Mite problem. Please advise....

[carolinacorn69]

My mate has just called me and his snake if covered in mites. He is really panicking so could you please give me some advice so as i can put his mind at rest. Touch wood, ive never had any problems with my snakes :crazy02:

[TWGarland]

I havent had personnal experience with mites either, but I know enough, to tell you that your friend has no immediate need for panic! hehe.

I know the affects of mites are worse, depending on the size of the snake, the smaller the snake, the greater the affects of blood loss through the mite infestation.

Do you have Kathy Loves book on corn snakes, if so, many possible solutions for removing mites are described, for example rinsing to start the removal process. I'll quote some of the book for ya

"Place the infested snake in a plastic jar or box filled with water to a depth thast higher than the snakes girth. The lid should be perforated to allow for air flow" (Love, K., 2005).

[carolinacorn69]

Thanks for the advice. His snake is really small! That idea sounded good, how long should the snake be left in the water?

[TWGarland]

Ok i looked in the book again, it really is the corn bible by the way and i suggest you buy it! for future reference

K. Love (2005) advices a 10 minute soak which will drown most mites, but she says an hour is the longest it should take.
Also add a drop or two of liquid soap to help prevent air bubbles (the soap breaks the waters surface tension).

Also rememeber that some mites may migrate to the face and nose as thi will be the only remaining bit of body above water level, these can be removed physically afterwards.

Basically i guess cos you've described it as a bad infestation it should be towards the longer end of the time period, be carefull to monitor the snake whilst using these methods though, and if the infestation will probably persist so repeat this method again a few times. If it still persists then perhaps by a specific anti-mite product?

[carolinacorn69]

Thanks for the advice. I will also check this book out

[CaptBogart]

If it still persists then perhaps by a specific anti-mite product?
I had actually purchased a snake from a shop and didn't notice she had mites. I did a search on here and found a cure using RID. It's a medicine soap/conditioner used to treat lice on people. I mixed it with a gallon of distilled water like the person said, and poured it into a spray bottle. I took the snake, placed her in a rubbermade tub that was predrilled with air holes, and sprayed her and the whole thing down. I let her sit in that until it dried into a powder, and then put a piece of newspaper in it for her, but no water. While she was drying out, I took everything out of her tank and washed everything with a 1 to 5 bleach mixture, rinsed really good, twice, let dry, then sprayed with the RID solution letting that dry before putting everything back with new substrate. I also sprayed the floor all around where she was housed and even the wall as I think they can travel 15 feet an hour or something in that range... after letting her stay in her tub 24 hours, I placed her back in her tank and hadn't seen a mite since... Good luck!

[carolinacorn69]

Thanks. I will pass that info on to my friend. It sounds good, although I think he may of tackled it with the whole mite drowning thing from the previous post!
Cheers everyone!