[Morts]

I recently purchased my first snake (Royal Python) i believe she has mites and i don't really know what to do to get rid of them. My mate also recently got his Royal (my royals sister) and she also has mites, i have been to my local vet and she says that they don't treat reptiles and that she doesn't know of any local vets that do, what can i do, does she need to be treated by a vet or is there something i can do to get rid of them myself?

Please help!

 

[Cara]

F10 is completely bio-degradeable, non-toxic etc etc you can get it from

http://www.shropshire-exotics.co.uk/Eff10.htm

hope this helps!

 

[gaz]

get bottle of frontline flea treatment from ur vet.also a soft paint brush the same width or a bit smaller than the width of the snake,paint a continuous line of frontline down the back of the snake,do this in a well ventilated place as the active ingredients are dissolved in alcohol,keep the snake out of the cage for temn mins until the alcohol smell has gone,give the cage a total clean out,bleach anything you want to keep and dump the substrate and any other furnishings,set the cage back up and put the snake back but dont put water dish in for 24hours after treatment.
repeat the whole process in 3 weeks time.
it take 36 hours for the mites on the snake to be killed after this time any stray mites lurking around that get on the snake will also die in 36 hours.
regards gaz

 

[Cara]

If you get the spray what you need to do is take snake out of viv and put in pillowcase, strip viv completely of everything. Wash hides/water bowls/anything else washable with F10 and completely clean the viv out with it. Any logs/wooden stuff you can treat with this stuff and leave to dry. Put plain newspaper in viv along with freshly cleaned stuff.

Take snake out of pillowcase spray cotton wool/kitchen towel with F10 and rub all over snake (avoiding eyes, mouth nose etc) and place back in viv. Leave on newspaper for a month & repeat if necessary. Once snake has been clear for a month put normal substrate back in.

 

[Cara]

frontline doesn't kill the eggs which is why you have to repeat it in 3 weeks, F10 kills everything and is not alcohol based (which snakes hate) so you should be clear after just once using that stuff if done correctly.

 

[Morts]

Thanks people, i've just gone on to the link you gave me and there are a few
f10 products, which 1 do i need?

 

[Cara]

You can order it directly off the internet here:

http://www.parrotsupplies.co.uk/pd_f_sc_ready_to_use_spray_litre_1110.html

I've put the link directly to the spray. I had some delivered from them the other day (I know its parrot site but dont let it put you off its the same stuff)

 

[Morts]

Thanks you've been a massive help! Once i've got my girl free of mites for a few weeks i'm hoping to get a boy to live with her, i'm looking for a morph but one thats fairly cheap such as banded or something similar, anyone got any idea's where i could get one from and at a good price? Also, my viv is 36" is this big enough for a pair of royals or will i need a bigger 1 when they got older?

 

[solidius]

is it not worth trying olive oil before frontline i wasnt to keen on trying it on mine when my royal had them .

I disinfected everything and run the snake through a cloth soaked in olive oil seems to have worked a treat and alot safer worth trying first .

 

[Dan]

Why do people use oils? I've never used them so i don't get what the advantages are meant to be.
I've never used F10 either so i'm going to have a nosey to find out a bit more about it.

I have used frontline, with great success but found it to be expensive (i'm a skinflint)

I now use savlon (at £2 a bottle it is perfect for me!!). All i do is bath the snake in a bucket with a capfull of savlon. Strip the viv and spray it down with a 25% savlon solution. Thats it, don't think i've ever needed to repeat the proceedure.

Incidentally, savlon also kills ticks (for those that have fresh imports).

 

[Morts]

Well i've just spent £16 on a bottle of F10 so i'm gonna be using that lol

 

[Dan]

Can you post up or PM me with your results on how you get on, it'd be interested to know.

Also if anyone cares to post up more about the oil thing please do...

 

[Morts]

Yeah sure, i reckon i'm gonna be waiting a while for the delivery though, is there anything i can be doing while i'm waiting to try and reduce the stress that they may be causing her

 

[Dan]

Give her a bath in warm water with a touch of washing up liquid or soap in.
The additive is to reduce the surface tension as if you dont do this when the mites on the snake are submerged they have a little air bubble that they can breath while under the water. With a reduced surface tension this bubble can not form so the mites drown.

 

[lynne1]

dexter told me how to do the oil thing for the mites. but am not good wi thes computers so you would be better asking him how. its really easy though.

 

[lynne1]

i will try send it to you, so can you let me know if you get the message.

 

[Dan]

I did get it, thankyou :wink:

 

[scarlettvegetable]

I was under the impression that the oil treatment works on the basis that it suffocates the mites. Although I am guessing it may also have something to do with the oil forming a barrier between the mites and the skin of the snake, thus preventing it from feeding. But again, I am not entirely sure if this is the case. I have done a little bit of research quickly, and all I could find was that it is used to suffocate them.

Sorry I cant be of more help, the only method I have used for the one time my collection has had mites, was Frontline. :lol:

 

[Dan]

That's pretty much how i assume it works, suffocation.

I'll stick with my savlon i think, i don't like the idea of covering the snake with oil. Which may seem odd to some considering i choose to use a chemical.

BTW, predatory mites are also an option but that's a whole different story :lol: :lol:

 

[solidius]

At the end of the day i guess its down to what works for u and how bad the case of mites are.
For me i wansnt keen on using any chemical on my snake as i knew it he wasnt overrun by mites.
And from what i read the oil suffocates the mites and the fact its harmless to the snake i dont see u can go wrong really well at least trying it.

As long as whatever is being used on the snake isnt putting them to harm then its what works best for u