PLEASE HELP!!! Martha has mites!

[6y0ballpython]

I swear every day I find something new with this girl! I just got her a month ago and it seems like she's in worse shape than Petland knew about. They told me that she had been tested for parasites and everything was good. Well, Tonight when I was looking at her eyes again (I think she has retained eyecaps), I had her around my neck and I noticed a little spider like thing crawling around in between her scales. It was so small it was hiding underneath her scales, and running around on her like a road map. I caught one with a pair of tweezers and killed it. I only saw two on her, and only killed one. I looked all over for more, but I couldn't see anymore. I am sure there are more though because she has lifted/sticking out scales all over her body (about 15-20). I thought this was just because she was old. She also has quite a few dry/brown patchy areas on her skin that look like old retained skin. The people that had her before me did not care for her very well. They fed her ok because she is over 2500g and 5 ft. long, but as far as caring for her body, they were awful. Her spurs were so caked in old shed that they were hardly visible. I was able to tweeze it all off and they are nice and clean now. She is going into shed right now....her belly is nice and pink/almost redish and I think her eyes are bluing. Its hard to see because she has cracks in her eyeballs (which is why I think she has retained eye caps). Her eyes look like they have a road map on them. They aren't dented in, just crackly looking. I can see her pupils through her caps and they constrict and open nicely with light, and she is moving her eyes within their sockets nicely. I have some pics of it on another thread titled (How do I tell her age?). I will try and post a pic on this thread so you don't have to search back. This girl must have had eggs on her when I bought her and they've hatched lately. CAN HUMANS GET SNAKE MITES? I've been handling her daily and she's been sitting around my neck a lot.
Tomorrow morning I will soak her for a while to drown any mites, and then clean her cage with bleach and water. I don't have a soak bowl for her in her cage because she is too big to have both hides and a bowl, but I do have a good humidity level. She hasn't been drinking any water, but she's been eating very well. Since I've bought her she's eaten about 12 mice (3 a week). Petland told me that she pooped the morning that I bought her, so I do not expect her to poop until she does this shed. My other ball is free of mites that I can see....unless he has eggs. I have kept them apart and have been using alcohol gel in between handling. I will treat him and his cage as well just in case though. What do you suggest? Should I go and buy some treatment for the mites? Are they mites? They look like little spiders crawling all over her. Like I said, I've only seen two on her. She only shed about 7 weeks ago.....would the mites force her into a shed? A natural way to rid them? I think that she is a wild caught snake because of all the marks and a scar I found close to her tail about 2 inches long. It's barely visible only at a distance. I know nothing about her previous owners. they abandoned her in an apartment building and someone brought her into Petland. I just hope that she's not REALLY sick and dying slowing on me. I paid $585 plus supplies for her and we really love and care for her too. I am using coconut bark mixed with wood chips as a substrate. This probably is a good medium for mites to multiply in hey? My God, I am so worried about her. She is our pride and joy, and I want to breed her next October. Monty, our male, we purchased 7 months ago from a young boy in southern Alberta, Canada. They were practically starving him....only feeding him 2 mice a month. I feed him 2 mice every week. He is a little over 500g. He was under 400g when I bought him and 3.5 feet long. Very skinny. He's put on weight though. So please recommend a treatment regimine here for me???!!!!! And please tell me that myself and my other warm blooded animals are going to be ok from these mites......????? The only thing that I've notice in Martha's behavior the past few days is that she is constantly going back and forth from her warm hide to her cold hide (about 6 times a day). Almost like she is restless. I have her housed in a 40 G breeder tank.

Here are some pics of Martha's eyes, her body size, her mouth, etc....There are a few of my smaller Male as well at the end. http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/photopost/data//500/medium/eye_2a.JPG

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/photopost/data//500/medium/eye_3a.JPG

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/photopost/data//500/medium/fat_girl.JPG
IGNORE THE TEACHING INSERTS....I WAS HELPING A FRIEND OUT...
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/photopost/data//500/medium/martha_s_teeths.JPG

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/photopost/data/500/medium/Im_bigger_than_you_are_1.JPG

HERE IS MONTY ON HIS OWN....PRETTY SKINNY, BUT HEALTHY AND GAINING
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/photopost/data/500/medium/pencil_thin.JPG

[6y0ballpython]

OMG!!! I just remembered, last week I went and cut a nice hunk of tree limb and put it in Martha's cage for her to wrap around.....could this be the source of the mites??? If so, can I treat the wood and keep it or do I have to throw it out?

[cka]

Mite's are host-specific, so other than getting them on you while handling her, you have no worries. They can piggyback from you to your other snakes though, so take care when handling them.

