[Mites] I need some advice. Im getting worried.

[leiarius]

So a week after aquiring a female boa, I aquired mites. My female boa is the source. Ive deep cleaned their cages. The cages are sprayed with prevent a mite every 4 days after I take out the snake and put them in a bath. The water dish is also removed and scrubbed with hot soapy water, rinsed, and dried. prevent a mite is prayed inside the cage and on the hides and on the paper towel substrate. After 45 ninutes the water dish is placed back and filled with fresh and clean water and then the snake for the enclosure is placed back. Im on day 5 of treatment. The snakes arent put back until the provent a mite has dried and fumes aired out.
My male is in shed, hes only had 4 visible mites on the first day. None visible since.
The female has had 20 visible mites in her cage and on her in the past 4 days.
Yesterday the female had no visuble mites, but she looks dehydrated despite the baths in clean warm water 86f.

Here are my questions
How often should I give my boas warm water baths?
Ive been doing every 4 days and misting daily.

Should I still feed weekly?

Any other tips?

Thank you for the help

[Noelle7206]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

It doesn't sound as if you quarantined your new female boa...lesson learned, I hope? Mites are a big hassle (also a health risk) so the fewer snakes you have to treat, the better.

How long have you had the female boa now?

I haven't had to deal with mites since the dinosaurs roamed, so (FYI) I've never used "PAM"...I know it's toxic for the snakes (it's only used on cage & must be dry) so as far as I can tell, you're using it correctly.
What are the hides made of? If anything permeable, like wood, mites could hide in crevices & perhaps not die, so you need to get rid of branches or any tree-bark hides. Pretty sure most people need repeated
treatments (even with PAM, which is very effective) to completely get rid of mites. Even if you can't see them on your snake, they hide under scales & keep hatching out family members...

I wouldn't feed your snakes until the mites are gone, since all the extra handling might cause a regurge. Dehydration can also cause digestive trouble too: remember that digestion REQUIRES extra moisture from the
snake's body, and that dehydration (from mites alone) can kill a snake, so I wouldn't tax them by feeding until mites are gone. Your female probably had mites for quite some time before you got her, if she already
appears dehydrated...so it's important to get them stopped fast. And when you do finally get to feed them, I'd feed smaller (ie. easier digested) rodents for a few feedings to help her out...easy does it.

Suggestion: you can bathe your boas daily with no harm, & it will help their hydration too. You didn't mention adding anything to the water though? ...plain water won't get rid of mites...you need some mild soap (like
Ivory or pet shampoo that's safe for use on puppies/kittens) in the water, because that will cause mites to drown. You should be sitting right there with the snake for about 30 minutes...the water should not be much
deeper than the snake's body is high, & most snakes need some gentle restraint to keep them mostly submerged (head always above water) & water should be mildly warm, not cold. Also, make sure they don't DRINK
the soapy water (not good for their stomach) & after the bath rinse off the soapy water. You should see some mites in the bathwater (if it's not too bubbly). If done correctly (with soap) the bathing is VERY effective
for getting rid of mites, but some still hide in places you cannot soak (their face/eyes/nose/chin), & that's where the PAM comes in.

[Walter3rd]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

Are mites easy to see? Where do they come from? How would you know you have them? Just trying to educate myself. Thanks. Walt

[Noelle7206]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

Are mites easy to see? Where do they come from? How would you know you have them? Just trying to educate myself. Thanks. Walt

Snake mites are primarily found on captive-bred snakes, usually those sold thru the pet-trade (wholesalers to pet stores) or those from less-than-stellar breeders. They are NOT easy to see, roughly the size of
the point of a pin, black/brown/reddish in color, moving or not. They hide under the snake's body scales, and around the eyes, nose, chin, cloaca, & are thought to be responsible for the spread of diseases, including
the dreaded IBD...so yes, they matter! They suck blood from the snake, & can multiply exponentially and cause the snake to die from malnutrition/dehydration. Not to mention they are miserable, I'm sure....that's why
you'll find that many snakes with mites will soak in their water bowl. But water alone won't drown mites, you need soapy water to break the surface tension & stifle the mites.

That's one reason that all newly-acquired snakes should be quarantined...treating ONE snake is way better than treating a house-full! Keeping snakes on white paper towels helps them show up (some may fall off),
but also pay attention to their water bowl, you may see some in there too. Closely inspect all new snakes, & try wiping their body with a damp white paper towel & look for the specks on it.

Treatments should be multi-approach: Provent-A-Mite (aka 'PAM'- so NOT the cooking spray!!!) seems to be a good product*, coupled with 30 minute mild soapy baths for the hapless snake. *But keep in mind it IS
toxic if used improperly so follow directions to the letter (never apply to snake, cage must be dry before snake reintroduced, etc), otherwise nerve damage & death can result. Obviously, this is all best AVOIDED, so
be careful of your sources...if a snake you get has mites, you should assume that others from that source do too, & may be carrying serious diseases as a result. Quarantine, quarantine, quarantine! All new snakes,
for at least 6 months, 9-12+ is better, especially if YOU plan to breed & be reliable.

[leiarius]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

Sorry for the lack of response. Boas are mite free and eating regularly and seem to be pretty healthy.
Next boas I get are getting quarantined

[bcr_229]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

Sorry for the lack of response. Boas are mite free and eating regularly and seem to be pretty healthy.
Next boas I get are getting quarantined

If you were still seeing mites on 12/16 then you can't claim your snakes are mite-free until two months after you last saw a mite, and you should continue to treat for them during this time.

A mite egg can take up to 30 days to hatch. If that mite is a female she will mature and lay male-only eggs, which will mature and mate with her and then her eggs will be both male an female. The result is that two months after you think the mites are gone, you start seeing them again.

This article has more info than most of us want to read about snake mites. Skip to page 8 if you just want the info on effectively treating for them.

http://denardo.lab.asu.edu/publications/ARAVsnakemites.pdf

[leiarius]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

Im well aware of the time a mite egg can incubate for. Im sorry, but I never said I would stop mite treatment. I also didnt clarify and say that I am still treating for mites despite no adult mites and that is my bad. Im new at keeping snakes, doesn't mean I don't look up what Im supposed to do. Also your link isn't working for me

[bcr_229]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

Link should be fixed. Good to hear that you're still treating for the little SOB's, I've had two outbreaks and that was two too many!

[leiarius]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

I apologize for the harsh tone in my previous post. Im a bit overwelmed with non snake stuff today. I need to remeber to keep snake stuff seperate from other stress

[leiarius]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

One outbreak is one too many. Ive been bathing my snakes weekly and while theyre in their baths I scrub their enclosures down with rubbing alcohol and respray with provent a mite. I spray new paper towel sheets for bedding with Provent a mite and then put the enclosure back together. The water bowls stay out of the enclaure for 12 hrs and are scrubbed in scalding hot soapy water. after all fumes are gone I place my boas back into their enclosures. i always check their baths for proper temps.
Ive been using this regiment for 4 weeks now.

[bcr_229]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

Sounds like you're well down the road to mite eradication then!

Also one trick I use when I get a new snake, especially if it is shipped - wipe it immediately with a white paper towel that you've dampened with Reptile Spray when the snake comes out of the shipping box. If it has mites you should find them then.

[leiarius]

Re: I need some advice. Im getting worried.

Thank you for the good tip.
Since I work at the Pet store I got my boas from I also quarintine all of my work clothes, keep them out of the snake room. I shower before i enter the snake room and I use diatomeacous earth on the floor of the doorway to keep my feet from tracking in critters