reptiles show signs of toxicity due to exposure. Snakes can and do die from this stuff.

GyGbeetle · 03-02-17, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_G

That sounds like the vapona (no pest strip) I was talking about previously...which covers everything with a pesticide vapour. Dichlorvos is the active ingredient. If you're going to use that, don't be surprised if some snakes or even non-reptiles show signs of toxicity due to exposure. Snakes can and do die from this stuff.

After what I went through with our Woma, I am going to veto this. I cannot emotionally afford to have another snake get sick or pass away. I'd rather just keep doing the mite treatments for the rest of their lives than go through that again. And here was only a small amount of toxicity

Scubadiver59 · 03-02-17, 05:06 PM

Rather obvious you can't put the snakes in there...you'd have to put them in something else, like a large container, i.e. rubbermaid, and then fog the old viv. With the rubbermaid container there are fewer nooks and crannies for the mites to hide while you treat the snake and it's easily disinfected; and, a rubbermaid container is a heck of a light lighter than any glass or PVC viv. In fact, you could even dispose of it due to the low cost when your done.

Just trying to stimulate an alternative idea or two to your problem, not kill your pets!

Quote:

Originally Posted by GyGbeetle

Mites get up under the scales of the snakes and lay eggs. They also deposit eggs in corners of the tanks. I'd have to wrap the snakes up too, which isn't going to help. Plus, to get any kind of effect, would probably have to tie up the enclosures for a minimum of 24 hours; where would the snakes go?