tod and mite questions

[Robbo]

hi guys
i have just found a couple of mites on one of my snakes a bhp about 3-4 months old
after reading some of the old posts about the subject i have a few questions i would like to ask
is tod safe to use on womas and bhp?
should i spray the enclosures with the snakes inside or take them out and spray them seperatly?
should i wash the snake and enclosure after ?
should i spray my bearded dragons as well ?
and any other advice you may want to give

thanks
shane

[peterjohnson64]

Robbo, you're not gettign much support here are you mate. That's probably because no-one on at the moment knows a definite answer. You shuold spray the enclosures with the snake in them but I am uncertain of how safe it is with 3 month old snakes. You should also destroy all the enclosure furniture (branches I mean) and thoroughly clean them and all bowls etc. You shouold also repeat in a month.

And I don't think (but could definitely be wrong) that beardies suffer from mites because the mites like to bed themselves in under the scales and can't do it on a beardie. BUT there is no reason that the mites wouldn't hang around the beardies cage.

And then you should repeat in a week and then a week later make sure you have no mites.

But please someone who has sprayed 3 month old pythons reply to this thread.

[Robbo]

thanks for the reply pete
branches are already firewood

[pythonkisses]

Wish i could help but i have not had this prob i have a book here on Understanding reptile parasites.

No pest strips/Vapona impregnated strips
effective method for the treatment of mites
ADEQUATE VENTILATION IS ESSENTIAL.

THATS All it has on mites most is about worms etc

am to awaiting a reply its good to write things down
to keep for your own records..


Sammie

[pythonkisses]

Just reading my other Australian Python care book and it also has
in it MITES.

From Book
" dichlorvos insecticidal strips still the best method these are made from plastic
material that is impregnated with a slow continuous release of the insecticidal vapor into the air.
Use the strip for 24 hours only remove food and water repeat the treatment
after 3 days.
CLEAN EVERYTHING AFTER EACH TREATMENT."


ALSO FROM BOOK

" Immersing or painting the python with olive oil will suffocate mites on the snake
and when combined with a complete cleaning and bleaching of the enclosure and all its furniture usually will eliminate mites.
The oil will not harm the python even if it gets into the nose and mouth,and it
is safe to use near there eyes
(where mites often congregate)
wipe oil off after a few minutes and let the python move
through clean paper towels to rid of the last oil.
Often the snake will shed shortly after an oil treatment..


hope some of that helps


what do mites look like any how anyone got any pics?


sammie

[Simple]

Hi Robbo,

last year (right before we were trying to breed for the first time ) we ended up with snake mite through our whole collection (black head's, olives, carpet's and children's pythons). I have no idea how they got in but this was how we treated them.
We cleaned four times, every twelve days - this is to lessen the chance of them further laying as they are not yet able to reproduce at twelve days, but have hatched out of their eggs, it's very hard to kill them while they are still in the egg. We used Avian Insect Liquidator - (used for the control of lice in birds) Our cleaning method was as follows:

Bag the snake, take all the stuff including any logs mats etc out of the cage and give it a spray of Top of Descent, wash the cage with the Avian Insect Liquidator, leaving a very light residue inside the cage, wash the water bowl as well but do not place back into the cage for at least three days, make sure there is no residue on the water bowl when you fill it and put it back in.. We kept out most of the stuff from their cages (pretty much just had mats and hide boxes in there) Although we were told to lightly spray the Olive's, Carpets and children pythons, it was not recommended to spray Black Headed pythons directly.


We were warned agaisnt pest strips as we were told they may have contributed to reptile deats, hoewever we haven't actually used them. If you want any more details PM us with your phone number and we'll give ya a call and help as much as we can!

[Pythoninfinite]

I've used pest strips in the (distant) past, and not had a problem with them, but I would never use them now with the snake in the cage - too many bad stories about deaths of snakes. Best to put the snake into a container of clean water to which you've added just a couple of drops of dish-washing detergent, the water just deep enough to cover the snake, and leave it there overnight. The wetting effect of the detergent will drown the mites on the snake, and then put the animal into a clean white or light coloured bag or pillowslip (allows you to see if there are any live mites remaining on the snake) for a few days while you deal with the cage infestation, and for this, pest strips are great. Place the pest strip into the cage and close it up for 2-3 days, with butcher's paper (white) on the bottom. This will allow you to see the mites on the floor. A spray such as TOD is also ideal for this, and you can thoroughly spray the surrounding area as well.

Keep the snake on white paper for a fortnight or so (you will be able to see if there is a re-infestation that way), then maybe do the whole process again to ensure you have killed any mites emerging after the first treatment.

Good luck! Jamie.

[peterjohnson64]

There seems to be concensus in here that pest strips shouldn't be used. Although they have been used for years with sucess apparently there has also been a number of failures. Not worth it. Stick to TOD or Orange Medic (the old one)

[dee4]

This is a discription of TOD from an online shop,
"Top of Descent is a pure safe aerosol insecticide which uses an inert propellant, that is non-irritating to the reptile. Top of Descent contains d-phenothrin which is rapidly biodegradable and is not stored in the body tissues of those exposed to it. Thus the reptile can be left in the cage at time of spraying. Any food, water, or empty water bowls should be removed from the area being sprayed."
Hope that helps you out Robbo, I have used it as said and never had any trouble. Mind you I've never had kites neither but better to be safe than sorry.

[dee4]

Mind you I've never had kites neither but better to be safe than sorry.

or mites as a matter of fact!!!!!!!!!!

[Robbo]

thanks for the replies guys
just been out in the garage spraying all the enclosures down with tod
luckly i have only seen the mites on one snake ( a recently purchesd one )
so hopefuly they havent spread to the rest yet
so after the treatment today and one in a few days hopefuly they will be gone