Solution to Mites

PatrickV · 12-03-16, 12:34 AM

Just thought i'd post some good news. I recently acquired 2 new boa's. one was from a new breeder. the other i acquired through a trade on Kijiji with someone i'd never met. I've never heard of putting new boas in quarantine and up to date ive never had problems with mites and i had no idea what they looked like. I do now. my new albino boa had mites crawling on him and under his scales. Im not sure exactly where they came from but obviously they were on one of the new snakes i got.
Just wanted to say that i also happened to get my order of Vin Russo's book "the complete boa constrictor..." on the same day that i found the mites and looked up his solution to mites. I bought Nix (a solution for lice on humans) and diluted a weaker form than that which he suggested because i was afraid of making it too strong. I applied as he suggested in his book and my mite infested boa looks mite-free for the moment and in good shape. I also meticulously cleaned his home.
People say to treat every snake in your collection if you find mites. But i checked my other snakes and didnt see any sign of mites at all. I noticed them on my albino boa because he was soaking in his water bowl all of the sudden and he never does that, and a post on this forum said a reason behind this could be mites, and they were right. If i dont see any more mites in the coming weeks, ill consider myself lucky for having caught them early enough. however, if i see more, im afraid ill have to treat every animal and the entire room that i keep them in. i hope i wont have to do this.
Wanted to let people know about this solution to mites for those who have a similar problem and will post updates as to whether they re-appear or not.

Albert Clark · 12-03-16, 12:56 AM

It's really great to hear that you caught the infestation early. I would consider treating all my animals regardless. Retreating again in 2 to 3 weeks to eradicate any mite eggs that will have hatched out. Just keep a close eye out and it may be better to put all the animals onto paper towels for the next couple of weeks. That will give you better visibility of any mites.

ThirteenRavens · 12-03-16, 01:58 AM

I used this treatment for my snakes when I noticed that my ball python had been harboring mites when I brought him home...............he looked nice and clean when I picked him up but a week later he was covered with mites...I tore his viv apart, gave him nothing but paper towels and 2 cardboard box halves for hides and his water dish...I treated him for about a month and some change and because I was uber paranoid about them spreading to my other snakes, I used the diluted NIX solution to wipe along their screen tops and along the sides of where the screen covers the tank (if that makes sense?)....the only one of my at that time 6 that also got mites was my bloodred cornsnake so I treated her the same way...paper towels and 2 cardboard box halves and her water dish. I was fortunate that none of the others came down with mites but would say that this worked really well for me also. I did treat the snakes themselves with a reptile spray made by Natural Chemistry that I picked up from Petco...sprayed that on a rag and wiped them down with it.

Live, learn, then quarantine

SWDK · 12-03-16, 06:57 AM

Definitely be diligent with the battle against the mites. Continue the treatment full term even if you don't see the mites. I'm having to treat again because I slowing down the treatments because I didn't see any more mites and thought it was done. Do yourself a favor and treat your whole collect to be extra sure they don't spread. You already have the solution mixed up and it doesn't take much effort to spray the other snakes and enclosures.

Jim Smith · 12-03-16, 08:48 AM

I posted this in responses to a recent question about treating mites, so bare with me if you've read it before. Just another way to handle the problem with a LOT less work.

I have fought the battle with mites before and had similar experiences even when I tried PAM and Nix multiple times. I ended up using predatory mites to hunt down and eat the snake mites. The predatory mites even eat the eggs of the snake mites which most of the sprays can't kill resulting in you having to apply multiple treatments. I had two cages with reoccurring cases of mites over a year long period of me trying to get rid of them. I used one treatment of the predatory and they were gone in about a week The only downside is that they are somewhat expensive ($45), and you have to use them within a couple of weeks or they starve to death. One container of the predatory mites was enough to treat all five of my 36"x24"x14" cages. Considering all the work and hassles associated with spray treatments etc. this was well worth my time/effort. They come in a plastic container and you simply sprinkle them along with their bedding materials in your cage and forget about it. The predatory mites only eat other mites and they die off in a couple of weeks after you send them in to do their work. It worked great for me and if I am ever cursed with mites again, I'm going straight for the predatory mites. Here's the link to where I bought them. Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Hypoaspis miles) - Fungus Gnat, Thrips, Snake Mite Predator

Good luck and keep us posted.

PatrickV · 12-03-16, 12:59 PM

so i took your advice and treated my entire collection and their enclosures... i only have 5 snakes but it was a pain and very time consuming. everyone's on paper towel for now. I will continue the treatment of the one that was originally infested every 4 days for 2 weeks.
As for the suggestion about predatory mites. thats very interesting and i would consider it if only i knew where to buy them close by. I dont want to order online and wait days to receive it, meanwhile the infestation grows. If they do re-appear and prove to be more than Nix is able to take care of, i will consider buying some online.
thanks for the advice and suggestions everyone.

pet_snake_78 · 12-03-16, 08:49 PM

Jim Smith: Did your enclosures have a moist substrate like cypress or a dry one like aspen? I am curious how much moisture the predatory mites need to survive?

Jim Smith · 12-03-16, 10:23 PM

I use sani-chips for the substrate for all my Hondurans which are the enclosures I treated. The predator mites seemed to like it fine and they did the job perfectly. After about 3 days, you could actually see egg cases of the predator mites on the front plexiglass doors of the cage. After two weeks or so there was no evidence of mites at all and I have been mite free for over a year now.