Shedding & Mites??

alphamale90 · #1 (**permalink**) 10-29-2009, 06:10 AM

My Red tail boa is starting to shed or is about to (her eyes are milky blue, her scale colors are dull and opaque) and I have noticed a few mites on her. Can anyone give me any advice on how to treat the mites while she is in the shed cycle? Is there anything I can do to kill the mites without spraying the chemical mite treatment on her? Do I need to wait until she has completely shed her skin to treat it?

Thanks

mpgt · #2 (**permalink**) 10-29-2009, 04:06 PM

Treat now. I like this method: http://redtailboa.net/forums/help-me...rid-mites.html

mpgt · #3 (**permalink**) 10-29-2009, 04:08 PM

Some people avoid handling while snakes are shedding. My snakes never complain about it. In this case, you should remove the snake to treat the cage now.

alphamale90 · #4 (**permalink**) 10-29-2009, 04:50 PM

is that my only option right now?

mpgt · #5 (**permalink**) 10-29-2009, 06:18 PM

There are several other treatments that work to varying degrees. The mites spread around the house though, so it would seem the best thing is to treat as soon as possible.

alphamale90 · #6 (**permalink**) 10-29-2009, 06:20 PM

so your saying its ok to treat while shedding? what about treating the house? is the room that she is in affected too? not just confined to the cage

mpgt · #7 (**permalink**) 10-29-2009, 06:28 PM

Do you have other snakes? If it's your only snake, I'd just worry about the cage and immediate surroundings. If you have other snakes, treat them too. I can't see a reason to wait until after the shed.

BlackLava · #8 (**permalink**) 10-29-2009, 06:30 PM

http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/caresheets/nix.pdf

that is a good way to treat mites, there are several options out there, but we like this one the best. mites are parasites so they have diff life cycles, so you usually have to treat a few times to make sure all the adults are killed off, then you have to treat again later on to make sure that you kill any babies that they might have had. they will lay eggs in the animals cage, in little crack, outside of the cage, anywhere they think the eggs will be safe. they take a little while to hatch, then the new baby mites will come back and re-infest your snakes, thats why you should treat more than once.

with the Nix, you can spray it on the snake itself, in the bedding (its usually recommended that while you are treating for mites, use paper towels or newspaper so you can easily see if the snake still has them), you need to spray everything inside the cage, making sure you get the nix in all the little cracks and corners, take out any cage decor and soak it in diluted bleach/water, let it air dry outside, then spray the nix around the cage, behind it, under it, the whole surrounding area. make sure you take out the water bowls while the nix is still wet though, the snake could crawl through it and get nix in his water dish, and you do not want him to drink it, but it is safe to put the snake back in his cage when you are done spraying everything. its tedious, but they will not come back if you do it right, and if you are careful about bringing in any new reptiles to the collection

mpgt · #9 (**permalink**) 10-29-2009, 06:33 PM

I would keep the water dish out for a day or two after treatment.

SnakeRescueNY · #10 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 11:05 AM

Very helpful hints guys thanks

Advertisement