twgrosmick
10-20-2012, 08:11 PM
As I am sure that you guys noticed in my recent post I realized that I have in fact been the victim of mites. I have dealt with mites in the past but never have I had the size collection that I do now. I am not sure whether or not there is a thread that outlines the precautions and procedures for dealing with mites but none the less I decided to make this thread documenting what I have done that has proven to work in the past and I am sure will work in the future. I would also like to thank Steve as some of what I did this time was due to his recommendations.
Prevention:
Obviously the best way to prevent reptile mites from spreading is to quarentine the animals. While many people have their own ways of doing this I have found it most effective just to treat with provent a mite from the start. If used properly, the provent a mite will not harm the snake and will be a sure fire way to address any issues right from the start while in quarentine. I quarentine for a month or more depending on feeding habits, size, etc.
Well I have mites, now what?
Obviously the first thing you are going to want to do is get yourself a can of provent a mite if you do not already have one. While on the phone with Steve he also recommended that I soak them in water with a drop a soap. ( I had always done it with just water, but by using the soap you can break the surface tension causing the mites to sink )
Allow them to soak for about 20 minutes and drink/poop before changing the water and adding the soap. You do not want them to drink from the soapy water.
If the mites are in one cage in your collection then you can almost be sure that they are spreading rapidly throughout your entire collection. I feel that I caught it early enough, and through the design of my rack, that the problem is isolated to a few tubs. None the less, I will be treating my entire collection for a month or more just to be sure that there are no issues. There is not point in just treating what you found because they are almost sure to be in other cages and they will just keep coming back until you bomb your entire collection with a good cleaning/treatment.
How I make use of provent a mite:
The first step is obviously to clean the cage out and take all the cage furniture out. Give it all a good wash, let it dry, and give it a good spray of provent a mite. Allow it to dry for 24 hours and then it will be clear to go back in the cage.
Provent a mite is an extremely potent chemical. If used improperly there is a very high chance that you will be putting your animals in danger. I have found that if you take the tub/cage and just give a quick spray (approx. a sec per sq. ft ) and allow to dry for a an hour or so there won't be any problems. You want to be sure that it is completely dry before you add the animals back in. DO NOT SPRAY THE SNAKE WITH PROVENT A MITE. In an ideal world you would have back up cages for every snake and can allow it to dry for 24 hours but I have never been able to do that and have never seen a problem as a result. One of the key parts for me is using paper towels as a substrate during this time. This allows you to easily see the mites as they are falling off, and you can see the progress of the mites dying off. I also give the paper towel a quick spray and allow it to dry.
While you obviously need to have water in the cage the entire time, you need to be completely sure that the water doesn't come in contact with the provent a mite to prevent accidental ingestion.
I would recommend feeding in a separate container during this time as well.
Treatment times vary depending on the severity of the mite outbreak. In my current situation I don't anticipate it taking more than about a week or so to kill off all the mites that are living, and a month long treatment will ensure that any eggs are killed as well.
Remember, this time is going to be very stressful for your snakes. It is crucial that mites be addressed early and taken very seriously. They are annoying for the snakes and potentially carry diseases.
This is just my experience with mites and I could go on and on but this is the main part of it. I will continue to update this thread with anything new I find while treating my collection over the next few weeks.
Prevention:
Obviously the best way to prevent reptile mites from spreading is to quarentine the animals. While many people have their own ways of doing this I have found it most effective just to treat with provent a mite from the start. If used properly, the provent a mite will not harm the snake and will be a sure fire way to address any issues right from the start while in quarentine. I quarentine for a month or more depending on feeding habits, size, etc.
Well I have mites, now what?
Obviously the first thing you are going to want to do is get yourself a can of provent a mite if you do not already have one. While on the phone with Steve he also recommended that I soak them in water with a drop a soap. ( I had always done it with just water, but by using the soap you can break the surface tension causing the mites to sink )
Allow them to soak for about 20 minutes and drink/poop before changing the water and adding the soap. You do not want them to drink from the soapy water.
If the mites are in one cage in your collection then you can almost be sure that they are spreading rapidly throughout your entire collection. I feel that I caught it early enough, and through the design of my rack, that the problem is isolated to a few tubs. None the less, I will be treating my entire collection for a month or more just to be sure that there are no issues. There is not point in just treating what you found because they are almost sure to be in other cages and they will just keep coming back until you bomb your entire collection with a good cleaning/treatment.
How I make use of provent a mite:
The first step is obviously to clean the cage out and take all the cage furniture out. Give it all a good wash, let it dry, and give it a good spray of provent a mite. Allow it to dry for 24 hours and then it will be clear to go back in the cage.
Provent a mite is an extremely potent chemical. If used improperly there is a very high chance that you will be putting your animals in danger. I have found that if you take the tub/cage and just give a quick spray (approx. a sec per sq. ft ) and allow to dry for a an hour or so there won't be any problems. You want to be sure that it is completely dry before you add the animals back in. DO NOT SPRAY THE SNAKE WITH PROVENT A MITE. In an ideal world you would have back up cages for every snake and can allow it to dry for 24 hours but I have never been able to do that and have never seen a problem as a result. One of the key parts for me is using paper towels as a substrate during this time. This allows you to easily see the mites as they are falling off, and you can see the progress of the mites dying off. I also give the paper towel a quick spray and allow it to dry.
While you obviously need to have water in the cage the entire time, you need to be completely sure that the water doesn't come in contact with the provent a mite to prevent accidental ingestion.
I would recommend feeding in a separate container during this time as well.
Treatment times vary depending on the severity of the mite outbreak. In my current situation I don't anticipate it taking more than about a week or so to kill off all the mites that are living, and a month long treatment will ensure that any eggs are killed as well.
Remember, this time is going to be very stressful for your snakes. It is crucial that mites be addressed early and taken very seriously. They are annoying for the snakes and potentially carry diseases.
This is just my experience with mites and I could go on and on but this is the main part of it. I will continue to update this thread with anything new I find while treating my collection over the next few weeks.