Having taken the bioactive route, i will say it takes time. Keeping the snake in a clean tank and cleaning it once or twice a day to break the breeding cycle is quicker. Id also use diotanatious earth around the tank (so the mites dont leave the tank to lay eggs, nd then the babies return). Think of it this way. Mites are kind of like Ick in a fish tank. You cant just kill all of them quickly and be done, you have to break the reproductive cycle. Keeping things truely sterile is the best way, but takes the most time. The bioactive route is for not wanting to start over, or in my case, i didnt have the time to do it the sterile way, and used the predators as a crutch to help me break the reproductive cycle passively.
It does not work quickly, amd initially you are giving the snake mites a better environment for themselves and places to hide, which can make the problem worse in the immediate (or hide the problem causing you to lower your guard.)
As an idea, the snake mites took abou 8-9 months to fully die off when i did it the bioactive way, but the advantage was that once the preds and springtails got established, the number of snake mites was kept low due to the predation.
Properly keeping everything sterile and clean (with at least 2 full tank cleanings a day) should only take 2-4 weeks depending on where the mites are in their reproductive cycle. Essentially it kills all the young and removes all eggs, and as more of the adults become full and drop off to lay eggs, you get them as well. Evemtually, no more mites are on the snake, so the cycle is effectively stopped.
My major issue is I have a collection of 20, with 27 eggs due to hatch soon. It’s extremely hard to dedicate that much time every day, so I was hoping for a faster method than I used last time. I definitely will try that diatanious earth!
I had a mite infestation several years ago but at the time I was using clean unprinted newspaper in Boaphile enclosures. All I did was remove the boas, spray clean sheets of newspaper and let them dry. Then I replaced the newspapers in the enclosures.
No soaking the boas. I wiped down the openings of each of the enclosures with a cloth with Provent a mite sprayed on it.
I repeated the process every 2 weeks for 3 months. No more mites.
Edit to add: As long as the product dries after applied to the surface of the substrate there is no danger to your animals. The operative word is DRIES. You will never have to treat your animal if the substrate is treated……
Yes! It’s a safe great product when used correctly. When I had my infestation I ordered it and then called the company when I got the product to make sure I used it correctly.
I didn’t have to treat ANY of my animals individually either.
@artisticserpents When you put your boa back in its enclosure and as long as the product has completely dried on substrate and there are no fumes that’s all you need to do.
Interesting! I never heard of treating JUST the substrate! It would save me so much time, I have a few defensive snakes and it takes forever to bathe them and properly treat them
These were the two products I used before! I have only a little more guard left and a ton of the spray. The guard worked great for making sure they didn’t escape
I don’t have any experience with those two products but I do know that Provent A Mite worked for me. The gentleman who I talked to told to just treat the substrate and wipe around all of the the enclosure.
After the mites feed on the snake they leave the snake to lay their eggs. When they hit the treated substrate it’s lights for them! Simple as can be. At least it was for me.
Where can I buy this and how long did it take to ship to you? I only see LLL reptile ($60 for 2 bottles), or Pro-products (cheaper, but no shipping information)
I would not put diatanacious earth ( my spelling is bad) inside with the snakes. It is a desicant and will get between the scales causong extreme irritation. Use it externally only imo.
Do you think a steam cleaner will help kill eggs? I have a bissel steam shot, so I was thinking maybe that could kill the eggs until the Provent a mite comes in?
