Got Mites?

[D3pro]

Ok so I was recently asked by a few fellow keepers if I ever had mites and how did I deal with them.

It seems that having mites in your collection is like admitting you have crabs, but the fact is that any collection can get mites and you are more prone if you keep your snakes outside or buy from someone who already has mites.

I have had mites twice from buying snakes, but luckily I have a quarantine system so my collection was safe. Before I start, I suggest every one that has multiple snakes also adopts this. Basically you keep new snakes (or sick snakes) in a different room from your main collection for a certain period of time. A quarantine room should be just as clean as your herp room.

Now if you find that your snake has mites, don't panic. If you take the right steps you can get rid of them in a week.

STEP ONE: prepare

So lets say one or two snake has mites, we are going to need quarantine them. The number one rule is DO NOT LEAVE THEM IN THE ENCLOSURE. We want to attack the problem clean and fast.

You will need:

• Mite Spray (I use mac)
• Click Clack (appropriate size)
• Simple Water Bowl
• Simple Hide Out
• News Paper
• Paper Towls

Before placing the snake in the click clack, give it a quick spray (one fast squirt) so that when mites start crawling on it, they will die.

The hide out and water bowl need to have a smooth surface as mites can hide in cracks and dints. (you can spray the hide out if you wish but not the water bowl)

Now the click clack is ready and you are prepared.



STEP TWO: Separate and Attack

You can't leave your click clack in the same room as your other snakes, other wise you will clean one snake and infect another and you will be stuck in the mite cycle for months. So place the Click Clack in another clean room.

Grab a paper towel, and spray it for 3 seconds with the mite spray. Grab your snake and wipe it with the paper towel through out the entire body (not the head).
Do this twice.



Then take all items from the enclosure (not the water bowl), spray them individually and spray your enclosure for four seconds then close it and let the spray mist do it's job.

STEP THREE: The end is nigh

All we have to do is wait one week. This allows your current mites to die and their eggs to hatch. Respray the enclosure and it's content and wipe your snake with the paper towel technique one more time.

After 3 more days check the enclosure and your snakes for any more mites, they should be all gone but in case there is some left then repeat.

Do not let the snake back in your room until your 100% sure that all mites are gone. Once the last mite has died, put your enclosure back to normal and feel free to relax.

I hope this simple HOW TO helps. Maybe this could be a sticky since mite help hasn't been done yet.

BTW: That stimson did not have mites and was used purely for demonstration.

Cheers!

 

[the jungle guy]

well written d3pro this should be a sticky mods,
ive never encountered mites and if i did it shouldnt affect me as i follow strict qaurentine procedures
but always good to have a quick reference

 

[GeckoJosh]

Great post

 

[ozziepythons]

Back when I first started keeping pythons I thought some of them had mites. I treated them with top of decent. I couldn't work out why the mite 'dust' (faecal matter) was still detected on their scales well after treatment, thinking they were still around. Turns out it was all paranoia, it was bits of crud and dust accumulations on their scales picked up from around the cages. Top of decent ain't cheap, not happy Jan!

Anyone have pics (close up) of a snake with an actual infestation??

 

[D3pro]

Easy to find as mites normally hide under the face scales. You will notice the scale lifted a bit and under it a little black thing.

 

[Pythons Rule]

This is good info you have suplied.

I use a different method that works well for me and I was refered to this by a herp vet:

I use luke warm water in either a shallow bath tub or a large container, add 1-2 caps of bedideen to water and mix.

bath animal in it for 10 mins drowning mites. mites will instantly drop off and sink to bottom of the container/tub.

I then use a diluted bleach mix and clean out the infested cage, whiping down all branches, hides and surfaces. Then let it air out for 1 hour before putting animal back in.

this works for me better then the mite spray and was much cheaper. have never had a mite problem since. also found the problem to start soon after using breeders choice in the enclosures and as soon as I got rid of it the mite problem was gone.

 

[D3pro]

Thanks PR, I have used that method too and I think that would be the best method if one was to treat mites on elapids. Bathing works but sometimes may leave a few strays.

 

[punisherSIX]

Great post, would be great as a sticky!
Anyone use Ivermectin? Thankfully last time I had mites was maybe 12 years ago and that was from some new Pink tongues, Ivermectin worked a treat along with bleach cleaning the enclosures

 

[pyrodarknessanny]

that is a very informitive post, exclent job D3.

 

[richoman_3]

great post mate
i had to do this for my blueys when i first got them
the main thing to look for is little white spots on their scales, thats mite poo

 

[D3pro]

Thanks guys, glad you liked it. This is what works for me. There are many other techniques that you could use and would be just as effective. Experiment like I did and find what works best for you.

 

[Waterrat]

"It seems that having mites in your collection is like admitting you have crabs, but the fact is that any collection can get mites and you are more prone if you keep your snakes outside or buy from someone who already has mites"

D3, keeping snakes outside does not increase the potential of mite infestation - to the contrary. The snake mite, Opionysus natricis is not native here and unlikely to live natural environment. Mites are usually introduced by other snakes, food and other keepers (under finger nails, on clothing, etc.)
Rob Bredl had an outdoor pit at his Cardwell reptile park that served as a de-miting station. Small ants swarmed over an infested snake and eat all the mites within two days.

