[Tom500]

I use P-A-M, think its great for knocking off the occasional mite bloom. I use it for my collection of 30 + blood pythons seems to work well. As said before i just spray the newspaper, and the top edges of the tub/viv, especially the lid rim if you keep them in tubs, mites seem to locate them selfs in upper edges while not on the snake.

All the best,

Tom

 

[Rico]

The newspaper idea sounds good. I only have one snake and when I treated for mites I used it very lightly just on the vents inside and out and arount the top of the tub that was several weeks ago now and I havent seen a mite since. I also tried mite-off and it didnt do anything despite several treatments and complete cleanouts of the viv.

 

[Fangio]

i only spray one side as it goes through but its a method i am happy to say works.. as longs as you let it dry there wont be any problems

good luck mate!

TBH I didn't think about it soaking through. Now I think about it one side sprayed would probably be good enough as you say

 

[htf666]

I had an outbreak of mites a couple of years ago.Tried all the usual remedies.Hypoaspis mites cleared my cages but the little swines kept coming back.There is nothing more discouraging than seeing one mite after thinking you were clear for days.Tried the mite-off and diemite...useless.Tried Ivomec but once again the sods returned.Frontline I didn't want to use after someone I know had two or three snakes die.Then tried Provent a mite.I wish I had bought it first as it finally shifted the mites and kept them shifted.The best thing about it is that you can clean the snake and the viv and then spray p.a.m. around the outside edges of vivs and boxes which nails the little buggers when they go walkabout. It works for 30 days which is long enough to kill any remaining eggs which hatch.Not cheap but well worth it.Harry

 

[raptor1]

mites

This is my experience of mites and what I did. I am not suggesting you do the same- bit this worked for me. -
The BIGGEST mistake I made was not checking my adult female boa. I never even gave it a thought. She was eating well, looking well. – Why should I. Well when I did check her – she was definitely the carrier. Masses of the buggers all over her!
I relised what I had done. When I was building the rack – I had taken the adult female out of her tank, cleaned it, placed her in another room, place the new sakes (all 4) of them in separate containers – bags, in the tank so as to keep the right temp while finishing the rack. One of the stripes managed to escape the bag twice in there.
So ….that’s how I introduced mites to these new 4 snakes.

TREATMENT.

After reading about ‘frontline’ I decided to ere on the side of caution. So here is what I did.
I took the salmon and the albino and placed them in separate containers with water in them. I also added a little baby shampoo to break the surface tension of the water as to aid the “soaking” of the snakes. I left them in there for approx 5 hours. I then took the two stripes and placed them in clean containers. The adult female, I placed her in the bath for approx 5 hours. All containers were washed in a bleach solution and left to soak as was the cage/viv for the adult female. (The viv was a Glass Fish tank, with a hood made of melamine). I destroyed the hood. I then hooverd all the rack, and washed it down with a bleach solution, then rinsed it. I then rinsed all of the containers. I sprayed all containers with Frontline, turned up the heating and left the room door closed. The 4 Snakes were kept totally separate from the adult boa, in different rooms. I then - mixed 50% water 50% frontline, sprayed this on kitchen toweling. I then treated each of the four snakes separately. I held the treated toweling in my hand and let the snake “squeeze” through – so the mixture got all over the snake. Then I placed them in another clean container, with a cut up stocking covering the container, as so the snake can breathe easy. I left them in these containers overnight. The adult female, I sprayed the 50/50 solution all over, and placed her in a duvet cover and left her over night. The 4 young snakes I placed back in the rack (no sign of mites) The adult female, - I noticed LIVE mites in the duvet cover so… I then bathed her again for approx 5 hours, this time I sprayed her with100% solution of frontline- in my estimation heavily, I even worried if maybe she would be alive in the morning, any how she was, and very little mites – all dead.

