Help now!! Possible mite infection!!

Well of course things were a bit too good to be true right now.

We noticed our new boa was soaking a lot and a few people said they just really like the humidity. I was growing some suspicion and got nervous because of all the time he was spending in the water. (My FIRST thought was oh sh!t he better NOT have mites.) Well my sister was changing so aspen he got wet about 5 minutes ago and decided to change his water bowl because it had some aspen in it. Then she sees 3 little black things floating in the water and shows me them because she knew my mite concern. I am 97.9% sure they are mites. I started flipppppinngg out on her because she just put him in with my 4 other snakes! I effing told her she should separate him from the rest of the collection for AT LEAST 3 months and I'm KICKING myself in the face for not absolutely making her do it!!! AARGH!! I'm so frustrated right now. From what I can see there are no more visible mites on him like the ones in the water bowl and we already took all the stuff out and are now boiling it in water baking it dry then freezing it, we got rid of the aspen, washed down his tank and put him on paper towels. We are about to inspect the other snakes, especially the one whos tank was next to his. I don't think he brought the mites with him from his breeder. I think he must have picked up a few nasties at the expo. I'm stressing out right now even though it seems like a small "outbreak" of them, I know how fast they can spread....


What I need is some help!!!! What the h e double heck should I do? I remember a recipe Jay and PJ made for getting rid of mites (I have it saved to my favs.) any advise at all would be good.



GOD IM SUCH A FREAKING IDIOT! I SHOULD HAVE FREAKING INFORCED THAT I WANTED HER TO SEPARATE THE BOA AND GONE WITH MY FIRST INSTINCT OF MITES WHEN I SAW HIM SOAKING!!! >.<

Well I cant change anything now and all I can do is deal with what is going on.


I feel like such an idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang:

Provent a Mite. It works!

prevent a mite actually does work? I think I heard a few bad things about other products similar to it. I'm deff. going to go out and get some tomorrow. I just checked out all the other snakes and they all seem perfectly fine. I put them on paper towels just to keep a watch on them. I really just think he must have just picked some up at the expo. If it were a problem he had before the expo I would bet there would be more and some visible on him. I think for the most part we are safe thankfully.



Oh wait, my sister just came up to me to show me a little one she found on his paper towels... I guess we are very much still in hot water.

I'm going to call the vet tomorrow to ask how much it will cost to get his feces examined and tested for any other problems.



SH!T there is number two on the thermometer!!!!!!!!

AHHH sdhgbjshkdbf
CRAP :[[[[[[[

Now I'm doubtful it was just a few he might have picked up at the expo.

It seems like Jay's 'remedy' is the best way to go. It can be sprayed on the snake and not harm it and it seems to be the most effective. I don't really trust prevent a mite due to the fact it cannot be sprayed directly onto the animal which means there has got to be something pretty harmful in it and the only other thing you can do for the mites actually on the snake is try to drown them with dish soap.


At least the situation is not completely out of control but I'm very mad about mites spreading around at the expo.

Tiny speckles are multiplying in the boas tank so were going to start treatment ASAP (aka tomorrow)

Wow..I' m really sorry to hear of your problem and I hope everything turns out good for you :0(

Do whatever feels right for you!

Just in my experience, Provent a Mite does work, regardless of the fact that you do not spray it on the snake. My snakes have never been harmed by it. It kills all of the eggs in the tank, which is awesome!

yep, Provent-A-Mite

there is a TON of mite information in the Health Issues/Feeding Problems, and Husbandry and Basic Care sections of this forum too

they also recommend provent-a-mite (i know, i've said it a lot)... follow the directions and it will work

thanks you guys, I guess I'll try it considering that it doesn't seem to be a big break out. The 4 or 5 that were found in the boas tank have not moved an inch from where they were last night, there are none in the snakes tank that was next to him (thank god), and I don't see any on the boa (although I'm sure there are some)

Obviously I'm still going to treat all the snakes with prevent-a-mite and keep them all on paper towels with the least amount of stuff inside of it as possible (like climbing branches, plastic plants, etc.) for at least the next 5 months.

Thank you all for your help.

That sucks. Did you move him away from the others again?

Yep of course I did Nanci, thats the first thing I thought to do.
So far things seem to be okay, thankfully..

I'm about to run out to the pet store.
What brand is prevent-a-mite?
How much is it?
and can any of you get a photo of the bottle for me?
Ive been searching on google and nothing right has some up :[

Nomed said:

I'm about to run out to the pet store.
What brand is prevent-a-mite?
How much is it?
and can any of you get a photo of the bottle for me?
Ive been searching on google and nothing right has some up :[

Click to expand...

Nothing's come up because you're misspelling the product name. The proper spelling was given to you early in the thread. Google "provent a mite".

And please stop with the implied profanity. Site rules apply even when you're having a bad day.

Sorry Dean :[ I was just freaking out, it wont happen again.
jeeze I'm making an idiot out of myself left and right here...

You should use the Provent a Mite on all the snake cages that you have, even though you have not seen the mites on other snakes. They have all been exposed so it is best to treat them. There are people that treat all new snakes with Provent a Mite. I also don't think that Provent a Mite is sold in pet stores. Good luck.

Joanna