Mite prevention

[kr0nick]

Hi all I picked up a new bredli hatchling today and I think it may have mites. I am kiking myself for not checking before I bought so please don't flame me. When I got my snake. Home I noticed the scales under the neck were a little raised and I can see black under them.
I have been doing some reading before I posted this and I read head lice products containing pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide will kill the mites if used in a highly diluted solution too make it less toxic to my snake. So I went and got some banlice foam (which I don't know if it'll work) as it's foam I am wanting to know if this product will do. What I want it to thanks Hayden

 

[wokka]

What is the active ingredient in banlice foam?

 

[kr0nick]

I don't know te can only says pyrethurims and piperonyl butoxide on the front

come on i am need of advice i have done my research already i just want to know if i heavily dilute this banlice foam will it be alright for my bredli juvie?.

 

[snakelady96]

Q. How do I treat mites?
A. If you have established your animal has mites, you will need to thoroughly treat your animal and its environment. Please note: MITES ARE HIGHLY TRANMISSIBLE TO OTHER REPTILES. Be EXTREMELY careful handling between animals and quarantine any affected animal. Mites can be the herp keepers’ biggest nightmare! They can attach to your clothes, travel across cages and over flooring to infest other animals. Many mite treatments previously on the market were highly effective (such as bird mite and lice sprays, pyrethrin flea sprays, etc.). HOWEVER – many of these cause mild to severe neurological problems to your animal and should NOT be used.
Many reptiles have died as a result of using sprays and insecticides that have been too strong for the animal to cope with. One of the safest methods we have found is using a product we sell called ‘Top of Descent’. This is a spray. We suggest the simplest method is to remove the water and food from the reptiles’ enclosure and mist the area with the animal still inside. DO NOT over apply and avoid spraying the animal directly. You will need to thoroughly treat not only your animal but the cage and its furniture. One of the most common ways reptiles are exposed to these parasites is when keepers bring in a branch or log from outside that has not been treated and the mites are hiding in this. Treatment may need to be re-applied. For further reading on mites and other parasites, you can also purchase a book called, ‘Understanding Reptile Parasites’ that is also available from Ultimate Reptile Suppliers.

Hope this helps

 

[kr0nick]

Hey thanks snakelady i have ordered a can of TOD thank so much for the advice.

 

[wokka]

If you want a treatment quickly, your local chemist should have orange medic for about $10 a bottle. If you dilute it 50:1 you can spray clothes, snakes, cages, walls and it seems to have a residual effect for a week or so. I am not saying there are no side effects from using it but after a few thousand treatments I have never noticed any!

 

[kr0nick]

cheers wokka ill head down there tomorrow morning

 

[Ewan]

Have you seen any mites yet?

Aside from your chemical treatment, remove any cage furniture and dispose of what you can treat anything else. Use paper towel or newspaper as substrate and cardboard boxes as hides and replace and dispose of them a couple of times per week. Offer a water bowl large enough for your snake to soak in. You can drown mites also. Adding a drop of liquid soap to luke warm water and soak the snake in an aired tub.

Treatment is all about breaking the life cycle of the mite. Most importantly keep the mites away from the rest of your collection.

 

[kr0nick]

hey ewan i have insolated my suspected snake. And yes i have seen little black things on the outside of this snake. And also under its neck there is a patch of raised scales that have black things underneath them. I have soaked it in a bath of betadine and warm water and i only use newspaper as a substrate that is folded over to make a hide.

 

[Bluetongue1]

.... One of the most common ways reptiles are exposed to these parasites is when keepers bring in a branch or log from outside that has not been treated and the mites are hiding in this....

Hiya Snakelady. Some very good information there. Just one thing that needs correcting. Snake mite are not found in the bush on branches or logs. They are only found on or in the vicinity of infested snakes. The mites you might get on branches and logs are free living i.e. not parasites.

Blue

 

[keeper10]

top of descent spay this is what i use it is great

 

[Pythoninfinite]

"Originally Posted by snakelady96

.... One of the most common ways reptiles are exposed to these parasites is when keepers bring in a branch or log from outside that has not been treated and the mites are hiding in this...."

