Mites!

Help me! We went to the Unique Animal Expo this weekend, and on our way home we were checking out the local reptile shops along the way. We stopped off at Upscale's Fish and Reptiles to take a look around.

We spotted a nice looking Desert King Snake for only $25 and after checking him out decided to pick him up (we've been wanting a King for awhile now).

We he rode in both of our shirts on the 3-hour drive home, and halfway through this trip we both started to itch. I thought "No way...".

Well, when we got back he got a bath, we shed our clothes and put them in the washer, and we took showers. I checked him out and didn't see anything, and decided he was fine and that it must have been the filth he was living in the rubbed off on us. Upon showing him to our family, I spotted a mite walk across his eyeball. I PANICKED.

He's now in "semi-quarantine" meaning that he's in his own tub, outside the door of the snake room (this tub has holes in it... >_<). I'm doing the best I can but I want these mites gone NOW before they spread to my other snakes.

Can they spread to humans, dogs, cats, rodents, and birds?! I have no idea.. I'm freaking out! What can I do to him NOW to get rid of these things before we get an infestation? I have no treatments with me and I have no way of picking any up until VERY late tomorrow.

What do I do, what do I do?!!

Okay, I found the thread that explains how to mix up my own NIX solution.. I ran immediately to the store to get what I need but couldn't find NIX. I found the Equate version of RID and used that instead. I'm hoping that it was potent enough to do the trick. We'll see tonight when I give him a bath and give him his water back.

Problem is, semi QT isnt good enough, he should have been kept away from your collection. You are probably going to have to treat your main collection as well if he is close to it. Since Mites can travel on your clothes and shoes.

Well... snaps. That's not good. I actually have him away from them... but I see what you're saying. He has only been in the room once and the clothes I was wearing at the time have been washed and I've showered (I did all that as soon as I discovered the issue). I'll be checking other places tonight to see if they have NIX and I'll mix up some of that as well.

Jadie.Glitch said:

Well... snaps. That's not good. I actually have him away from them... but I see what you're saying. He has only been in the room once and the clothes I was wearing at the time have been washed and I've showered (I did all that as soon as I discovered the issue). I'll be checking other places tonight to see if they have NIX and I'll mix up some of that as well.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is all well and good but you still have to worry about hitch hikers. Those little nasties could hitch a ride on everything. If I where you, I would treat everything as if it is infested, just to make sure.

Not sure of the generic version of another brand will work. I know Jay mentioned that brand for a specific reason so you may want to explore some other stores for the correct one. Not to mention any unknown adverse reactions your animals might have if it's the wrong kind. Do it just to be safe.

You need to be very diligent about this and follow his directions. In the mean time, I would give that store a call and let them know the trouble they are causing you!! Be nice about it!! I say that because I wouldn't be! LOL!:devil01:

Good Luck!

Wayne

Do you know what kind of mites they are?

My bp randomly got a few in the late fall time. Everyone seemed to recommend different treatments from soap-water soaks to a dilute flea powder. I did not trust advice from the petstore and instead went with P.A.M. for the tank and a reptile spray for the snake. It's worked great and I have seem no signs on them in months! Most ball python owners swear by it, it kills ALL cycles of reptile mites which most products don't do. It's also much safer than lice killer- though you may need to order it online.

I heard that reptile mites are pretty specific to only herps, and humans won't get them....hopefully thats correct!

No Pest Strips

I'm certainly no expert, but you mat want to try Hot Shot brand no pest strips. You could hang one around the quarrantina area, and also treat the cage itself by cutting it to about the size of a piece of Trident gum, putting it in a lidded, ventilated deli cup, and put it in with the snakes ( put the deli cup with the strip into the tub/ aquarium). I have found them at Farm stores as well as occasionally at WalMart.

I believe there's a paragraph about this in a reptile disease book I have. I can look it up later.

Hope this helps.

Anyone else heard of this?

Dave

medusacoils said:

Yes, that is all well and good but you still have to worry about hitch hikers. Those little nasties could hitch a ride on everything. If I where you, I would treat everything as if it is infested, just to make sure.

Not sure of the generic version of another brand will work. I know Jay mentioned that brand for a specific reason so you may want to explore some other stores for the correct one. Not to mention any unknown adverse reactions your animals might have if it's the wrong kind. Do it just to be safe.

You need to be very diligent about this and follow his directions. In the mean time, I would give that store a call and let them know the trouble they are causing you!! Be nice about it!! I say that because I wouldn't be! LOL!:devil01:

Good Luck!

Wayne

Click to expand...

Calift said:

Do you know what kind of mites they are?

My bp randomly got a few in the late fall time. Everyone seemed to recommend different treatments from soap-water soaks to a dilute flea powder. I did not trust advice from the petstore and instead went with P.A.M. for the tank and a reptile spray for the snake. It's worked great and I have seem no signs on them in months! Most ball python owners swear by it, it kills ALL cycles of reptile mites which most products don't do. It's also much safer than lice killer- though you may need to order it online.

I heard that reptile mites are pretty specific to only herps, and humans won't get them....hopefully thats correct!

Click to expand...

[email protected] said:

I'm certainly no expert, but you mat want to try Hot Shot brand no pest strips. You could hang one around the quarrantina area, and also treat the cage itself by cutting it to about the size of a piece of Trident gum, putting it in a lidded, ventilated deli cup, and put it in with the snakes ( put the deli cup with the strip into the tub/ aquarium). I have found them at Farm stores as well as occasionally at WalMart.

I believe there's a paragraph about this in a reptile disease book I have. I can look it up later.

Hope this helps.

Anyone else heard of this?

Dave

Click to expand...

Not sure WHAT to think now. I used more of the treatment (and I've used a LOT), and even though it's not the exact stuff, shouldn't I be seeing bodies by now? I see NOTHING... I have checked him all over and I can't spot a thing. His scales look clean and nice and I see no bugs. I rinsed him off and put him on a fresh paper towel with some clean water. He drank and then went back to sleep.

What do you think of this? Maybe the little bug wasn't what I thought he was at all?

It was very tiny, and slightly brown-ish, and that was the only one I've seen.

When I find the NIX treatment I'm going to sterilize everyone just in case... but I still think that I should have seen at least ONE dead one by now.

I dunno what you had seen? It may or may not have been. I guess it is just better to assume you saw what you think you saw because ignoring it could be more painful. I would just continue to treat all the animals. Where everything happened so fast, maybe you could have nicked this thing in the bud, before it had a chance to set in. You may not be out of the woods yet so practice due diligence!!

Good Luck

Wayne

No Pest Strips

There's a very good section on treating mites with both No Pest Strips and/or ivermectin made into a spray. The ivermectin can be found at any Vet (I would think).

The book is
"Understanding Reptile Parasites" by Roger Klingenberg, DVM

It's part of the Herpetocultural Library

Thank you all so much for your help. It means a lot to me. I'm hoping that I did "nip it in the bud", but like you all have mentioned I should definitely treat everyone just in case.

How safe are these treatments for hatchlings?

And keep on treating for the next 6 months. Once a month cage treatment should make sure your animals are not infested.