Why does my snake have mites

Handle the mite-infested reptiles, tools, cage, and other paraphernalia only after you have finished all activities with your healthy reptiles. Wash your hands with warm soapy water after handling the reptile. Use a disposable paper towel to dry your hands. To reiterate, never go back and handle a healthy reptile after you have handled a mite-infested reptile. A shower and complete change of clothing is needed to reduce the chance of you spreading the infection.

Acaracides — Be aware that many flea and tick sprays safe for dogs and cats contain active ingredients at concentrations that are toxic for reptiles. Also, many over-the-counter mite treatments for reptiles may not be effective. While there are other products that may be effective other than those listed, do not apply an unfamiliar product without researching its use and consulting with an experienced reptile veterinarian.

Safe products include Pro-vent-a-mite, Frontline spray, Ivermectin spray; Ivermectin may be given orally or as an injectable ancillary treatment. Never use ivermectin on turtles or tortoises as it can cause a fatal paralysis. Make sure a reptile is well-hydrated before applying any acaracides. Soak in shallow water for 30 minutes to allow reptile a chance to drink and also remove more mites, then pat dry and apply the acaracide.

Predatory mites may work in large complex enclosures but there is no guarantee they will kill off all of the parasitic mites. Consider bloodwork and other diagnostic tests to rule out more serious underlying health issues, particularly if a snake is acting abnormal in any way.

Mites may spread inclusion body disease of boids and other diseases. Put your snake into the plastic tub, and spray it liberally with the Reptile Relief, coating the animal from head to tail. See the directions on the Reptile Relief bottle for further information You will now allow the animal to sit for 15 to 20 minutes while all of the mites on your snake are killed.

After the alotted time, rinse the snake well with clean water, and rinse out the tub as well. Now soak the snake again for another 15 to 20 minutes, this time in chin deep clean water. This will prevent your snake from becoming dehydrated, as the Reptile Relief works by drying out the mites.

In the 30 or so minutes required to treat the animal, you can begin working on the cage. Note: We recommend re-treating the animal only, as just discussed, two more times, one week apart, to eliminate any chance of mites re-occurring. Treat the enclosure. Eliminating the living mites on the snake is only half the battle. There are still live mites and mite eggs in the enclosure that must be eliminated to prevent re-infestation.

First, remove all of the cage decor wood, hide boxes, water dishes, etc. All of these items will need to be thoroughly cleaned in a water and bleach solution. This is best accomplished by soaking the items in another large tub or trash can.

Make sure that no part of the items are above the water level. The mites will climb up to prevent drowning, so the entire object must be submerged. You will need to let these items soak for about 20 minutes.

While this is soaking, remove and discard all of the substrate bark, sani-chips, etc from your enclosure. Snake mites are likely found everywhere in the world there are snakes.

The mites will parasitize snakes as the opportunity arises, but because wild snakes are often fairly mobile, these infestations are often somewhat self-limiting. When the female mites hop off to find somewhere to lay their eggs, the snake is typically long gone before the eggs will hatch. However, in captivity, female mites may only travel a foot or two away from the snake before laying eggs.

Once these eggs hatch, your snake provides an easily accessible source of food. Over time, the infestations grow and often spread throughout all of the snakes in a given collection. But while snake mites originate from the wild, most of those that cause problems for snake keepers likely originate from other captive snakes.

Some of the most common ways snake mites may find their way into your collection include:. Similarly, it is also possible though again, unlikely that your snake could pick up mites from the environment, if you allow him to crawl around outdoors.

This not only includes allowing your snake to hang out on the ground, but in trees too. But they are still capable of causing snakes significant harm. The primary way by which mites harm snakes occurs through blood loss. However, mites rarely attack snakes individually — most infestations involve hundreds or thousands of individual bugs. When infestations are allowed to build up to such levels and remain high for a period of time, the blood loss associated with the bugs becomes significant.

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