Help with Brand New Baby and Mites

[holiday]

Hello all -- we just got our first baby corn. I was hoping I could get some feedback on the effectiveness of a couple of items. First, Baby has a case of mites from the store -- we've been using Natural Chemisty De Flea Reptile Relief to treat him while we repeatedly clean the tank and items and replace the bedding. Its been 4 days, and the mites have decreased, definitely, but are still not gone. Is there any reason to worry, or does it just take some time to get them all?

Also, has anyone ever used Fluker's Liquid Vitamin Electrolyte Spray Formula for food? We haven't yet, but we thought it might be a nice item to have on hand for Baby's health.

Thank you for your help :)

[Mdralston]

Hello Holiday! welcome! I'm pretty new here myself. I'm sorry I don't know much about mite problems, but there is an awesome search function. There has been some REALLY good advice on the subject.

Good luck!

Love to see some Pics! :)

[ghosthousecorns]

That stuff works, but read the label and follow the instructions carefully. (You should not be spraying the snake every day with it.) The mites will reinfest the snake if you just treat the snake but not the habitat. Changing the bedding is good, you need to also take the bedding outside, preferably to the furthest trash can you can find. Use the mite spray to clean the cage, then wash it off. Smear vaseline around the top of the tank to make a barrier they can't crawl across. Vacuum every day. If you have any other reptiles it's a good idea to assume they have mites and treat them as well.
If you search on mites as suggested you will find several different methods people have used to control them also.

[hippiebrian]

In the old days we would hang a piece of "no pest strip" in the enclosure, not sure if there is anything wrong with this, as I haven't heard about it for a while, but back in the day it really worked and did not seem to affect the animals at all. Anyone else heard about or tried this? Is this a no-no now?

[diamondlil]

The strip's been banned now, I tried to get the similar product (that you would hang in a birdcage) for our 'teil's cage, but they were found to be carcinogenic.

[hippiebrian]

Thanks, didn't know.

[diamondlil]

No worries :)
As for your question about the spray, I think most people would feel supplements are unnecessary. Some of us use GSE (grapefruit seed extract) in the water bowl as it is said to have natural anti-microbial properties. Nutribac is used quite often after a regurge either disolved in water or dusted on food as a probiotic

[Mr.AJ]

Might be worth keeping the snake on just paper towels/newsprint for a while until the mites are gone. Its easier for you to spot them on the paper and less places for them to "hide" or lay eggs.

Daily bathing, changing habitat to a small temporary box and the paper towels worked well for me.

Good luck!

[rolandslf]

Hi There
The problem with Mites is this, one treatment won't work, the reason being that any eggs hatching will result in the cycle being repeated.
If memory serves me correctly you should treat for 3 days, leave for 3 days and treat again for 3 days, repeat this cycle 3 times. this is to get rid of any eggs which may have been laid.
You need to treat both the snake and the viv, the suggestion of paper towels or newspaper as substrate during this process is very valid.
After the final treatment get new substrate and make sure it is mite free.
Be sure to treat all vivs and snakes you have with the same process. Mites migrate worse than Lemmings.

Ciao

[ChandlerXJ]

You know, I think the problem with mites is that they love that reptile bark stuff. I just came up with a cool idea - since paper towels are fairly simple, why doesn't a company come out with a sand colored and possibly textured roll-out substrate, thats easy to put in and take out.

[Maize411]

You know, I think the problem with mites is that they love that reptile bark stuff. I just came up with a cool idea - since paper towels are fairly simple, why doesn't a company come out with a sand colored and possibly textured roll-out substrate, thats easy to put in and take out.

Patent that! lol...Ya got an idea there.. :0)