Mite Treatments

[zoe6660]

this is a good thread, i used the Hypoaspis mites and omg it was great NO MITES left but now they got mites again after getting another snake and i got mite off the zoo med and its not good it has helped a bit but not as good as the Hypoaspis mites but this thread helps thanks.

[CraigMcLean]

I have been experimenting with Hypoaspis Mites and I have to say that so far I am impressed. I have a large viv (8 ft x 3ft x3) containing 2 boas (8 ft and 6 ft). I have left everything as it is in the cage, just adding the mites and making sure I keep the humidity up. I know its early days yet, but in just 10 days odd there seems to be a huge difference. (1 shed has helped).
To me Hypoaspis Mites seems like the ideal treatment. I am loathe to use poisons, especially on delicate snakes like GTPs etc. It is also hard when treating bigger animals as they require a lot of attention. I am interested to hear back from anyone who has used Hypoaspis Mites in the past? Is this the new wonder treatment?

[morallywrong]

Just got my hypoaspis mites today in the post. so only just started (literally, 2 hours ago!!) but looking forward to it as i have only ever heard good things about these.

[Sharm]

I had a jungle Carpet Python, Royal Python and Gray Rat Snake all of which had been infected with mites after they went to a local establishment whilst I was on my hols. For some reason or other they favoured the JCP. i was desperate to erradicate the mites before I introduced my new Amazon Tree Boa into the house.
I used Ivermectin as described in one of the previous threads.

• I diluted a 1% solution to the ratio of 2mls in 500mls of warm water.
• I bathed the snakes in the solution whilst thouroughly cleaning out thier vivs. Cotton bud was used around eyes, thermal pits and mouth.
• I sprayed all the vivs with a 2nd batch of the solution and left them to dry naturally.
• I also sprayed the carpets in my spare room where I keep the snakes
• I left the snake to dry naturally after removing them from the baths and did not bother rinsing them.
• I found only dead mites from there on.
• I repeated the treatment a week later just to be safe.

I resorted to this method after failed attempts with over the counter products and 2 attempt at using Hypoaspis. I think Hypoaspis are more suitable for snakes kept in humid conditions.

[Razaiel]

Originally Posted by Sharm

I had a jungle Carpet Python, Royal Python and Gray Rat Snake all of which had been infected with mites after they went to a local establishment whilst I was on my hols. For some reason or other they favoured the JCP. i was desperate to erradicate the mites before I introduced my new Amazon Tree Boa into the house.


I used Ivermectin as described in one of the previous threads.

• I diluted a 1% solution to the ratio of 2mls in 500mls of warm water.
• I bathed the snakes in the solution whilst thouroughly cleaning out thier vivs. Cotton bud was used around eyes, thermal pits and mouth.
• I sprayed all the vivs with a 2nd batch of the solution and left them to dry naturally.
• I also sprayed the carpets in my spare room where I keep the snakes
• I left the snake to dry naturally after removing them from the baths and did not bother rinsing them.
• I found only dead mites from there on.
• I repeated the treatment a week later just to be safe.

I resorted to this method after failed attempts with over the counter products and 2 attempt at using Hypoaspis. I think Hypoaspis are more suitable for snakes kept in humid conditions.

Couple years ago when I had mites they seemed to favour JCP too (out of mixture of Royal + boas)

I also tried Hypoaspis 2-3 times and found it was total crap (and I gave them a humid hide). I wondered whether it was due to larger vivs and they (hypoaspis) couldn't cope with more space maybe than a 3x2? Just what I wonderered anyway.

I used Provent a Mite and they disappeared immediately and forever

[Mr Tin]

I think the problem with hypo mites is that they dont kill the mites that may have wandered elsewhere in the house, mites have come back with me but tbf i bought substrate and moss after using them.

They sure do incinerate any mites in the vi though.

[earlobes]

Just wanted to leave a post being a newbie to snakes i found only after a week of owning my first royal python it had mites. with the help of this thread my snake is mite free and loving it.

Thanks people

[riley165]

Well i thought i would add my two pence worth on this nasty situation!

I have 3 boas all which had mites from a bad batch of Wood chippings which was sourced from a pet shop (will not mention the name on here but if you need to know the name of the shop then pm me! please do not buy reptiles or anything from this store!) Anyway where was i? oh yeah so i had mites and after a few month of trying Mite off, hypoaspis mites, vegetable oil and a whole range of other non chemical products i was at my witts end! my enclosure is huge as you will see from my other posts and its made off wood so a real nightmare to deal with mites! Anyway i spoke to Glen at junglephase pets in Essex and he prescribed me Proventamite which he sold me and dispatched same day (what a legend he is) so i was eagerly awaiting this product after reading all the reviews and couldnt wait to clean and spray the enclosure! Then ran in to another nightmare baring in mind i am so frustrated with these mites and been bathing 3 boas two of which are full grown almost daily! When i went to spray the can of Proventamite it was faulty the liquid was shooting all over the place from under the nozzle and going all up my arm instead of going where directed, so needless to say the can didnt last 5 minutes unless you can count the 4 large puddles of fluid on the floor of my viv? anyway i mopped up the remaining fluid and tried to thinnly spread it round the logs and other areas of the viv pretty much everywhere except the animals themselfs! After 24 hours i have only seen one solitary mite which was hanging off a U/V strip light and a further few days on i havnt seen any what so ever, i am still bathing my little lads and girl daily but amazing stuff even if i did get the duff can?

Going back to the duff can i spoke to Glen at Jungle phase and he has contacted his supplier and will be sending me another can out as soon as possible! This guy will bend over backwards to help anyone and he deserves a medal! He will also be bringing his own range of Mite treatment out in the near future which hopfully will be just as good if not better than proventamite!

Guys mites are the spawn of the devil, which ever way you decide to deal with them they will still cause you sleepless nights and no end of worry to you and your collection! Everyone is full of advice and its very easy to spend loads of cash on almost every product out there and still end up with mites! i even concidered getting rid of my boas and keeping the mites as pets instead as it was that bad! Do your homework and listen to people who have had these little buggers personally, as i was taking advice from a guy who had never seen one except a picture of one in a book once maybe back in august 1997 or somthing like that lol.

I have sympathy for anyone with this issue and i wish you the best in what ever method you decide to choose!

[luigi89]

hi im new to new forum but thought i would pass on my experience, i bought a common boa on preloved and introduced it to my collection unknowing it had snake mites. i have been battling these for a few months now and have lost a royal due to this. but finally i think i have found a product that works!!! mite spray from euro rep, its name is Callington Top of Descent Reptile Enclosure Insecticide, it is very popular is Australia but it is now got a new licence for this country and within hours the mites were all dead and could be seen on the newspaper substrate which i changed to after discovering the mites. hope this helps, and good look fighting!!

[riley165]

Nice work Luigi, never herd of this product but if it has worked for you with such dramatic results then i guess this is another weapon in our arsenal against these little pests.

What are the directions for this product? is it safe? or is it to be used just like proventamite?

Originally Posted by luigi89

hi im new to new forum but thought i would pass on my experience, i bought a common boa on preloved and introduced it to my collection unknowing it had snake mites. i have been battling these for a few months now and have lost a royal due to this. but finally i think i have found a product that works!!! mite spray from euro rep, its name is Callington Top of Descent Reptile Enclosure Insecticide, it is very popular is Australia but it is now got a new licence for this country and within hours the mites were all dead and could be seen on the newspaper substrate which i changed to after discovering the mites. hope this helps, and good look fighting!!