Oh dear... here we go again! As Mike says, you don't get snake mites from bush furniture... snake mites come from infested snakes, or are transferred from an infested collection via used enclosures, furniture or clothing or on your person. They are NOT free-living in the bush...

Jamie

 

[wokka]

"Originally Posted by snakelady96

.... One of the most common ways reptiles are exposed to these parasites is when keepers bring in a branch or log from outside that has not been treated and the mites are hiding in this...."

Oh dear... here we go again! As Mike says, you don't get snake mites from bush furniture... snake mites come from infested snakes, or are transferred from an infested collection via used enclosures, furniture or clothing or on your person. They are NOT free-living in the bush...

Jamie

Like so many "internet facts" they become true as soon as they appear in writing. It appaers that snakelady was only repeating what she had read and believed to be true. Anyone can post on the net, or in deed in this forum, so dont believe everything you read! The other comment I make is that Mites on reptiles are about as serious as fleas on a dog . They are relatively easy to control but the key is to follow up control to get any eggs which may be missed by the initial treatrment.

 

[Bluetongue1]

There is alot of confusion with mite for a number of reasons. Firstly there are hundreds of species out there, occupying the full range of ecological niches - predatory, plant feeders, fungivores, saprophytes, pollen and nectar feeders, microbial filter feeders, and internal and external parasites on a wide range of vertebrates and invertebrates. There are 400 odd species of freshwater aquatic mites naturally occurring in Australia and a heck of a lot more terrestrial varieties. When mites are accidentally introduced into a vivarium and then discovered, keepers immediately tend to assume the worst – parasitic on the occupants. They also tend to make the assumption that they have Snake Mite Ophionyssus natricis. This may or may not be the case but it most certainly is not the case if their colour is anything other than black or purplish brown (both of which appear black to the unaided eye).

Parasitic mites vary in the complexity and potential hosts in their life cycles. Some are host specific, some will occasionally utilize another similar host, while others are fairly non-specific utilizing a range of available hosts. Snake Mites are host specific - something Python Infinite was at pains to explain in a similar thread just recently. It has been suggested by some that Snake Mite will also utilize skinks, agamids or varanids as hosts. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts researching the topic, I have not been able to confirm this with a proper scientific ID having been done. If anyone can assist here, I would be most grateful.

There most certainly is a range of parasitic mite that use lizards as their host. Most are a bright orange to red in colour and are most often seen around the eyes, ear drum and armpit. There are also some that locate themselves inside the vent around the opening to the cloaca. None of these are snake mites.

As has been pointed out by Jamie and others elsewhere, Snake Mite are NOT likely to survive the rigors of the Australian bush – too hot or too cold, too dry and too many potential predators, especially ant species. Not to mention immersion in water and the shedding of all mite with sloughing. They are not a robust species and only do well in the confines of caging and indoors where the environmental conditions are controlled and allow them to survive.

Blue

 

[mad_at_arms]

Like so many "internet facts" they become true as soon as they appear in writing. It appaers that snakelady was only repeating what she had read and believed to be true. Anyone can post on the net, or in deed in this forum, so dont believe everything you read! The other comment I make is that Mites on reptiles are about as serious as fleas on a dog . They are relatively easy to control but the key is to follow up control to get any eggs which may be missed by the initial treatrment.

that info was cut and pasted from URS site.

 

[kr0nick]

Hi all i did not want to start an argument but there was abit of helpful info posted in above posts.
And also i used Aristopet Repti-guard mite spray but i only sprayed it on a cloth and wiped my bredli down lol (he tagged me abit) but it seems to have killed the mites off i also treated his click clack with it aired it for half an hour then returned him into it with the lid off and sat that under the fan on full with seemed to have moved the mist around but i am going to do a follow up treatment and change his click clack just to be safe thanks all.
Also i sprayed a small ammont of repitguard into the air and moved my hatchie through the spray and gave him a good rinse after and he is still eating like a champ and moving around his enclosure.