It is definately a problem that needs to be taken care of immediately. Your substrate is (like ya said) a great place for the mites to hide and breed; use newspaper til you get them eradicated. There are a few "natural" ways to treat mites (diatomaceous earth and mite-eating mites come to mind) but your best bet is something proven, like ProventOMite. You generally have to order it or pick up at a herp sho, I've never seen it in store's.

I'd treat the wood, but it's highly unlikely the mites came from it.

There should be a lot of threads on Fauna about mite treatment; do a search, it should give you more info and tips on treatments. Perseverance is the key tho, she'll be fine as long as you keep at it :)

[Mike Greathouse]

Here are a few tips for treating mites.

Soak the animal in warm water with a few drops of a mild dish soap added. Add enough and stir it in until you just start to see soap bubbles. The soap helps to break down the surface tension of the water which allows the mites to drown. Keep the snake in the water for about 30 minutes.

Clean the enclosure with a 2% bleach solution. Be sure to get into the corners really well. You will also need to scrub the hidebox, water bowl, and anything else inside the enclosure. Be sure to rinse thoroughly with fresh water afterwards.

If you want to keep the climbing branch, I would suggest that you bake it in the oven to destroy any remaining parasites.

I would suggest you then pick up a mite spray from your local pet store. I recommend Reptile Relief by Natural Chemistry. It is natural, safe, and above all, effective. Provent-A-Mite is another excellent product, but usually needs to be purchased online. The advantage of Provent-A-Mite is that it provides a residual effect that lasts for 30 days.

Following these instruction should effectively eliminate the problem. Just watch your snake closely for the next 30 days in case you miss any of the eggs.

[Cat_72]

I prefer to use Reptile Relief (though I've only had to deal with mites once, thank goodness). You can use it directly on the snake, as well as inside the enclosure. It worked very well. I'd agree to change the substrate to newspaper, and it would probably to a good idea to treat both snakes, since they have obviously been in close contact with each other.

I ordered my Reptile Relief from Mike Greathouse, and he had it here very quickly, at a good price to boot. ;)

[kmurphy]

Both RID - distributed by Bayer Health Care(for lice) and Repel Anti-Tick formula have essentially the same ingredients as Provent-A-Mite. RID cost approximately $3.00 a can at Walmart.

[6y0ballpython]

Ok Great, I stayed up all night doing research on this and a few other sites for treatment and future prevention. Alot of people mentioned the soap and water thing....this I will do today. I will go to Walmart and purchase some rubbermaid containers to keep them in until I get their cages cleaned properly. The only way that I can think that they would have gotten them is the Martha had the eggs on her when I bought her and it's taken this long for them to show. The infestation is mild right now, however, it is in both cages. I looked for a couple of hours last night with a bright flash light in their cages and on the glass especially. There are white babies crawling on the glass here and there in both cages. My male ball just shed a few days ago and so maybe that's why he doesn't have any visible. I still have his shed and so I will look for eggs and throw it away for sure after. There are mites on the outside and inside of both cages, and so I know that I must bleach and clean the floor and stuff around the cages and in between them. The mites could have crawled to the other cage. I do not have carpet in my house, and so the linoleum will be easy to clean up with bleach water. Thanks for all of your help guys and gals. You are truly a source of comfort for all snake owners. I try and give advice when I can as I do know a bit about balls now that mine have been inflicted with some RI's and now mites......One more question........DO I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT INTERNAL INFECTION AS WELL? SHOULD I TAKE HER TO THE VET ONCE THIS MITE THING IS OVER? As well.....DO YOU THINK THIS IS WHY HER SCALES ARE STICKING OUT HERE AND THERE? I've found one spot on Monty (my male) under his scale that looks like a little brown spot with a perfectly round hole in the middle of it like a pin has been pushed through it. It looks like a worm has been burrowed in there or something. The scales around it are fine looking. What else could this be? Please help and try to answer each of my questions if you have the knowledge to do so as it really helps in any treatment that I choose. Thanks again!

Cher

[6y0ballpython]

I will buy some treatment today....I'll look at a few different places. The people I bought her from (Petland) don't know a thing about snakes. The questions I was asking them when I bought her (when did she last eat, how much, live or frozen, when did she last pee and poop, has she been seen by a vet and tested for internal parasites via fecal sample, has she been probed/sexed, when was her last shed (they told me it was a week ago and it was all in one peice), did her eyecaps come off with the shed, etc, etc, etc. I had so many questions for them and I wanted to look her over so much that they were getting upset that I was stressing her out too much. I told them that I wasn't going to buy a snake that wasn't healthy. I knew that she had some years behind her because of her size and that she may be a wc because of the scar by her tail and what look like fight marks from previous encounters with other animals. I also was concerned about that one left eye that looked like it had retained eyecap on it. I guess I will find out after this next shed what the deal is with that one. I just want to get rid of these mites. Can they live on us? How long do they stay on us before they crawl off or die? I read last night that they can infest your entire room that the snake is in? Is this true? Because I found some on the outside of their cages. This means that they are out and roaming free......agh!!! How far do I have to go with the cleaning of my house? I've had Martha on my bed upstairs for a few hours about 3 days ago. That one picture on page one here with the pink and white sheets is that day. I didn't notice anything on her then. I hope they aren't in my bed now......please tell me if you know anything about this aspect of the mites.

