# MITES.....HELP!!!



## dragonqueen4 (Oct 16, 2009)

I bought a BRB months ago, and have been finding mites in all my tanks ever since, I gave away the snake but cant get rid of the mites. Ive tried treating them with vegetable oil, washing the tanks with the oil, ive tried washing the tanks with water and bleech, ive tried using mite reptile relief... nothing is working..does anyone know how to cure them for good?
im thinking about using nix, but is that safe for lizards?
thx


----------



## DaveDragon (Oct 17, 2009)

NIX worked great for me when I had a recent bout with mites.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/caresheets/nix.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/caresheets/nix.pdf</a><!-- m -->

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.anapsid.org/mites.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.anapsid.org/mites.html</a><!-- m -->


----------



## chris allen (Oct 17, 2009)

This is maybe a bit old school and is probably kind of risky, but I used a no pest strip years ago....probably like 15 years ago or more maybe. I had bought some kind of snake and found out it had mites. I got the no pest strip, cut a small piece off(like 1" x 2" or so I think) and put it in a little deli cup with holes in it. I then put that in the tank. Was a smaller fish tank probably and kept only white paper towel in there, changed the paper often and got rid of the mites. I dont remember how long I kept the piece in there for, but it worked.


----------



## DaveDragon (Oct 17, 2009)

We tried that once, for 24 hours only, it seemed to work. But I read somewhere that keeping the snake in the tank with the "fumes" isn't a good idea.


----------



## dragonqueen4 (Oct 19, 2009)

thx, davedragon, did u use the nix for snakes or lizards? i just treated all of my reptile enclosures with nix yesterday, with the reptiles removed and bathed... i just put them all back in their tanks, but i didnt rinse out any of the tanks, i just left the dried nix/water mix in there.. is that what you did or should i have rinsed it?


----------



## MMRR - jif (Oct 19, 2009)

Provent-a-mite from ProProducts is an effective treatment and safe if used as directed. It is safe for an animal to come into contact with this product after it is dried. You can leave all substrate and furnishings in the enclosure, just remove food and water containers, and, of course, the animals, when spraying the enclosure. This product will eliminate a mite infestation with just 2 treatments. 

We had a 2 foot boa come in a few years ago that had one of the worst mite infestations that I've ever seen. We lined a medium sized underbed sterlite container with paper towel and sprayed it with Provent-a-mite. When dry we added a water bowl and nothing else. We kept the snake in the container for 2 weeks, changing out the water bowl and replacing the treated paper towel a couple of times. The snake was mite free after 14 days in the container. 

And, it's on sale right now!! 

http://www.pro-products.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=59

When I take animals out for presentations I always put a treated towel in their travel container or spray the snake bags before loading the animals. That way if we happen to pick up any mites while at the venue they will die on the way home.


----------



## DaveDragon (Oct 20, 2009)

MMRR - jif said:


> When I take animals out for presentations I always put a treated towel in their travel container or spray the snake bags before loading the animals. That way if we happen to pick up any mites while at the venue they will die on the way home.


That's some good advice!!!!


----------



## DaveDragon (Oct 20, 2009)

dragonqueen4 said:


> thx, davedragon, did u use the nix for snakes or lizards? i just treated all of my reptile enclosures with nix yesterday, with the reptiles removed and bathed... i just put them all back in their tanks, but i didnt rinse out any of the tanks, i just left the dried nix/water mix in there.. is that what you did or should i have rinsed it?


Lizards don't have loose scales that the mites can get under. I leave the dried NIX in the enclosure. Did you put the snakes on a paper towel substrate? You'll see lots of dead mites! They say to treat 3 times, every 7-10 days, I only did 2 times and haven't seen a mite in 3 weeks.


----------



## dragonqueen4 (Oct 20, 2009)

I got the nix, diluted 29g with 2liters of water as the website said. I treated both the snakes with it and their tanks, but I only treated 3 of my 10 lizards with it because I didnt know if it was safe for them. I sprayed all of the enclosures though and waited for them to dry before putting the reptiles back in. I didnt wash the nix off any of the enclosures or the 2 snakes, as the website said.. anyway, its affecting them all differently. Yesterday my boa seemed a little shaky, now today he seems fine. The lizards I sprayed seem fine, but my savannah monitor, which I didnt spray(only his tank) is shaking as well. My ruthvens kingsnake.. thats another story, take a look at this video I took of him this morning.. hes actually going crazy, seems like he has neurological damage maybe? I really dont know what to do with him. My guess is hes not going to make it.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pOywUU0cro" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pOywUU0cro</a><!-- m -->


----------



## DaveDragon (Oct 20, 2009)

I didn't spray any of the snakes. I would think if they breathe it in or swallow any it could affect them neurologically. Provent-A-Mite doesn't recommend spraying the snake either. I think they have the same active ingredient, but probably different concentrations. I can't get to YouTube at work. I hope your kingsnake makes it.

Did you leave the water bowls out for 24 hours after treatment??


----------



## dragonqueen4 (Oct 20, 2009)

Yes, I left the waterbowls out.. the snake breeder I got the snake from and the website both said to spray the snake and dont wash it off. BIG mistake... Now hes hurt ... my lizards are fine.. but I washed it off them about 2 minutes later. 
I really dont know what to do with the poor snake, hes obviously in a lot of pain or discomfort. I feel so bad.


----------



## DaveDragon (Oct 20, 2009)

My wife sprayed our snake with Reptile Relief (which is probably junk), not NIX.


----------



## xoemkae (Oct 20, 2009)

I'm so sorry to hear about your snake. :c I hope he gets better. Hopefully bathing him and removing him from the tank until the NIX is cleaned out will help. Good luck.

That said, I've used NIX both on my personal collection, and on the snakes at the pet store where I work, with no negative side effects. The treatment was recommended to me by the owners of a local and reputable reptile store, and I sprayed both the enclosures, and the snakes, and left it on the snakes with no problem.

Which makes me wonder if what happened to your snake was a fluke (like maybe he ingested some somehow) or if it's a legitimate concern as a side effect. >.<


----------



## DaveDragon (Oct 20, 2009)

Yes, they only possible way it could have affected him is if he ingested it.


----------



## FoxxCola (Oct 21, 2009)

Poor little guy, how is he doing today?


----------



## dragonqueen4 (Oct 24, 2009)

He died yesterday..


----------



## chris allen (Oct 24, 2009)

Sorry to hear that.


----------



## txrepgirl (Oct 25, 2009)

I'm so sorry for your loss.May he R.I.P.


----------



## FoxxCola (Oct 26, 2009)

I am so sorry.


----------

