snake mites.

just noticed a couple mites on a bp i got a week ago. short story short he was placed with my other 2 2011 hatchlings for now and im tryin like hell to get rid of them. i have tried soaking the snakes for 2 hours and scrubbing the tank with hot water, didnt work. bought some mite killer that is snake safe that goes directly on the snake and also is used as a wipe down in the tank. got some results but still there. anyone know an easy way to get rid of them quicker? never had this problem ever in my life and its starting to frustrate me.

Buy a bottle of Nix lice shampoo... dilute it in a spray bottle about 1 part nix 20 parts water. Put the snake in a bin with newspaper and spray it until it's soaked... Leave it in there for about 20 minutes then rinse it off.

Make sure you thoroughly clean the cage as well before returning your snake... mites breed in the bedding and only return to the snake to feed. So make sure you treat the enclosure as well.

yea i currently got paper towels in the tank so i can see the mites that are dying but i will def try that. this will be the third time i scrub there tank. im about to completely submerge it in mite killer solution. just so frustrating.

Provent-a-mite. They sell it at animal jungle and it's the best stuff IMO. It's probably cheaper online but let me know if you get it and I'll fill you in on the best method.

yea i had it in my hand. its almost 30 bucks a can. might be what i have to do though. im gonna try a couple other things first though.

I wouldnt recommend provent a mite, i've seen it kill snakes before (used correctly)

I prefer to treat the snake directly, treat the cage directly, and then wash away the chemicals... leaving permethrin (provent a mite, nix, rid, etc) all over the cage is just bad news bears

its about 15-20 at the shows... QUARANTINE is super important when you bring a new one home!!!

yea gonna practice that one from now on. learned my lesson now im learnin from it.

Mike.OutbackReptiles wrote:

I wouldnt recommend provent a mite, i've seen it kill snakes before (used correctly)

I prefer to treat the snake directly, treat the cage directly, and then wash away the chemicals... leaving permethrin (provent a mite, nix, rid, etc) all over the cage is just bad news bears

Not that I don't believe you, but I find it hard to believe. It's been used successfully so many times without snakes dying, that having one die (as in first I've heard of) when used correctly makes me scratch my head. If using it correctly was the cause, I would expect more dead snakes? Could it have got in the water or on the snake? You're not suppose to use it on the snake directly and it's dry before you reintroduce. It has the same main ingredient that's in the NIX shampoo you mentioned but nix has an extra chemical that's questionable.

Here's a good read, particularly post #17

http://www.faunaclassified.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95975&page=2

You can also use Reptile Relief, which is safe to use on snakes. If you order from Reptile Basics, Rich does a very quick ship.

well im winning the war against mites. slowly but surely but im stayin on em. between soaking the snakes and the mite killer to wipe down the tank everyday im seeing less and less live and more dead. deff on the right track now.

good luck and keep us posted on progress.... but please be sure to practice quarantine whenever you bring a new one in... for several reasons... IBD included...

Not sure if this counts as a thread hijack but what do you consider good quarantine procedure for ball pythons? I've been reading up on IBD and it scares me how a single snake can wipe out an entire collection. Do you just keep a spare tank or designated quarantine rack in your snake room, or is an entirely different room a better idea? What time period? I've read both 3 months and 6 months.

Focal X wrote:

Mike.OutbackReptiles wrote:

I wouldnt recommend provent a mite, i've seen it kill snakes before (used correctly)

I prefer to treat the snake directly, treat the cage directly, and then wash away the chemicals... leaving permethrin (provent a mite, nix, rid, etc) all over the cage is just bad news bears

Not that I don't believe you, but I find it hard to believe. It's been used successfully so many times without snakes dying, that having one die (as in first I've heard of) when used correctly makes me scratch my head. If using it correctly was the cause, I would expect more dead snakes? Could it have got in the water or on the snake? You're not suppose to use it on the snake directly and it's dry before you reintroduce. It has the same main ingredient that's in the NIX shampoo you mentioned but nix has an extra chemical that's questionable.

It's the same chemicals as Nix but it's also all over the cage for who knows how long.

I'd rather kill the mites on the snake and get rid of the chemicals than have my snake crawling around on permethrin-soaked bedding for weeks on end.

