Yeah, the substrate is all going to be replaced, but my intent was to drown them off the enclosures items. Most of my hides are plastic atm anyways, so not a hard process haha
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An example of the heavily afflicted snakes eye. It is embarrassing it got so bad without me noticing, but again, id rather it serve as an example for others why proper quarantine and knowledge are so important!
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Are they causing an issue with the mouth too?
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I believe that was just a wet piece of cypress from the humid enclosure i put him in to help rehydrate him.
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@eaglereptiles is there a way we can immortalize this post? @t_h_wyman put together a ridiculously complete set of instructions here.
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Great idea!
I’ve just added Travis’ instructions into the Parasites section of Lumps, Bumps and Parasites! - Community Wiki
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Awesome, thank you!
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It was your idea, thank you! 
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That was a great idea!
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It starts. Im doing a temporary run at treating the snakes and enclosures because im about to be on the road again, so wont be able to do the full protocol that wyman suggested at the moment. But i also dont want the issue getting worse, so switching all substrate to reptizorb, treating all snakes with reptispray (avoiding the head area as the poison can cause them harm if ingested!)
This should at least be a food first step to reduce their numbers and give some relief so the situation doesnt deteriorate by the time i return.
On a side note, supposedly there were some rumors that springtails may eat the eggs of snakemites. That would be pretty cool to test, but unfortunately my colonies arent nearly large enough to start bioactive yet, so all id be doing is giving the mites a better breeding ground atm if i attempted it.
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Basic setup for now. Will remove water each night and replace it to ensure no lingering fumes from the parasite poison gets into it. Will need to leave it in starting tuesday however to ensure they have water while i am gone. I have somebody that checks the water to ensure they dont poop in it and to spot clean it, but they dont have the time to replace all water daily, so sadly i have to make due.
I treated booplesnoot last night with the mite poison , left it on an hour, then rinsed him twice to dilute it. I didnt want to risk him poisoning himself if he tries to climb into his little water dispenser and then poisoning himself.
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Scalding water bath with soap for the items that cant be easily baked. Vine being baked at 250 degrees. 3rd pic is a mite that was hitchhiking on me.
The 3rd pic is especially important and why Wyman says to bath and change clothes between steps, i was wearing no shirt, but had i been wearing a shirt with any darker colors, there is no way i would have noticed the hitchhiker. Do not skip decontamination just because you dont see any!
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Bright side: i checked this fella before i left on the road and he was good, so the infestation is recently spreading. Fury so far was the worst off, but he was one of the first i had, do im a little confused if he was ground 0. Perhaps his enclosure was more suited for the mites propagation.
Since he is small, i am using a 80-90 degree bath first before i use poison so he can hydrate, then im going to use the poison for 30 minutes and wipe it off.
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Good advice, this is likely the number 1 reason why mite treatments fail. It can take as little as 1 mite for them to come back.
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Total bite count by fury: 3.
… had to put him back into his enclosure.
Edit: quick clarification. I meant i had to move him from his temp tuberware back to his enclosure. Not that he bit me so much i put him back down. His bites barely hurt even as a 2 and a half footer.
Smug jerk…
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So, Furys enclosure was definitely the worst hit so far. He still has a bunch on his head, but the ones on his body where i applied the poison are dead or fleeing. This tank was 100% santized last night. The other tanks ive done so far have a mite or two wandering this morning, but Fury just had an army. Time to sanatize his enclosure again. I need to vastly reduce their numbers so it doesnt go out of control while im gone. Last 2 pictures are just more evidence of the mites spread. Trust nothing, treat everything.
A quick note, this is why a plain white replacement substrate was recommended. Its easy to change out, inexpensive, and lets you see the mites. The survivors of the poison may have gone and laid eggs in clean substrate, or a porous hide. Keep everything extremely basic. I will also be changing out his water just in case any poison got into it.
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So, a note of interest. The tanks with cypress mulch, i have found mites in all the ones ive cleaned so far on the snakes. My temp tubs are set up with a mix of eco earth, spag moss, and cypress mulch. I have just opened the first one, and much to my surprise, apparently some of the springtails i had living in my iso tub have migrated to the one i just opened. Thats not a huge surprise though. Snake mites will travel to other tanks, so it makes sense so too would other types. The surprising bit is what i havent found in the tub yet. Snake mites. I am giving it a thorough look through as well as inspecting the snake to be sure.
It makes me wonder, are the rumors about springtails eating snake mite eggs true? Or have the snake mites simply not reached the temp tubs yet. Since i cannot do a full purge before i need to go on the road im gonna do a little experiment with this. The bioactive substrate SHOULD be the perfect environment for snake mites. So theoretically, i should find them in there or on the snake when i return.
Obviously if i dont, it isnt conclusive of anything, as again, its possible the infestation never reached. But would still be some interesting info. Anybody ever get snake mites with a bioactive setup before?
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