mites do I need to take to the vet help

[stormus]

I am kind of new at this only a year and a half my murray darling had been soaking in the water bowl for a few days had a few mites so I scurbed the enclosure with bleach and water and soaked for a few hours then good rinse and baked in the sun the snake I gave him a olive oil bath let him soak for about 1 hour and wiped clean he was not put back in enclosure for 24 hrs after bleach I have not seen any mites since that was about 2 weeks ago but he seems a bit life less has not come out of his hide in days not sure if I should take him to the vet and get a antibiotic shot to make sure that the does'nt have any infections from mites he has eaten since the mites and seems ok to look at, skin seems good, has a shed comming up soon about 3 weeks away, temp is 22 nite 27 day

 

[Ramsayi]

Are you sure it had mites in the first place?
Where do you think it picked up mites from? Theres every chance it has gone into shed from applying oil to it which would also explain why it is hiding.

 

[stormus]

I went away to bali I took him to a friends house who also has snakes even though he went in his own enclosure but my friend breds his own mice and rats and feeds fresh killed think that is where he got them from and I did see little black bugs on him before I did what I did

 

[Ramsayi]

I went away to bali I took him to a friends house who also has snakes even though he went in his own enclosure but my friend breds his own mice and rats and feeds fresh killed think that is where he got them from and I did see little black bugs on him before I did what I did

Do you know for sure if your friends reptile collection has a mite problem? Rodents do not carry reptile mites on them so there is zero chance they could of came from them.

It honestly sounds to me like there was/is no problem and the oil has made it go into a shed.

 

[stormus]

well he had black bugs and some red ones on him and they all came off after his soak and I found some on my hands maybe I should wait and see if he sheds soon or maybe just the cool weather the only other place he could have got mites is from the substrate which I brought from a pet shop and it was reptile bark in a sealed bag

 

[wokka]

The temperature sound too low as the snake should have access to at least 30c. Antibiotics should not be necessary. Mites are about as dangerous as flees on a dog and not a major concern as you only have the one snake.

 

[Splitmore]

You might not need vet help but you do definately need to treat the mites. At this time of year especially mites will significantly weaken the snakes defense of respiratory infection etc. Best treatment I've found is drench the snake and cage with 4:1 solution of orange medic and water from a spray bottle. Repeat again in a couple of weeks and the mites will be gone.

 

[Jungletrans]

lf you do unusual things [ like the bath ] to a snake they will hide out for a while .

 

[adfel]

Maybe consider increasing the temps in the enclosure... Our little boy has a temp of 30-31 degrees... And we are about to give him a heat mat for winter...

 

[Slats]

Splitmore,
Are you talking Orange medic pre tea tree oil? Or Orange medic plus

 

[Splitmore]

Splitmore,
Are you talking Orange medic pre tea tree oil? Or Orange medic plus

Hi Slats,
Yep I use the Orange Medic plus. I know some people claim to have lost baby snakes from using it but I've NEVER had a problem. I was chatting to one prominent keeper a few years ago about Orange Medic vs Top Of Descent spray and he was of the same opinion as me, for trying to control a reasonable outbreak TOD is useless. He actually all but drowned some hatchling pythons in orange medic over several weeks without any effect on the snakes at all. That TOD is dear as anything, I went through a case about 5 years ago trying to control a mite outbreak in my collection without any luck. Two sprays with a 4:1 Orange Medic solution fixed the problem once and for all.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Good advice here from Rams & Splitmore. Coating snakes in oil USED to be suggested for treating mites, 20 or 30 years ago, but it can seriously affect the skin of snakes, that's why they often shed their skin soon afterwards.

A very good way to get rid of them from the snake itself is to use a plastic container with a firmly fitting lid, almost filled with lukewarm water to which a drop or two of dishwashing detergent has been added. Place the snake in this, with the lid on and leave it for 5-6 hours in a warm place. Mites drown very easily, and the detergent ensures those under scales are also killed. The snake only needs to have his nostrils out of the water to breathe. Non-toxic and very effective.

Orange Medic is definitely one of the best treatments, and I think far more long-acting than the mite sprays available commercially. Removing the water bowl and drenching the snake, and everything in the enclosure with Orange Medic, twice a fortnight apart is a very good way to go. If your animal is in a room which can be closed off, after doing all that, bag the animal for a few hours and remove it from the room, leave the enclosures wide open and let off one of the flea or insect bombs in the room as the instructions on the can suggest.

That will ensure that any stray mites outside the enclosure are taken care of, and because these products have about 6-9 month effectiveness (they use a hormone for residual effect, not a poison) it will prevent any hatching mites in the room from developing.

I have to disagree with Wokka about their potential for damaging snakes... they can seriously debilitate snakes in a very short time if they get out of control, they will kill a snake by simple dehydration - taking so much blood that the snake just dries up and dies, and their numbers can increase massively in the warm environment of a snake enclosure. There are suggestions that they act as vectors for some of the dangerous viral diseases seen in snakes as well. They are also highly transmissable to other reptiles, either in your collection or others via hands, clothing etc.

 

[Slats]

and the detergent ensures those under scales are also killed.

Quote from Karingal vet site

Soap and water baths. Mites breathe through small holes called spiracles along the side of their bodies. When submerged mites are normally trapped in a thin bubble of air. The surface tension on the surface of the bubble prevents the bubble collapsing and allows the mite to avoid drowning. The addition of soap (e.g. dishwashing liquid) to the water disrupts the surface tension and results in the mites drowning.

 

[stormus]

Hey guys me back again it turns out that my boy is shedding thank god that all it is. I am very against any chemicals as I had a carpet last year that was killed after the pest controll company told me that the chemical they were using was safe and I lost a great snake this is why I choose to use the oil 100% safe and the snake seemes to like it and the mites are gone and I only had to do it once thank you for all the advice it has been a real help

 

[wokka]

I have to disagree with Wokka about their potential for damaging snakes... they can seriously debilitate snakes in a very short time if they get out of control, they will kill a snake by simple dehydration - taking so much blood that the snake just dries up and dies, and their numbers can increase massively in the warm environment of a snake enclosure. There are suggestions that they act as vectors for some of the dangerous viral diseases seen in snakes as well. They are also highly transmissable to other reptiles, either in your collection or others via hands, clothing etc.

Perhaps i could have been a little less flipant and said that there is life after mites, and that they are relaively easy to control and so not the end of the world. I use orange medic, although at about 50:1 to soak the snake and spray all walls and cages. At about $15 to treat 500 odd snakes it is readily available from most chemists. You have all probably used it to control nits in human hair.

 

[bobby2]

just wondering, I have a bottle of 'repti-gaurd mite spray' made by 'aristopet' that came with one of my enclosures - it's active ingredients are permethrin and piperonyl butoxide - has anyone heard of this and is this mix effective?