Cher

[darkbloodwyvern]

some of yopur questions seem to be answered in people's posts here. Someone already said you don't have to worry about the mites on you as long as you wash your hands well in between holding snakes and make ssure you don't transfer them to all your other snakes.
If you are concerned about her eyecap that might be retained, wait until she starts to blue for a shed and gently daub a bit of pure unscented mineral oil onto her eye cap. if it still looks like that after the shed, take her to the vet. They can take another fecal and make sure there isn't anything else wrong with her and can recommend some ways to get rid of the mites.
As for scales sticking out and the scar on her tail, some snakes can get damaged by just eating live prey that bites them. I don't think that's much of an indication of bad health, but you could ask the vet about it.
As for the wood furniture, i would bake them at (i beleive) about 250 degrees in your oven after washing them really good. You should try and find a specific time and temperature before you do it, & then soak them in a dilute bleach solution overnight and that should kill anything that would bug your snake. be sure to clean the wood really good after soaking it in bleach. I wash until it doesn't smell like bleach at all, and then i wash it longer. I will try to find the specific info on cleaning and baking wood accessories...

[6y0ballpython]

Your posts have answered all of my questions pretty much......THANK YOU!!!! You are all so great. I have cleaned both cages and treated both snakes with Nix. Petland gave me some of their personal mix from the spray bottle that they use to treat their reptiles with. The girl at the store told me that I could spray it directly on the snake but to be careful not to get it in their eyes and nostrils. I just rubbed it on with my hands and I was very careful not to get it anywhere in here eyes or nostrils. I know that there can be eggs layed in both areas, so I looked very closely in both places and both snakes have clean eyes, nostrils, mouths, vents and heads. I used a wet qtip with water and wipes all these places clean. I only let the Nix sit for about 3 minutes on each snake before rinsing. I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed......about five full minutes per snake. I put paper towel and face cloths down on the bottom of their cages. I did have to put some moss in their cages for moisture. I put it on paper towel and wash it daily. I have rinsed both snakes off daily for five full minutes to ensure that they are clean. I sure hope that the mites dont come back. So far I've not found a single little white baby or a red adult (I only ever saw two adults on my bigger female). The little white babies were all over the cages and hides, and not a single one found. All I did was bleach the cages and the furniture in them. I rinsed and rinsed with hot hot hot water. I payed close attention to the corners and scrubbed them with a tooth brush. I threw the toothbrush out after. Ok Ok....Now that I've bored you enough with the standard treatment of mites, I hope all stays as is. I will keep checking daily for any sign of mites. Martha is in mid shed as you can see in my post of "Glorious/Beautiful Blue eyes".

Cher

[INSANE CANES]

COPY AND PASTE:

Here is some info for you to check out:

Nix was designed to treat human head lice and their nits (eggs). The one characteristic that separates the Nix method for treating snake mites from other mite remedies is its effectiveness at killing live mites AND mite eggs. All other mite remedies to my knowledge do not destroy mite eggs. As such, I have found the Nix method to be extremely effective at eradicating serious mite infestations. I even know of a pet store manager who sells several commercially produced mite remedies, yet uses the Nix method on imported snakes arriving at his store. Another pro to using Nix is economics. Around $12 will produce 4 litres of solution – much more than the largest private collection will ever require.

There exists a popular reptile care site on the Internet that discusses the toxicity of Nix, but in the two cases cited, Nix was spread over the infested snakes in full concentration. Common sense should dictate that reptiles and amphibians coming in direct contact with any fully concentrated chemical that does not occur in their natural environment would yield deleterious, if not downright fatal, results. The use of Nix discussed below involves a diluted solution (1 part Nix to 68 parts water) that has never produced adverse reactions in any python or boa in my collection over the course of 6 years. In fact, some snakes in my collection are proactively treated every 6 months as they make appearances at semi-annual reptile shows and I am not willing to risk the chance of mites from other exhibitors making their way into my collection. Even routine treatments on these boas and pythons over the course of several years have yet to result in any negative effects.
Materials
• Spray bottle. Preferably one that has never been used, or at the very least, one that has never contained harsh chemicals and has been thoroughly rinsed.
• 56 g (59 ml) bottle of Nix. I have only ever found this one particular size of Nix, which can be sourced at most drug stores and some pharmacy sections of grocery stores for anywhere from $6-$12.
• 4L (1 Gallon) jug of distilled water. Distilled water should be used to extend the shelf life of the solution. With distilled water, the solution’s effectiveness is expected to last up to 12 months as long as the solution is stored at room temperature and in a covered box (light breaks down the active ingredient found in Nix). Although, with one treatment and sound quarantine practices, the first treatment should be all that is necessary.

