Hydra

[aquamentus_11]

it's no longer an issue: the ribbon has mites. i saw them as i held her just now. the store owner told me she didn't have them and now i'm taking her back. i'm not going to put hydra at risk. sucks.

[aquamentus_11]

[kibakiba]

If you got provent a mite you could have just treated it.

[aquamentus_11]

steve, if you read this, you should get to work on making blue babies. there's a ribbon-shaped hole in my heart lol

[aquamentus_11]

If you got provent a mite you could have just treated it.

thought about it, but it sounds like they're really hard to completely get rid of and i'd rather not put my other snake at risk. better safe than sorry.

[mikem]

mites are a pain. i'll get an outbreak in a cage or two from time to time. usually right after a reptile show or receiving a shipment . i've been using "rid" home lice control spray for years with excellent results. you can buy it at walmart for $5 a can. take out the water dish and spray the bedding for a few seconds, mix bedding up and spray for a few more seconds. let dry for 45mins to an hour then put your snake back in. repeat in 2 weeks. that will take care of the mites. keep your snake well hydrated. even if you take the ribbon back, you might want to go ahead and treat your other snakes as mites will crawl out of the container and can travel a good distance for such small little blood suckers. also they can get on your clothes and hitch a ride.

[aquamentus_11]

yeah i threw my clothes in the washer as soon as i saw them on her. i feel itchy now and i'm now down 2 hides, a tub and my thermometer/hygrometer.

[EasternGirl]

Do what Mike says and don't take her back. If you have to treat Hydra as well...you might as well keep her. And think about it this way, the pet store probably won't treat her and she will get sold to someone who won't know how to deal with it and she will suffer. It sounds like Mike has had success with this stuff...I would follow his instructions...you love her...don't take her back.

[aquamentus_11]

i took her back immediately when i saw the mites and watched as the owners sprayed her and the other snake she was with. then i made sure that they treated their cage and put them in a different cage. i really liked her a lot; she was gorgeous, calm and a great eater, but what's done is done. i threw out her entire set-up and wouldn't have anywhere to keep her right now anyway. maybe i'll head over and get another tub tomorrow and go pick her up after i know she's had sufficient time to de-mite. this way the mite treatment is at the owner's expense how long does it take for her to be de-mited after being sprayed down?

[mikem]

the spray they probably used was something like reptile relief. it kills the mites on the snake, but not in the cage. there's going to be mites back on her as soon as she's placed back into the cage, unless they treated it too. mites lay eggs. if you don't see any for a week that doesn't mean they're gone. the eggs will hatch and the cycle repeats. that's why you have to treat the bedding twice. once to kill the mites currently alive and once to kill the newly hatched. a third treatment would probably be ideal just to be sure. soak your snake in some luke warm water while the bedding dries from the spray. that'll drown a lot of the mites on her. the residue on the bedding will take care of the rest. and like i mentioned earlier, remove the water dish while spraying.