I've see provent a mite kill snakes, mostly sensitive snakes like baby colubrids... Yes I used it right removed water bowl, let the cage dry etc. Just because it's dry doesnt mean your snake isnt absorbing it... after all, it kills mites after drying, doesn't it? I treat tons and tons of snakes after every reptile show and every time something gets shipped in, and never seen nix kill anything... You are right that it's the same stuff, but it's the difference between how the two products are used that makes the difference.

Jabberwocky Dragons wrote:

Not sure if this counts as a thread hijack but what do you consider good quarantine procedure for ball pythons? I've been reading up on IBD and it scares me how a single snake can wipe out an entire collection. Do you just keep a spare tank or designated quarantine rack in your snake room, or is an entirely different room a better idea? What time period? I've read both 3 months and 6 months.

IBD will kill a python within a few weeks of exposure every time... So as long as your quarantine is longer than that (I'd recommend at least 60 days in general) you are safe from that particular worry.

It's boas that can live with IBD and not show signs for months on end... I'm much more careful about boas than pythons, when it concerns inclusions

Best quarantine is a different building... or at least a different room. And don't run around touching things between quarantine and your collection

I used the Nix head lice thing and it killed a hatchling irian jaya. I had never used it before but was advised by a large scale breeder in the Midwest it was the best method.

As far as quarantine go you need to remember the life cycle and different stages of snake mites.
Check out this link
Snake Mites

Keep the snake quarantined for at least once I try for two life cycles of mites before adding them to my collection.

Also, as far as treating them there are natural methods with no chemicals.
Hypoaspis mites

Just a thought.

Oh yeah, don't forget your hand sanitizer. I use it between different snakes all the time. I go through crazy amounts of the stuff.

ax2austin wrote:

well im winning the war against mites. slowly but surely but im stayin on em. between soaking the snakes and the mite killer to wipe down the tank everyday im seeing less and less live and more dead. deff on the right track now.

Be sure to watch them, you may see a few around 30 days.

For those of us that aren't fortunate to have separate buildings as we do this in our homes, quarantine in another room is what we have been told. We do it for roughly 45-60 days. We also make sure that is the last snake we mess with and we use hand sanitizer between every snake just as a precaution. Not sure if the hand sanitizer is really a help but it's what we do. We have been lucky so far... *knock on wood*

yea i no longer see any mites but like you said about the life cycle i will be keeping them from the rest for 60 days to make sure and when i change the substrate im stilll gonna do a quick wipe down of the tank to be sure. but looks good so far.

b_rickard wrote:

I used the Nix head lice thing and it killed a hatchling irian jaya. I had never used it before but was advised by a large scale breeder in the Midwest it was the best method.

How concentrated was the solution, and how long did you leave it on the snake?

Mike.OutbackReptiles wrote:

How concentrated was the solution, and how long did you leave it on the snake?

I was told to just spray it on the outside of my racks and leave it there. I didn't do anything other than what I was told to do, or how to use it and it still killed a snake.

Self medicating with that stuff in my opinion isn't a good idea at all. I told a friend of mine my experience and he used it anyway and ended up killing an adult Fl. pine snake.

b_rickard wrote:

Mike.OutbackReptiles wrote:

How concentrated was the solution, and how long did you leave it on the snake?

I was told to just spray it on the outside of my racks and leave it there. I didn't do anything other than what I was told to do, or how to use it and it still killed a snake.

Self medicating with that stuff in my opinion isn't a good idea at all. I told a friend of mine my experience and he used it anyway and ended up killing an adult Fl. pine snake.

If you just sprayed it on the outside of the rack, it was not the cause of the snake's death.

This is what I use. Permectrin II.

Here is the link

http://www.scs-mall.com/Permectrin-II-Dog-Livestock-10-Permethrin/productinfo/V2/

I have use this for years. I buy the product. Mix 13.5 cc into a Gallon of water. I spray the tub, the bedding, the snake, and I don't take out the water dish. I use a pestiside sprayer and it works wonders!! My buddy who breeds snakes for a living gave me the tip and he has over 7,000 snakes. It works!!! I have used it on corns, rainbow boas, balls, kings, boas, burms, etc etc etc.

Joe Ellis