How to treat mites cheaply and effectively? (if that is possible?)

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Hannahmania

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I have just confirmed that my snake (which I picked up a week ago) has mites. :( I noticed today some little black marks under the scales under her chin, and after a bit of effort trying to get her to let me have a closer look, I managed to get one out to find that it was a little black bug.

I have to say, I am a little annoyed... I got the snake from a store I have seen commented positively on here, and so far we first ended up paying an extra $100 for a different snake when the one we were originally going to get, which we had been told was a great handler, gave the store person a nasty bite when he went to get it out of the cage... and now this.

The problem is that I am a fairly recently single mum, and because of some health issues (and still having one kid not yet at school) I don't work at the moment... I had some money set aside, which I used to get the snake and the enclosure (kind of my "treat" in getting through all this), but with a few extra expenses around the snake that stretch the snake budget I am now living hand to mouth for the next few weeks. Worthwhile sacrifice, but with literally $5 in my wallet to get me through until next Tuesday... this is an extra expenseI could really do without.

Ummm... OK... so after that bit of a rant...

How should I be treating my snake and her enclosure?

At my disposal, I currently have a medium size click-clack (large enough to hold her comfortably for a while, but not big enough for her to live in - also I don't have a heat source for it) and her current hide/waterbowl, etc. I can fairly easily make a temporary hide and find something else to use as a waterbowl.

Do I need something heated to keep her in while I clean out her enclosure properly? (I could probably manage that if I get a heat mat and use it with the click-clack, but as I said, that would work for a few hours or so, not longer term).

What is the best bang for buck way to treat her enclosure? I would rather spend less than more, but at the same time, I don't want to waste money on a treatment that won't work.

What is the best way to treat her? Do I need anything special? I have read a few things that basically just suggest a bathtub with some diluted betadine - is that the best way to go about it?

Is there anything else I need to know/do? The enclosure is sitting on the carpet - do I need to do anything about the carpet and the area around it?

Oh - if it is any relevance, I have a 2ish yo Mac - about 110cm long.

Nothing like jumping in the deep end with all this stuff. :rolleyes: I had assumed at this stage I would be dealing with the basic feeding/cleaning up snake poo type things, not health type issues already.

Thanks!

- Sharon

ETA - I did have a look over her before I got her, and didn't see any signs of the mites then, but she is my first snake, so I didn't really know exactly what I was looking for...


Later post - I guess it merges them...


Urgh - so I decided to give her a bath, at least to get rid of the worst of the ones on her until I can treat properly.

She didn't want her head in the water, so I attempted to wipe the underside of her chin with some damp paper towel to see if I could wipe some away...

New experience of the day... being pooed on by a snake. Hmmm... Upside is I won't have to clean it out of her cage later, I guess...
 
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It is good practice for when your kids grow up and go to school.Mites are controlled much the same as headlice and they are about as dangerous. Orange medic works well and is available at chemists for about $10 a bottle which will treat a 100 or so average snakes. In the meantime a bit of detergent in a bath will break the surface tension to assist with drowning any mites.
 
Thanks!

I have read the "Got Mites?" thread - it is fantastic!

The part I wasn't sure about is what to do about keeping the snake while the enclosure is being cleaned... is she going to be OK in an unheated click-clack for a couple of hours while I clean out her enclosure, or do I need to get something bigger and heated to keep her in for a couple of weeks to clear up her enclosure effectively?

Also she seemed quite unimpressed by the water - she would not drop her head down, so none of the mites under her chin were being drowned - is that normal? I didn't have anything to measure the temperature, but it was warm, but not hot (cooler than I run a kids bath). She was in her water dish at the store when I purchased her (and I am pretty sure on at least one other occasion that I was there before that too - now I know why) but she has not done it at all since I bought her here.

Wokka - how do you treat with the Orange Medic? We have had lice a couple of times already. Thankfully I am rather obsessive when it comes to both checking and treating them, so they have always been caught early and cleared up after a single treatment. I am not sure that the snake would be willing to lay on my lap for an hour or two while I "mite"-pick, though. lol.
 
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Keeping the snake in an unheated click clack for a few hours wont pose any problems. But if you want to do it that way I'd recommend treating the enclosure rather then just cleaning it. I'd bite the bullet and get Top of Decent and save the mucking around.
 
Keeping the snake in an unheated click clack for a few hours wont pose any problems. But if you want to do it that way I'd recommend treating the enclosure rather then just cleaning it. I'd bite the bullet and get Top of Decent and save the mucking around.

Thanks!

I just had a look online, and Top of Descent looks like it is a bit cheaper than I originally thought, so that is a bit of a relief.
 
Thanks!
Wokka - how do you treat with the Orange Medic? We have had lice a couple of times already. Thankfully I am rather obsessive when it comes to both checking and treating them, so they have always been caught early and cleared up after a single treatment. I am not sure that the snake would be willing to lay on my lap for an hour or two while I "mite"-pick, though. lol.

I use it at about 50 to 1, to bath the snake and then spray that mixture out of a squeze bottle onto cage and surrounding walls and floors.
 
Permoxyn.
And spray in the area around the enclosures as well. Mites travel and lay their eggs in some odd spots. Friend found dozens of eggs hatching inside a light globe box.
 
Top of descent is expensive. A cockroach bomb from Coles or Woolies will do the same job, air after a couple of hours and wash clickclack. Keep the snake in another room in a container with water and detergent as described by Wokka. For possible mites around head and chin, just coat with vegetable oil. Repeat after a week
 
Thank you so much for all the help!

I went to the reptile place this morning and picked up a can of Mite Spray (not sure what the difference is between that and ToD - they are made by the same company, and have the same active ingredient... maybe just different packaging?) so hopefully that will get rid of them. The guy at the shop (and the instructions on the back of the can) said just to spray the enclosure and snake in one hit (although I did take her out for a few minutes just to let the worst of the spray clear), so at least that saves having to house her elsewhere!

Fingers crossed this works!
 
By removing her from the enclosure to avoid the worst of it you have effectively removed the mites at the same time minimizing the effectiveness of the treatment.
Remove the water bowl only and fog the enclosure with the insecticide to best treat the mites
 
By removing her from the enclosure to avoid the worst of it you have effectively removed the mites at the same time minimizing the effectiveness of the treatment.
Remove the water bowl only and fog the enclosure with the insecticide to best treat the mites

Sorry, I should have explained - I sprayed the enclosure well, took her out, shut the door for about 5 minutes, then put her back in and sprayed her directly while in the enclosure, so she was treated as well, but she was spared the full intensity of the enclosure spray. I just wanted to make sure that the enclosure itself was well treated, and she was freaking out a bit when I first sprayed it (literally climbing the walls trying to get out).

I had removed her water bowl and hide, which I have soaked in bleach for an hour or so and then rinsed, and which are currently airing outside, and put a small cardboard box in as a temporary hide.

I will check again in a few days and see if there are any more signs of live ones on her, but the enclosure still smelt strongly of the insecticide when I put her back in, so I doubt any are likely to survive.
 
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