Treatment for mites is not an immediate thing. Even using miticides you have to work through at least a full breeding cycle.
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I bought a ball python from a chain pet store. I quarantined her and Iām glad I did. After a couple of weeks I noticed mites on her.
After a lot of research , I used blue Dawn dish soap. It seems to be a safer alternative to insecticides.
From what Iāve read , snake mites have a twelve week life cycle. So repeating the Dawn dish soap is needed.
After the treatment , I could see mites under scales. I took a sexing probe with a dab of Vaseline on the tip and gently massaged the mite out from under the scale. The mite sticks to the Vaseline on the tip of the probe. Iāve sat for hours getting mites out that way. The infected snake didnāt seem to mind me massaging the mites out from under her scales.
After the last treatment two weeks ago , she is still mite free. Fingers crossed !
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I treated one of my young boas recently for mites with reptile spray and noticed that he has brown scales dotted on him, what did you mean by the mites leaving scale spots?
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So update tonight there were no mites in the paper towel the ones last night where all dead. Will continue to monitor but the frontline thing seems like a win.
For me, prevention is better than cure.
In my quarantine I use āardapā on the tub and substrate. See the link below for directions, do not put it on the animal.
In addition I no longer use oil as stated in this video. See below discussion for how I was convinced otherwise.
I now use Mild human baby soap with a good rinse instead, (dawn soap is hard to find in the UK).
The above has helped me not get mites, but if I idid, I would try predatory mites first which are readily available here.
Both quarantine precautions and any later actual mite treatments would take into account life cycle.
(which is dependant on temperature)
