It has been several months since my last post. Since my last post I have started my MBA, which I have a 4.0, started a new job, and have had many other life events keep me away from this blog, but hopefully that will all change.
I figured the best way back into this blog is to write about things all reptile breeders deal with eventually and have been plaguing me. This blog is focused on the snake mite. I HATE MITES!!!! I had an issues with mites that got out of control. I had mites over every water bowl, on every snake, and they were even pouring out of the tubs like ants. All of this in a span of 2 weeks. That is how long it takes for an infestation to get to that level. I am happy to say all mites are gone but it was a battle that I fear I have yet to truly win and I feel will always rage on.
Here is what one of these nasty mites look like:
That is a mite filled with the blood of some poor helpless snake.
WHERE DO THEY COME FROM:
Mites can get on your snake from many different sources. If your house isn’t vacuumed regularly then you can get mites. Mites can come from the rodents you feed you snakes. make sure if you feed live you check them out for mites. if you buy pre-killed than you can relax. The two most common sources for mites in you collection comes from the purchase of a new snake and bedding.
You should always check on the new reptiles you purchase. Many pet stores have mites and fail to treat them and the new owners get to deal with them. Buying from other breeders or collectors can also bring in mites. The best thing you can do is check every reptile you purchase. Be sure to ask the people who you are buying from if they have ever had mites. This sometimes doesn’t work because people do lie. I almost purchased a snake that had several mites on it, but when I asked the breeder if he ever had any he said no. I pointed out each mite and the guy flipped out on me. Needless to say I am happy I didn’t do business with this gentleman.
The largest source of mites for me comes from aspen bedding. Every time I see someone use it, they always get mites later. This can not be helped and it is of no fault of the places you purchase your bedding. Many reptile breeders use news paper or paper towel because they know bedding has mites and they’d rather avoid that mess. For those who want to add a more eye catching appeal to their cages instead of boring paper towels I will list what to do with bedding in the pre-kill section of this post.
PRE-KILLING MITES:
The best way to kill mites is to prevent them all together. Here are a few helpful tips to prevent the issue from ever occurring:
- If you use aspen bedding, freeze the bedding first, then bake it for a shot while to kill any mites
- Use newspaper or paper towel bedding
- Shake all bedding in 7 Dust
- Spray down all bedding with mite spray
- Avoid reptiles that currently have mites
- Bathe your reptiles
- Go over the reptile with mite treatments before adding it to your collection
Here are some of the most known tools for mite prevention:
In my personal experience only the 7 Dust helped.
MITES ARE THE DEVIL AND THE DEVIL IS BAD:
If mites have invaded your reptile’s personal space you need to act quickly. Mites can cause you reptiles to have illnesses, they can cause respiratory issues, and if not treated THEY WILL KILL YOUR REPTILE. Mites will spread this illness all over your collection and this is never good.
THE MITE BATTLE BEGINS:
If you are starting to see mites then you need to prepare for battle. I will go over how I dealt with my mite infestation and what I used. Here is a step by step of my battle with mites:
- Place snake in a tub I made just for soaking them in. The tub is small but has large enough holes for air but not so large the snake could get out. The holes also act as a way to get water in the tub since many snakes just don’t let you lay them in water.
- Fill soaking tub with warm water
- Clean out each snake tub with vinegar, water and 7dust mixture. I let the tub stay wet in my mixture for a few minutes before I wipe it down and dry it out.
- Take pipe cleaner through every air hole in the tub (those holes are a great place for mites and mite eggs to hide)
- Replace bedding with paper towels
- Microwave my water bowls. I have purchased bowls that you could boil water in for my snakes to drink from because they are easy to clean, dish washer friendly and can be microwaved for 4 minutes. You can also freeze the bowls
- Check the snake for mites as I dry the snake off
- Before putting snake back in its tub I go over the tub with 7dust. (please wear gloves and a mask for this)
- I then go over the snake a bit with the dust
- Wipe down the spot on the snake rack
- Put snake back
I do this to entire group on day one. This can be stressful for a snake so I give them a day off before I do this again and this lasts for a week. During this week I get aspen bedding and I pretreating it for mites. After a week I start round two.
- Repeat what I did last week but instead of paper towels I use aspen bedding
- cover aspen bedding with 7 dust and mix it in
- after snake has been dried off with a towel I put them back in their tub
Snakes like to dig around in their bedding. With 7 Dust on the bedding they can get that all over them and kill the mites. 7 Dust is being used by some of the biggest names in reptile breeding and it many have even feed their snakes on bedding that was treated with 7 Dust with no signs of issues. I started using it after visiting a large reptile breeder in south Florida. He was feeding snakes on it and all the snakes were healthy, and breeding just as fine. Now when he was breeding them he would remove all bedding for paper towels and kept it that way until eggs were laid and removed.
Treating a reptile with mites takes several weeks as the eggs have to be killed off. I have been told and read many different things on the life cycle of mites but the safest thing to do is always treat you collection like mites are already there. care for your snakes, check on them daily, check for the signs of mites, which are:
- Soaking in water bowl
- loss of appetite
- Rubbing
- or tiny dots moving all over the snake
- shedding problems
- lack of strength
Some of the places mites love to hang out are in the heat pits, under snake’s mouth, in a reptile’s eyes, in their nose, near their tails, and they really love a reptile’s head.
Every reptile keeper battles mites at some point in their reptile collecting years. They always find a way to show up no matter what you do. If you treat you bedding and watch for these things you may see dead mites in places but as long as they are always dead and never alive than relax a bit.
Now I know some may find my treatment methods out outrageous and harmful to the snakes but I have seen this used for 10 years and I have seen nothing ever bad come from it. The only person I have met who has been against this treatment style lost a snake that was beyond help by the time it was being treated. It was very sad but mites can and will kill a reptile.
I am happy to say I am looking mite free again, snakes all eating like bottomless pits, and starting to get weights ready for a wonderful breeding season.
The Snake Boss Blog 