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Loose scale and mites?

D

Drhannon

New member
I have tried looking this up and still confused. Our new corn, Severas, I noticed a raised scale over his left eye. My wife said she saw something moving. In went on my hand it was about the size of a grain of salt and bright red. In fact it burs when I touched it. I put the snake in a bath and disinfected his viv with soap and hot water. I put wood chips back in as I do not have any paper towel. Will buy some. It is only a hatchling.

I have looked over our other snake and did not see anything. The two snakes are in separate rooms. I noticed at feeding time I hope I will not cause a regurge. I only saw one insect. I think it came from the pet store we got him. Poor guy seems stressed. I put him and the feeding tube back in the viv (yes I disinfected the tube too), he has not left the tub.
 
Sounds like it was a mite you found. Not sure how to treat them, but I can confirm that it is *probably* a mite.
 
It probably was a mite, but reptile mites (in my experience) tend to be black.
The red ones are just as annoying, but I don't know if they suck blood like the black ones. Either way you want them gone. Best thing I have found is PAM (Provent A Mite). It is a little pricey, but works miracles!
 
Really need to renew membership so I can edit...
When you get the chance to put paper towels down, do so. Also take out any permanent hides or plants and give them a good soak in bleach and spray with PAM. I would just use cardboard tubes and boxes until you are mite free. Be glad you only have a few snakes and not a few dozen!
 
I was unable to get PAM, but I was able to get Mite Off. Has anyone ever used this?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I don't know about Mite Off in particular, but one of the big reasons why everyone recommends PAM is because most/all of the other reptile mite treatments will only kill the live mites, and so your snake can become reinfested when the eggs hatch. I think technically PAM doesn't kill the eggs either, but it leaves behind a residue that will kill the new hatchling mites. If you get PAM, follow the directions on the can carefully. It can harm your snake if used improperly.

If you use a product that doesn't do this, you can get rid of the mites, but you'll have to be very diligent about retreating often enough to kill any new hatchlings before they get mature and are able to lay more eggs. Thoroughly disinfecting the cage and any hides or other decorations helps with this.
 
You could use any kind of paper, like brown paper bag. White paper towels just make it easy to see mites and offer nowhere for the mites to hide.
 
Drhannon said:
I was unable to get PAM, but I was able to get Mite Off. Has anyone ever used this?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I found that after using Mite-Off, the mites had actually gotten worse. The product is garbage. If you have no access to PAM, Nix is your best bet (if you actually have mites). It is a shampoo used to treat lice for humans, but has been proven effective and quite safe for reptiles when diluted properly with distilled water. You will want to spray everything in the cage with this stuff, including the snake and the area around the cage. All tongs and such will need to be sprayed too. This will have to be done a total of two or three times to totally eradicate mice. As mentioned, keep the snake on paper towel with just a water bowl and a disposable hide. The one time I had mites, Nix worked great. I used the link below for instructions.

http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/caresheet/Onix.pdf
 
I forgot to mention that Nix is much cheaper than PAM and can be found at any drug store. Do not let mites progress. Once you see one, they will reproduce exponentially.
 
P.S. I would recommend bathing the snake before applying Nix, just to get any loose mites off before the treatment.
 
I believe Nix and RAM have the same active ingredient, or at least one that is derived from the same thing, so it is no surprise that it might be effective. However, I didn't think either one was considered safe to apply directly to the snake.

Also, I know (based on my step-daughter going through a lice infestation) that Nix is not terribly effective at truly eradicating human lice in a single treatment, so I wonder how well it will do on a species that is not the one it was formulated for, and highly diluted. Of course, it is much easier with a snake to apply the treatment to everything in their house and all of their friends than it is with humans...

I personally feel more comfortable using PAM which I know was formulated specifically for reptiles than wondering about a different product will be effective, how diluted it needs to be, and whether or not it has any inactive ingredients that might not be safe for my snakes. PAM is more expensive, yes, but at less than $20/can, or perhaps a little more if you have to pay for shipping, it is hardly expensive and I like the peace of mind.
 
I have washed out her Viv with bleach and water, rinsed three times with hot water. Soaked and washed hides in very hot water. Tried the Mite Off, hopefully it works. If not I still have order PAM and have it shipped to Canada. I did not want to make Severus wait that long. I dried his viv and misted the top and all seals. Then I misted Severus making sure to coat him from head to tail. Then I wiped him down with a moist facecloth.

I did pick up paper towel. It just made sense to use something that I could see the mites easier. He is not to happy with me right now. I would have responded earlier, but I was teaching at the Navy League tonight.
 
So far we have only seen the one red mite. I called the pet store we got him from. They did not seem to care. They were just worried I would want a refund. It was pretty pathetic.

As for the Mite Off, it was recommended by the guy that bred our first snake Swirly. Again if it does not work. I will have to order PAM. I looked into the Mite Off and some said it worked "Great" while others said "Not so much". Wonder what the difference is or how it was used.

Also, the Navy League of Canada teaches kids from 9-13 about the sailing, navy, discipline and citizenship. It is a free organization for kids to join. My son joins in two weeks. He is very excited.
 
If anybody is considering using Nix on their snake to cure mites then please be very sure you are using it properly.

The following video was posted recently in another thread and here is what the poster said caused it........

''Jed Peters 4 years ago
This was from nix accidently being made twice as strong as it should of been''
also posted "it died the next day"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNd9ITpJwxc


I am NOT recommending or condemning the use of Nix.

:)
 
daddio207 said:
If anybody is considering using Nix on their snake to cure mites then please be very sure you are using it properly.

The following video was posted recently in another thread and here is what the poster said caused it........

''Jed Peters 4 years ago
This was from nix accidently being made twice as strong as it should of been''
also posted "it died the next day"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNd9ITpJwxc


I am NOT recommending or condemning the use of Nix.

:)
Click to expand...
I didn't watch the video, is that the Nix that you dilute in water?

I use the spray, it's the same as P.A.M. No diluting, just spray. Used in the same manner. (Just like P.A.M. you do not want to spray it directly on the animal or in water dishes. You spray the enclosure and substrate, let dry, then put the animal back in.)
 
MysticExotics said:
I didn't watch the video, is that the Nix that you dilute in water?
Click to expand...

He doesn't show the application of it just the outcome but based on his statement I would say it is the kind you dilute in water.
I hesitated re-posting the video due to its graphic nature.

..............................................................................................................
In general to other readers...
I'm definitely not singling out the use of Nix. Nix, No Pest Strips, Pro-vent a Mite, Mite Off all have negative outcomes (dead snake) posted all over the reptile forums. Improper applications are the main reason.

Again, I'm not condemning Nix or any of the products mentioned. If it is a commercial product made specifically for reptiles then just follow the directions. If it is not made specifically for reptiles then get help in applying it and follow detailed instructions like TyeW's link for the use of Nix.
:)
 
The back of the PAM cans very clearly details that it needs to be sprayed in a well ventilated area and all herps in the room need to be removed, especially amphibians, until the smell is entirely gone. Made me really nervous to use it, but it worked miracles when I went thought miteapocalypse last year.
 
I would be careful with Nix. I've used it once on adults, (for three rounds) for a false alarm, and I mixed it to half the strength of the recipe you see for snakes. I would NOT use it on a hatchling, at any dilution.
 
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