 

[FAY]

It is also advisable not to routinely spray for mites only do it if you have an infestation.
Wouldn't take long for the mites to get immune to the product.

 

[melluvssnakes]

@punisherSIX - Isn't Ivermectin a cattle spray? Wouldn't that be a bit strong for reptiles?

 

[D3pro]

"It seems that having mites in your collection is like admitting you have crabs, but the fact is that any collection can get mites and you are more prone if you keep your snakes outside or buy from someone who already has mites"

D3, keeping snakes outside does not increase the potential of mite infestation - to the contrary. The snake mite, Opionysus natricis is not native here and unlikely to live natural environment. Mites are usually introduced by other snakes, food and other keepers (under finger nails, on clothing, etc.)
Rob Bredl had an outdoor pit at his Cardwell reptile park that served as a de-miting station. Small ants swarmed over an infested snake and eat all the mites within two days.

Thanks for that mate, I didn't know.

 

[punisherSIX]

"It seems that having mites in your collection is like admitting you have crabs, but the fact is that any collection can get mites and you are more prone if you keep your snakes outside or buy from someone who already has mites"

D3, keeping snakes outside does not increase the potential of mite infestation - to the contrary. The snake mite, Opionysus natricis is not native here and unlikely to live natural environment. Mites are usually introduced by other snakes, food and other keepers (under finger nails, on clothing, etc.)
Rob Bredl had an outdoor pit at his Cardwell reptile park that served as a de-miting station. Small ants swarmed over an infested snake and eat all the mites within two days.

Thats right I've been a wildlife carer for quite some time now and have never seen a wild reptile with mites

@punisherSIX - Isn't Ivermectin a cattle spray? Wouldn't that be a bit strong for reptiles?

It is a cattle spray but is a great product to use in birds, reptiles and mammals at the right dosage, but remember it's lethal on turtles

 

[shlanger]

I use liquid dichlorvos, as per "Understanding Reptile Parasites" by Rodger J Klingenberg.
He favours this over pyrethrins and permethrins, (the active ingredient of TOD) and explains why. I have used it twice now in last ten years with excellent results, but for one major reservation! If any ones interested and I don't get flamed by "experts" I may later post of my experiences with this stuff. Please don't flame me, ( I'm heartly sick of it and its the reason I dont post much on here any more,) before you read the literature! Only been keeping and breeding for forty years, what would I know!!!!!

 

[punisherSIX]

I use liquid dichlorvos, as per "Understanding Reptile Parasites" by Rodger J Klingenberg.
He favours this over pyrethrins and permethrins, (the active ingredient of TOD) and explains why. I have used it twice now in last ten years with excellent results, but for one major reservation! If any ones interested and I don't get flamed by "experts" I may later post of my experiences with this stuff. Please don't flame me, ( I'm heartly sick of it and its the reason I dont post much on here any more,) before you read the literature! Only been keeping and breeding for forty years, what would I know!!!!!

Shlanger, you only have 363 posts, you know bugger all. Everyone know that high post counts equal more experience

 

[Waterrat]

If any ones interested and I don't get flamed by "experts" I may later post of my experiences with this stuff. Please don't flame me, ( I'm heartly sick of it and its the reason I dont post much on here any more,) before you read the literature! Only been keeping and breeding for forty years, what would I know!!!!!

Don't worry about flaming. Your method and experience works for you and that can't be disputed. For decades, I used Neguvon. Yes, you can laugh, but I have never ever lost a snake (due to that treatment) and I even used it on juveniles.

 

[adderboy]

I use liquid dichlorvos, as per "Understanding Reptile Parasites" by Rodger J Klingenberg.
He favours this over pyrethrins and permethrins, (the active ingredient of TOD) and explains why. I have used it twice now in last ten years with excellent results, but for one major reservation! If any ones interested and I don't get flamed by "experts" I may later post of my experiences with this stuff. Please don't flame me, ( I'm heartly sick of it and its the reason I dont post much on here any more,) before you read the literature! Only been keeping and breeding for forty years, what would I know!!!!!

Shlanger, before TOD this was one of the standards. However, dichlorvos was most easily obtained in the old Shelltox Ministrips (before someone decided this was a nasty chemical and had to be restricted - then they started putting Camphor or Naphtha in the strips and then they were next to useless). One Shelltox Ministrip in a cage for an hour or two at a time over the course of a few days, and no mites. These days TOD does a good enough job, but I'd still like to know where you are able to get liquid dichlorvos.

One warning about it - I had heard that tigers were quite susceptible to the fumes so it had to be used sparingly in their cages, but otherwise most species had no problem with it, so long as exposure was kept to a limit of only a couple of hours each day for the period of treatment.

S