Mites... questions on Natural Chemistry spray

[Naagas]

(I know these aren't corns, but I was hoping you all could lend your wise experience.)

It turns out that my quarantine rack with the balls, one juvenile king snake, and both BRBs (used to be three until one died suddenly) was/is infested with Mites. Ick!:crying:

Thank goodness for quarantine!!

I've had these guys since October...
The juv king has NEVER eaten, the BRB (a baby) I force fed once, and the balls have been sporadic.

Now I guess I know why.

I had never SEEN mites... didn't know what to look for... the BRBs spend lots of time in their water... but I was told that was normal... then one of the balls started... then I saw DIRT?!? in with the king... then the dirt moved... then I freaked.

I had lice once... It was the grossest thing that has ever happened to me.

So....
Method....
That night, I took all tubs out of rack, sanitized them and rubbed Vaseline on the rims and air holes (to catch escaping mites).

I made a mixture of castor oil, Neem, and tea tree oil... covered each snake, and let them sit for 20 minutes (to smother mites and protect scales. I saw a product in the store for reptiles made of this for shed/mite problems and decided to just do it myself)

Then I washed snakes off with dish soap and water....
Then I rubbed them down with mineral oil and put them back in their sanitized, paper-towel substrated homes.

TONS of mite corpses came off when I applied the mineral oil. Gross. I left it on overnight, then...

washed it off the next day, with soap... let snakes soak in water for 20 minutes. I read that they could get dehydrated being covered in oil 24/7.

Then, I got the spray I discuss below and repeated the above procedure except adding in the spray, letting sit 20 minutes, rinsing off. Read on for more info.

SO...
QUESTIONS:
I immediately went out and bought the only mite product I could find- other than ZooMed's Mite-off which just has soap listed as the active ingredient- I have soap.
It is Natural Chemistry... I have seen it recommended here.

I have to wait for Provent-A-Mite to come in the mail.

Is this safe stuff? To leave on?
It says if you use it on the reptile's cage, to rinse it off... but you can leave it on the reptile?

I was prepared to leave it on, until it gave me a chemical burn while administering it last night.

So, I let it sit 20 minutes and rinse off.

Do I even really NEED this stuff... I mean, I would rather go all-natural if it doesn't endanger the animal, and covering the mites in oil does kill them... it just needs to be repeated daily (which could add more stress and take longer?!?)

Opinions? Have you successfully treated mites without using a pesticide product?

Next question:
Should I force-feed the little King? The BRB? They are so little, especially the BRB. I am debating stress of force feeding over nutritional needs of fighting mites and living.
(FYI, I have tried mice, rats, live, fresh killed, f/t... no go)

 

[Naagas]

No responses? I'm bumping this just in case someone missed it.

 

[Jbradley]

if they are still active i would not force feed they have already been stressed enough. Be careful with using oils on snakes it is incredibly hard to get rid of after and some snakes will show signs weeks later of skin disorders. The best i have used is Nix solution diluted with water its safe usually works once and your done it kills mites and eggs if you google it you should find the correct amounts. With baby snakes i would dilute even more though just to be on the safe side.

Dove soap would be my second choice a little more work and elbow grease but all natural.

James

 

[beautifullywild77]

You know I use the mite off and veggie oil and baths when Serj has mites. i also had the vasiline at the top of the viv and paper towels. It took about 3 weeks of repeating the process to be mite free. I also used lice spray on the carpet around the viv but never on the viv or snake.
The prevent a mite is very successful and others have used it, I have not.

as far as forcefeeding... I am not sure on that. dont have experience enough!

 

[Naagas]

I did end up force feeding...
I wouldn't have except these are babies and haven't eaten for months. My vet said they might have problems fighting off mites without caloric intake.

The mites are very much reduced... I can only find them in the worst case ball python's viv.

I have always used veggie oil for shedding problems, etc... I've never experienced any skin conditions.
Do you have any more info on this, James?

 

[Jbradley]

I did end up force feeding...
I wouldn't have except these are babies and haven't eaten for months. My vet said they might have problems fighting off mites without caloric intake.

The mites are very much reduced... I can only find them in the worst case ball python's viv.

I have always used veggie oil for shedding problems, etc... I've never experienced any skin conditions.
Do you have any more info on this, James?

Veggie oil can cause skin issues it is almost impossible to get completely off a snake since it seeps in between them small particles will get stuck to it then cause an additional irritant to your snake.

I would put the animal on paper towel and nothing else in with it and do a nix treatment also spray around the area mites can move 6ft in a hour. If you google veggie oil you should get some hits. Hope this helps