Mites :(

im just curious if anyone knows where to find mite treatment stuff called "black knight"? or if not the next best mite killer for snakes in general or boas in particular

Brad,The makers of Black Knight are being Sued by Provent a mite so it has been taken off the market for now.I have talked with the makers of BK and they said they are fighting Provent a mite to the end.And told me to keep checking back with them.I have used the De Flea by Natural Chemistry and it works well but you have to spray the snake and kinda rub it in.And I have used Provent a mite also.I have started using bedding and lice spray from Walmart made by equate and it has the very same stuff in it as the provent a mite.Hope this helps.

Go to Walmart and in the camping section is a product called Repel Permanone (orange can, blue cap). The key ingredient in Provent A Mite is 0.5% permethrin and 99.5% inert ingredients. It is exactly the same stuff as Repel, prolly has the same patent number. Use it exactly as you would use Prevent A Mite.

so with either of these products, all i need do is spray em down, rub it into their skin good(should i keep away from the head?) and then repeat every other day or so maybe?

also, should i choose say my biggest tank, remove all animals from it and thorughly cleanse it and then use that as a sort of decontamination tank while the snakes have the spray on em, or will either of these products be harmless to the actual snakes and i can leave em in their respective tanks and just let the spray eventually kill off the mites?

yet one more thing especially, any known or possible effects on gravid snakes?

thanx for the help so far guys, reall appreciate it

If you use a permethrin spray, spray it in a clean cage with fresh substrate and anything else that you keep in the cage with the snake, MINUS the water bowl and the snake. Stirr-up the substrate while spraying and then cover all the vents of the cage and let it sit an hour or so. This is a good time to get the snake to soak as this will drown some of the lil buggers. After the hour let the cage air out an hour or however long you feel comfortable with and introduce the snake and clean water bowl to the cage. The residue will kill the mites for 2 weeks with out harming your snake. Repeat treatment in 2 weeks. Good luck with your mite battle.

i heard from another source that the mite lifecycle is about 4-5 days so should i let em go a full 2 weeks in between treatments or after about the 5th day?

i guess the stuff that i got the idea of ya had to rub in was the de flea stuff that dusty mentioned, my bad

and where in florida btw?

The spray is effective for 2 weeks so no need to treat any sooner.

I see where you got the idea to put it on the snake. I just wanted to stress how serious it is that you not get it on the snake because bad things have happened to reptiles that were sprayed directly with the stuff. In the cage and aired out it is harmless though. I also have used a product called Reptile Relief by that same company mentioned above, Natural Chemistry and it can be applied directly to the animal, but I don't find it quite as good for treating the enclosure because it must come in direct contact with the mites. Permethrin need only be in the air to kill bugs. Oh, and if you keep any insectavores, like myself, you'd best get the crickets out of the house for a day. I killed all the feeders in the other room treating for mites.

I live in Orlando. Good luck to you. With the right stuff the mites will never be a problem.

Originally posted by willykink
i heard from another source that the mite lifecycle is about 4-5 days

This is not correct. I think there is a page on the VPI.com web site with the snake mite's life cycle. To make a long story short, figure a snake mite's life is 30 days long, from birth to death, at snake cage temperature and longer at cooler temperatures.

i wonder if what i heard is that theyll lay eggs every 4 or 5 days then...not sure