Hi everyone, a while ago I uploaded a post about how to fix mites. It worked, just not in the long shot. Someone is probably going to tell me that they probably laid eggs, but I kept them in quarantine for a couple weeks after I stopped seeing mites to make sure the eggs weren’t there. I used mite spray, gave them olive oil baths, and did a bunch of research on it. I have no idea what to do now, because the mites just keep coming back (I’ve don’t it thee times now). I also found the mites in on of my ball python’s eyes and they were extremely hard to see them until I REALLY searched him.Should I go to the vet or is there anything else I can do? Thank you in advance!
I don’t know if this is an approved method but I can tell you what I did the one time and how I pretreat all new animals.
Note***** if done wrong you can cause neurological issues.
You will also want to create a quarantine space again… only a water dish, hide or 2, paper towel or newspaper bedding.
Evaluate how they might be recurring… did you go to a store and hold any reptiles? An expo recently? a friends house with a reptile? Etc… you are picking them up some where.
My method:
Frontline spray (it must be the spray not the topical)
Gloves
Put on gloves, spray gloves with Frontline Spray , allow animal to run though your hand… you may need to do it 2 or three times for large snakes but one is sufficient for juveniles. Remove water for 24 hours!!! you don’t want them soaking after application and then drinking it. Frontline kills the mites and eggs. I also recommend spraying the enclosure but you will need them set up separately from the main enclosure to allow ample drying time.
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If you use a rack, are you wiping the bottom of each rack shelf with frontline?
I spray my quarantine rack down every time I empty it and clean it. I never have had to use it in my main room because everyone is pretreated
You say you used “mite spray” but you do not say what kind. Not all products advertised to kill mites also kill the eggs. What product did you use exactly?
Thanks so much! I’ll definitely try it!!
This is embarrassing for me, but one my snakes had mites when I first got her.
Since she was young and too small to just use any spray on her directly, I had to use dawn dish soap(just a drop) in warm water to soak her. Then every three days I deep cleaned her tub for like two weeks straight, using the same spray you have for the tub.
So that would be my two cents on the matter:
Take the snakes out, give them a dip. Give the tub a deep clean, put anything in the tub in boiling water for like ten minutes. (Bowls, hides, NOT the snakes…) Also clean and spray the area around the tubs. You have to do this for at least a week or two. Even then, make to use the spray every three days for at least two weeks after.
Mites are a pain, I can’t stand them…
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You can also use olive oil on the snake to kill the mites. But you still need to treat all the enclosures.
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Honestly, I kind of understand the struggle. We’ve been having this issue where we’ll find just ONE mite on a snake, out of nearly 50 snakes… then we don’t see any for a couple weeks before seeing just a single one or two again.
So far it’s been about a month and we’ve only seen a single mite on one of my hognoses. Of course I removed it and squashed it.
Mites shouldn’t have the stigma they do. I don’t know anyone with a large collection or who is active in the hobby (visiting shows, other collections, etc.) who hasn’t struggled with them at some point in time. Just remember, we’re all here helping with information we learned dealing with our own mite outbreaks 
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They really shouldn’t have such a bad stigma— they’re not the most life threatening thing for a snake IMO, unless of course you let it get out of control and have major infestations that are never treated. Then you’re probably not caring for your animals properly anyways.
They’re sneaky little things and everyone in the hobby is bound to deal with them at least a few times, especially since they can be picked up so easily at expos.
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