my snake and mites

[bodah]

I know this is a cornsnake forum but i do own a cornsnake. I also have two baby ball pythons, and both of them have mites. I treated them yesterday with some of that mite and tick spray. It removed a lot of mites but a few still remain on my snakes. I replaced the substrate and the furniture in the cage and bought a new reptarium cage. Should i treat them again today or should i wait a few days. I don't want these snakes to die or the problem to get worse. they are both in the same 38 gallon terarium. PLease help me out

[CornsnakeKeeper]

When I bought a new corn and it had mites, I used a product called ReptiRinse. I bathed the snakes and let them soak in it. I was told that you can also spray it on their eyes because they have a protective lense over it and the mites like to hide around the edges. Clean the cages with 1/10 bleach-water mixture and dry thoroughly. Clean everything else the same way and rinse and dry very very well. I repeated this and after time, they were gone. I repeated it everyday for about 5 days or so Use paper towels as substrate as they are clean and easy to spot mites. Good luck! Make sure you clean everything and remember, this is not a quick treatment.

[Kevin M]

Due to my own stupidity & inexperience in the past I can tell you I've had several mite infestations.

As far as I'm concerned Provent-A-Mite is a godsend. In the past I've tried every method available but (for me at least) nothing worked very well. (tell hell with no pest strips)

What I do is wash/soak the enclosure, water bowl, hides and whatever else might be in the corns cage in a bleach/water solution. I then setup the enclosure(s) again (minus the water bowl, VERY important) and spray down the cage/top etc with provent-a-mite. After letting the enclosure air-out any lasting fumes I return the water bowl & corn to the enclosure. After approximately 2 weeks I repeat the process again to kill any lingering mites and/or eggs that might be present.

Using this method I've been able to eradicate every mite infestion Ive had rather quickly.

I've heard also you can use a water/Frontline solution with the same effect but I havent tried it.

[apollo's mom]

if it is possible, you should separate the two snakes until they are both mite free. i would also suggest leaving out most of their furnature until they are mite free. leave them something simple like a plastic hide box since it would be easy to rinse clean daily. a cheap bedding like paper towels will also help in keeping their environments steril until the infestation is over. once youre sure that the snakes and their habitat are completely free of mites go back to your usual bedding. i just know that some beddings such as the repti bark i used to use get really expensive to change over and over and im not sure how easy it would be to get mites out of it. at any rate, much luck to you :)

[CornsnakeKeeper]

One more thing, there is a bar type thing that you lay in the tank. I can't remember what it is called for the life of me, but if the snake touches it, it can kill the snake so do not use those! Anyone know the name? I was warned by many when I sought help....

[pinatamonkey]

I've heard Black Knight roach killler works wonders, also. It's hard to find, but you don't have to remove the snake to spray it. A can costs $19.95 at www.eherp.com

[Nate]

Hi.
Mites. They hide everywhere. I don't remember the exact deal on how often the darn eggs hatch but its like there is a new reinfestation every 7 days. Plus with giant meal tickets, they have no shortage of food.

Personally, I would put the ssnakes in water for an hour. That will get rid of some. Then in a nice fresh container, that is small and mite free. Then I would blast the cage you want to keep them in (which seems pretty big for babies, but if they feed ok in it no problem, and they will grow.)
You can go to walmart or some tradestore and get plastic containers to hold the little snakes in.
Then I would disinfect the cage you have the ball pythons in
even if you just took everything out and put it under water for 7 days then it would be completely cleaned up as all mites would drown. That way you don't have to use these pesticides...
But in 7 days after you work with them, there probably are going to be more mites hatching from the baby pythons that probably contain mite eggs. GET THEM WHEN THEY ARE SMALL AND REPEAT THE PROCESSS !!

THEN you will be free of mites.
Also, I have used no pest strip successfully. Just make sure the babies get put in the water to drinnk their fill on a daily basis.
Small chunk of this stuff works wonders.
Best of luck, it seems to me you hit on the options provided here, you should do well.
:)