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How do I kill mites

darkangel76
01-12-2004, 06:36 PM
Welp I think the title pretty much sums it up. My corn has mites and I can't find anywhere that tell sme how to get rid of them. My corn is a pretty young amenalistic and only about 16 inches long if this helps in any way.. Hopefully I can get some help here. Thanks

Neumann
01-12-2004, 08:01 PM
I've never seen mites so I can't help but here is a previous post (http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3120) that discusses bathing your snake and cleaning its cage to get rid of them.

If you use the forums search (http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/search.php?s=) function you can find more.


Good luck!

Jason

Taceas
01-12-2004, 08:53 PM
I used a product called "Reptile Relief" thats supposedly all natural in the way that it kills mites and ticks on snakes. It doesn't use insecticides, rather a means to suffocate the parasites. So it doesn't contaminate the snake itself with toxins.

What I found worked for me was spraying the product on a rag or paper towel, holding it in your hands, and making the snake slide through it while you grip the snake. It dislodges most mites and kills others which remain on the body. I had to use a Q-tip with the solution on it to run around the eyecaps of the snake, because you're not to apply it directly or liberally to the head of the snake.

Once you get all of the infected bedding out and dispose of that (burning works great), you can use the product to spray in the container and let it sit for a few minutes to work into all of the cracks and crevices of the container to reduce a repeat infection. It's especially useful if you use glass aquariums that have silicone sealant. Lots of places for mites to hide.

Hope that helps and I hope you get rid of the mites, I know what a pain in the rear they can be. =/

h0mersimps0n
01-12-2004, 09:50 PM
being a student of osteopathic medicine, I have to say I perfer the most natural, least toxic method of healing possible.

1.) remove the animal
2.) remove ALL of the contents of the tank
3.) throw away the substrate and anything disposible
4.) CAREFULLY place logs w/o foliage in oven @ 200
5.) use a low concentration bleach:water mixture, rubber gloved sponge out the inside of the tank, rinse, repeat
6.) towel dry
7.) PAPER TOWEL SUBSTRATE ONLY until snake is cured
8.) fresh, clean, new cereal box, or kleenex box housing\


1.) bathe the snake in bubble bath with soapy water. Measure water temps to make sure approp. temp
2.) watch snake swim (it's freekin AWESOME)
3.) worry about poop later (yep, 9 times out of 10 a nice warm bath loosens the stools).
4.) remove infected snake from bath, dry
5.) get EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
6.) place oil on your hands and gently apply to snakes entire body (yes, face too, mites love to crawl in heat pits- very upsetting but treatable)
7.) placed greesed snake into tank and watch him zoose the glass and paper towel with the oil, but it's all good since you'll want to repeat the entire process again

I did those things ONCE and never had another mite problem again. MAINLY BECAUSE I found the mite source was my log which was rinced with water and baked in the oven under CONSTANTLY watch at 200 in the oven.

I still oil my ball python from time to time because she just doesn't like to shed well.

I briefly tried another toxic anit-mite treatment that I placed in the tank in a jar with holes. I didn't sleep a wink that entire night I was so worried the chemicals would kill my snake too. Place it safe and remember, the body is a unit and has abilities to self regulation and self heal. ;)

GOOD LUCK, keep us posted

CornCrazy
01-12-2004, 11:13 PM
and I loved it.

I had been told to lightly dust a snake with flea and tick powder before. It terrified me. I thought it was going to kill the little snake. About a year after that, I brought home a little snake (which had been inspected and no mites were seen). About two weeks later, she was CRAWLING with them! They were all over her and in her enclosure. I suppose she had eggs on her when I got her. Anyway, I used the soak and oil method with her. I cleaned her cage really well, oiled her down, and no more mites!!!

I do have another suggestion if you have several snakes in different enclosures. After treating the infested snake and cleaning its enclosure, you can spread a thin line of vaseline completely around the inside of the top of the enclosure to help prevent the mites from spreading. Repeat this with your other enclosures. As the mites climb up to move into new territory, they get stuck in the vaseline and suffocate.

darkangel76
01-12-2004, 11:34 PM
this is great guys! I love this site I'll be at the store first thing tomorrow to pick up the stuff. Myself and Sabian appreciate the help! I'll be posting a lot more!

paulh
01-13-2004, 02:36 PM
As I recall, there is a good file about snake mites and how to kill them on the VPI.com web site. You may not want to use the the insecticides that VPI likes, but the snake mite life cycle portion is required reading. A couple of points -- one pair of mites make hundreds of young mites in only a few days, and they get off the snake and wander around on the floor. Which makes it harder to kill them all.

For me, the most emotionally satisfying way to kill a mite is to place it on an anvil and hit it with a 5 pound hammer. :D

CornDude
01-17-2004, 12:21 PM
Originally posted by h0mersimps0n
1.) bathe the snake in bubble bath with soapy water. Measure water temps to make sure approp. temp


wot kinda soap? people bubble bath?