NOTES 4TH SEPTEMBER​

​

Seem to me treatment had worked, no sign of mites. To be on the safe side.
Treated al1 neonates with 65% frontline to 35% water. I didn’t give them a bath, I cleaned all the boxes and dishes with 10% bleach solution rinsed well. Then put a fine mist of the frontline solution all over the snakes wetting them well, paying attention to there heads (avoiding the spray there, but wetting the head with wetted paper towel avoiding the mouth and eyes)
I left them in single containers vented well for approx 4 hrs. In the mean time I sprayed the rack with 100% frontline. After 4 hrs I placed all snakes back.

The large female boa, I placed her in the bath for an hour, then dried her well. Her viv was treated as above. I then sprayed her well with 100% frontline and placed her back.

Here is what I pulled of the net.

Posted by: midnightherps at Mon Apr 9 23:03:05 2007[ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]
Go to your nearst hardware store like Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, whatever.........and buy the foger spray by "Black Flag" that kills mosquitos/ flies/ gnats.

The main ingredient in Provent-A-Mite that kills mites is Permethrin at .50%

Black Flag mosquito fogger has the same thing. Permethrin (and tetramethrin), both ingredients are at .2% instead of .5% but it still works like a charm. I had a bad break out last year and the Black Flag cleared it up fast. Plus you get a bigger can and it only costs you 4$ instead of $20.

You dont have to move the animals out of the room pursay, but you want to take the snakes and water dish out of the cage youre going to treat. I havent had any problems with it and it kills the mites super fast.

and moore..

Weigh reptile accurately

If animal weighs more than 500g use small bottle and spray at 6 sprays per kg (aim to get one spray around head area and another one around cloacal area, also axillae and inguinal areas in lizards). For animals weighing less than 500g dilute spray 50:50 with alcohol; 0.4ml Frontline (~ 1 spray) with 0.4ml of alcohol. This will treat 160g of reptile (i.e. 0.1ml of mix will treat 20g of reptile). Mix well then draw up into insulin syringe and use this to trickle diluted frontline over reptile concentrating on key areas. NB if in doubt reduce dose in small animals as surface area to volume increases as size decreases. Alternatively put required amount of frontline on cloth or paper towel and wipe over animal. Consider using reduced dose for first usage on new individual or species.

Keep sprayed animal in well-ventilated area for 2-4 hours after spraying. Don't put reptile back in vivarium or unventilated box - breathing alcoholic fumes pickles lungs! Ideally put animal in open weave cloth bag for a few hours. Ensure reptile has access to high humidity hide box post use (damaging the lipid layer in reptiles skin can increase cutaneous water losses up to 15 times and effect of frontline on this layer is unknown).

Treating the vivarium

Remove as much of the vivarium furniture as possible and burn. Spray non-disposable items with Frontline, spray vivarium with Frontline concentrating on cracks and crevices. Shut vivarium and turn temperature up to 95-100ºF for 3-4 hours (this helps to desiccate nymphs and stimulates hatching of eggs). Monitor vivarium over this period because of fire risk due to alcohol vapour. Open vivarium and ventilate for 3-4 hours BEFORE putting the reptile back to ensure all alcohol vapour has dissipated.

Repeat treatment on animal and vivarium at 3-4 week intervals for 3-4 times

This interval assumes Frontline is retained in the lipid layer present in reptile skin (which seems reasonable based on the product's lipophilic chemistry but isn't yet proven) and therefore has some residual action. The life cycle egg to egg laying adult is about 21-30 days.

Common reptile species treated without adverse effects so far

Boa constrictor, Rosy Boa, Rainbow boa, Emerald tree boa, Burmese python, Royal python, Children's python, Green iguana, Water dragon, Bearded dragon, Frilled lizard, Leopard gecko, Basilisk lizard, Rough green snake, Californian kingsnake, Sinaloan milk snake, Corn snake, Hog nosed snake, Pine snake, Blue tongued skink, Panther chameleon, Chameleo montium, Mellor's chameleon, Green lizard, Eyed lizard, Savannah (Bosc) monitor, Blue-tailed monitor, Water monitor, Plated lizard.