Creating the Nix Solution
• Pour the Nix cream into the 4L jug of distilled water. Nix is a fairly thick cream substance, so it may take a couple minutes to transfer as much of the cream into the jug of distilled water as possible.
• Replace the cap on the jug of distilled water and shake until the Nix cream is evenly distributed throughout the water. Again, this may take a few minutes due to the thick consistency of Nix.
• Pour the Nix solution into a spray bottle.

Eradicating Snake Mites
• If snake mites are only found on one snake or only in one snake enclosure, it is wise to conclude that mites have infested ALL snakes and their enclosures that are contained within the same room. Mites may have also transferred to snakes housed in another room by “hitchhiking on your hands or clothes. Therefore, absolutely all snakes and their terrariums should be treated to ensure 100% effectiveness.
• First, remove the snake from the enclosure and place in a Rubbermaid container. Spray the snake liberally with the Nix solution. Do not avoid spraying this solution on their head, eyes and heat pits – in fact, this is where mites commonly hide so spraying the head area is essential.
• Remove all substrate from the terrarium and throw away. Do not leave the garbage bag containing this old substrate anywhere in the house.
• Spray the entire enclosure, inside and out, including all cage furniture (branches, hide boxes, water bowl, etc.) and glass viewing area. Make sure that all corners and crevices are well covered with Nix solution, as this is where mites and their eggs are often hiding. Even spray the outside back of the cage and a 2-foot perimeter around the cage on the floor. The Nix residue that forms after drying is thought to even be effective at killing mites hiding out elsewhere in the room that may attempt to re-enter the snake cage.
• Replace the substrate with paper, preferably paper towel, as it is easy to spot mites on this. It is essential to use paper until you are absolutely certain that full eradication has been accomplished. I suggest waiting 3 weeks after the last live mite is spotted before using non-paper substrate.
• Remove water bowl from cage and replace, filled with water, 24 hours later. This ensures that the Nix solution is not washed off the snake by soaking in the water bowl before the active ingredient has had a chance to destroy all mites hiding under its scales.
• Return the snake to its enclosure and spray it, the cage, furniture and paper one more time.
• When the snake defecates during treatment, remove the paper and clean the messed area as usual, but be sure to re-spray the cleaned area and new paper with Nix solution.
• Repeat in 5-7 days twice, for a total of 3 treatments. With all likelihood, the last live mite will perish within a few hours of the first treatment, but repeating treatment is good practice in case the outbreak is severe and mites are able to re-enter cages.
Preventative Maintenance
Any snake entering a collection should be quarantined for 2-3 months, ideally in a completely separate room from where other snakes are housed, but at the very least in a separate cage. It should be assumed that any new snake has mites, regardless of how well respected the previous owner or pet store is. I have personally been let down on several occasions by leading breeders in our hobby, and from personal friends. It is my experience that employing the “better safe than sorry” approach is of paramount importance in ensuring mite breakouts never occur.

Given the above assumption new acquisitions, in addition to their cage and cage furniture, should be treated with Nix solution 3 times (one full treatment every 5-7 days). Same should hold true when a snake enters your colony for a breeding loan, even if it is your own specimen that was lent out and is returning. As previously mentioned, it is also wise to treat snakes that attend shows, where other exhibitors and spectators may have mite infestations. With the large number of people that handle your animals, or even just touch the enclosure in which your snakes are housed, the chance that a mite is hitchhiking on at least one of these snake enthusiasts at the show is good. Don’t become complacent and cut corners in this area, or you may find yourself right back where you started.

Cage furniture and substrate purchased at pet stores can also serve as mite vectors and should be treated with caution. Mite-free substrate can be purchased from pet stores that do not carry reptiles, from a livestock feed stores, or from landscape centres. Newly purchased cage furniture should be sprayed liberally with Nix solution. Highly porous cage furniture (wood hide boxes, branches, etc.) should be soaked in a 10% bleach solution for a day, then rinsed thoroughly, sprayed with Nix solution, and allowed to dry for a week.

[6y0ballpython]

Wow, thanks a lot ..........