What is the easiest way to get rid of snake mites?

Answer 1

There is no easy way. It is a long process no matter what.

To get rid of mites, you have to break the mite life cycle. You have to get rid of not only the living mites that you can see, but also the mite eggs that you can not see.

The "official" answer is to use Provent-A-Mite ($20 per can) and follow the directions exactly (do NOT apply this directly to your reptile). The more common answer is to use Equate Bedding Spray ($4 per can, sold at WalMart as a lice treatment...same active ingrediants as PAM). Here are the steps to follow:

Remove the snake from it's cage and soak it in warm water (luke warm, not hot!). Add a drop or two of Ivory dish soap to the water. This will break the surface tension of the water and more easily drown the mites. Make sure that the water is deep enough to come up to the snakes back, but not so deep that the snake has to actually swim.

While your snake is soaking, clean the cage COMPLETELY. Remove any cage furnishings and water bowls and sanatize these items (or replace with new). The cage should look brand new when you are finished cleaning. If you are using a home made wooden cage, this will be more difficult.

After cleaning, seal any vents and you want to spray the Equate (what I use) or PAM in the cage (give it a decent fogging, hard to say how long without knowing the size of the cage). The idea is to keep the "fog" inside the cage to treat the entire cage. DO NOT SPRAY WATER BOWLS WITH INSECTICIDES.

Let the cage sit, still sealed, from an hour or two to allow all the fumes to dissipate. The fumes are what will harm the snake and you should never, ever spray these products directly on your snake.

Once the cage is completely dried and no trace of fumes remain, you can then remove your snake from it's soaking tub. Use paper towels to dry your snake. You will notice alot of dead mites on the paper towel as you wipe the snake down. Return your snake to it's cage, but do not give it a water bowl for another 24 hours. Use newspaper or paper towels as a substrate until you are sure all mites are gone.

The PAM and Equate bedding sprays both have a residual effect that will kill any mites that come into contact with a treated surface for roughly 30 days. However, since you already have a mite infestation, you need to repeat this procedure in two weeks.

If you are looking for a product that you can spray directly onto the reptile, I would recommend Reptile Relief. I use this on every new snake that I aquire as I place the animal into quarantine. While not as effective as the stronger products I outlined above, it does kill mites (works in a different way and is safe to apply directly to the snake, providing you follow the directions on the bottle).

I hope this answers your question. As a point of refrence, My husband and I are reptile breeders and dealers.We
have had to deal with mites on occasion when bringing in new animals. If you have several animals, you will need to treat every one of them as if they all have mites (even if you don't see any). Mites travel.

Also, as someone else stated.. If you are using cedar bedding.. STOP. It can kill your snake. Pine is not good for them either. Too many oils. You can keep your snake on Aspen bedding, newspaper, cypress mulch, or even paper towels.

Good Luck

Answer 2

listen to jen she gave you some good advice...

personaly i like to use a combonation.. reptile relife is good to spray derectly on your animal when you get it home wether you see any mites on him or not.. i alwayse use it on any new captives i aquire and because of that i havent had a mite problom in a long time.. provent a mite the beding of your snake before the snakes been in the cage and you shouldent ever have a mite problom. however it is some nasty stuff and if used inapropreatly can cause harm to your animal.. follow the drections carfully and make sure not to put any water in the cage for the first 24 hours after treatment..

equate is a bad idea, vasoline dosent do **** to kill the eggs and can be harmfull to your animal.

Answer 3

The cheapest way is to use vaseline.
If you are using cedar bedding..this harbours mites, and you need to change to either a pine or corn cob, aspen bedding.
Disinfect your whole cage with a bleach solution and allow to dry for 24 hours before adding the new bedding.
Keep vaseline on for 2 days and then wipe off. Make sure you do not get it up near their nose as this will clog their breathing passages.

Answer 4

go to the pet store there are different sprays out there

Answer 5

eat them