Adverse reports so far

Breathing problems then death after use in a Boa constrictor. Snake had paramyxovirus on post mortem. One Rough Green snake died after use - suspect this was due to overdose/alcohol - these are very small snakes. NB. both cases were transferred uses i.e. Frontline bought for other animals!
Snake Mites - Treatments for Snake Mite Part 3
Please note, Ark Reptile Group & Reptile-Cage-Plans.com are not in a position to recommend any of the treatments described below. It is therefore up to the individual's assessment, along with his/her Veterinary Surgeon's advice, as to which is the most appropriate treatment in any particular case.
Further Discussion and Alternative Treatments, posted onto the Ark Forums by their members.
From: Essex (2002)
Comments on the use of Vaseline and Frontline.
Vaseline will only kill a small percentage of the mites, it will irritate the snake and everything in the cage will stick to the snake. You will also get more on you than you get on the snake! Vaseline is good though, when removing skin, after a bad shed.
Frontline: Pop into your local vets, they should have it in stock, as it's used on other animals, not just Reptiles. If you do the job correctly, you shouldn`t have to do it again, unless you are unlucky enough to buy another snake, with its own mites.
From: Nils (2002)
Comments on the use of Pro-Zap, Frontline and Diemite
We have recently found an American supplier who is willing to ship small quantities of Pro-Zap strips to the UK, which has a different active ingredient but is very similar to Vapona in use and action.
To use Frontline on the snake, dilute the stuff vets supply for cat/dogs (Fibronil 0.25% w/v spray) by 50% with water. Spray onto a cloth and wipe down the snake really well (avoiding the head/eyes as it is alcohol based and will irritate).
Place the snake in a pillowcase or other breathable bag (again the alcohol will irritate the lungs if the snake is too enclosed and breathes too much of the fumes), in warm place while treating the viv.
Clean out the viv as far as possible and spray the viv surfaces, especially the corners and cracks with Frontline. Leave for 10-12 hours, air and return the snake to the viv.
The alcohol in the spray can dry out the skin, so rehydrate or increase the humidity for a couple of days to prevent any problems. As this won't kill the mite eggs, the process should be repeated in 7-10 days. You'll find that there is a little residual Frontline left and this will continue to kill off the mites for some time too.
Another product that we have used is DieMite from Naturerep. It's sprayed or wiped directly onto the snake and works very well in contact, but the viv would still need treating with Frontline.

Hope this helps!
Alan

 

[SnakeBreeder]

Using Ivomec spray in large collection.

I have not had mites in my collection for a long time but used to use Ivomec when any mite were seen. Here is a bit pasted from my site you may find usefull.

It is possible to make a very potent mite spray by adding 2ml of pure Ivomec to 1 pint of water. I would make two batches of spray solution. The first batch of 1 pint is placed in a spray bottle and put to one side for later use. The second is poured in to a plastic container, which is large enough to put in the snake that is to be treated. ( This batch can be made with warm , not hot, water for the snakes comfort). The snake is then placed in the container and washed in the solution. Put the lid on the container and leave the snake here to soak while you treat the cage etc. ( If you have several snakes to treat you can use the plastic container of Ivomec solution as a dip to treat each snake in turn. Placing "dipped" snakes in to clean boxes while their cages are being dealt with). To treat the cage first remove and destroy all wood / paper based or porous products from inside the cage. This is because the mite use these to lay eggs on and wood is almost impossible to treat effectively. Wash the water bowl and all other furnishings in soapy water. After drying spray these with the Ivomec solution and leave alone while you go back to the cage. First wash the cage with soapy water to remove any organic material. Dry with disposable paper towels and spray with the solution. Make sure to spay all the cage inside and out. Pay special attention to the ledges and corners in the top of the cage and the track the glass runs in ( top and bottom). Leave the cage for a few minute (3 or 4 should do) and then dry up any excess solution with paper towels. I would also spray the carpet around the cage to kill any mites that may be there. The spay has not affected any carpets I have sprayed up to now but it is up to you weather you do this or not! You can now set up your cage prior to returning the snake. ( Don't forget to rinse the water bowl before adding fresh water. I have seen several snakes drink Ivomec without problem but prefer to keep it out of there water bowl). The snake can now be returned to its cage. I do NOT wash the solution off the snake but know of other snake keepers who do.