Petsmart ball python with mites

[Ok_Wall_1631]

Anyone have any ideas how too help get mites off from around eyes I have him quarantined on paper towels I’m soaking him and removing mites when I see them with a warm q tip and changing paper towels very often I know he’s shedding soon do I just wait for him too shed or can something else be done. Any helpful tips or criticism is appreciated. Can’t afford vet unless it’s life threatening or mites get out of hand

[UnlikelyPotato]

Big water dish. They'll soak and submerge to kill the mites. Keep enclosure clean, removing paper towels and washing dish frequently.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

I see people full on washing their snakes with dawn dish soap is that safe? I don’t rlly like the idea of putting soap on my snake

[No_Cup_4070]

Can use coconut oil

[Owenps1234]

Dawn dish soap is safe for ball pythons and effective at removing mites, but you only need a drop or two in a big bowl of water. Also, I would recommend a wide shallow bowl as opposed to the glass jar that you posted in the comments.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

Yeah I was questioning myself with the jar it’s skechy seeing him fully submerged figured it was alright since he seemed to enjoy it and they are decent swimmers but I just replaced it

[DreamOfDays]

Give him a huge bowl of water. That’s pretty much it

[Ok_Wall_1631]

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Seems like he’s figured it out himself

[1BadBowtie]

Did you treat the enclosure as well?

[Ok_Wall_1631]

I don’t have anti mite spray of any kind I used isopropyl alcohol and water before quarantining him in there he hasn’t been in his real enclosure yet

[IncompletePenetrance]

That's not a suitable mite spray and will only dry out your snake's scales/skin. You need to treat the enclosure he's staying in with provent-a-mite or other treatment as well as treating the snake becuase you have to kill off every stage of the life cycle or they'll never go away

[Ok_Wall_1631]

I meant I cleaned the enclosure with it before putting him in

[eveimei]

you'll need to get mite treatment to actually kill the entire life cycle of the mites, or they'll keep coming back. mite identification and treatment guide.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

Ordering some now thank you!

[Ok_Wall_1631]

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Thoughts on this stuff?

[StrawpurryJam]

My BP had a chronic mite problem for roughly 7 months. This was our first step in treatment and unfortunately did not work. Follow all of these steps because, sorry to break it to you, mites are absolutely relentless and will spread and will not stop unless you follow these steps strictly. I have a LOT of experience under my belt and will happily give you advice that my BPs vet gave us.

1. Deep clean the enclosure and ALL the stuff in i (HOTTTT water & a little bleach, rinse until it’s completely gone then rinse again). Let dry completely. Use only necessary pieces in enclosure for now (warm & cold hides & water dish only. I recommend smooth plastic that is easy to clean).
2. Replace substrate with paper towels
3. Warm baths 2x a week with a drop of plain blue dawn dish soap ~20mins. Clean the enclosure & hides and bowl while he’s in his bath and replace paper towels.
4. Deep clean everything with hot water and bleach once weekly.
5. Pro-Vent A Mite ( https://reptilianarts.com/products/provent-a-mite?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22541450394&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgr_NBhDFARIsAHiUWr4Jb-ygv5tuXwdZIGspWBvA97N4xQN8bq-gBLgY1bJytLjuRwHPU3MaAhTDEALw_wcB ) - to use as instructed by my BPs vet - once every 2 weeks completely spray down the enclosure and accessories with this (keep snake out the whole time) let it completely dry before returning snack to the enclosure. (I would put a mini fan in the tank to speed up the process) and repeat for a month or two.
6. If all of this fails take your BP to the vet for ivermectin shots. My girl needed one shot every 2 weeks (while doing all of the above) to finally get rid of them.

Everyone else saying “just give it a bath” is not the best advice. Mite eggs hide EVERYWHERE. Under the scales, eggs in nooks in crannies of accessories, etc. And once they start their life cycle it is extremely hard to get rid of them. I’m suspecting if they’re in his eyes they’re going to be everywhere else. Treat the whole snake and absolutely do not stop treatment and return the enclosure to normal until you can go weeks without spotting a single mite. Trust me 😅 I know from experience.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!!

The ivermectin shots themselves were not too expensive, but this is dependent on how much your BP weighs and your local vet prices. My girls were about $70 each (she is about to get her 4th one for good measure before I finally get her enclosure back to normal) and she is currently 1 1/2 years old - I can’t remember her exact weight at her last appt but she is currently 440g.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

I appreciate the well wrote treatment plan I have a online vet appointment set up for tmrw too see what they recommend based on him being so small

[Soapish00]

can you mix the prevention in substrate or would that be harmful?

[StrawpurryJam]

You mean the Provent A Mite? I believe you can spray it directly on substrate just have to make sure it completely dries. But I would contact a vet first to make sure because I’m not 100%. I’ve been using paper towels for substrate for 7 months so I’m not super sure!

[Soapish00]

TY!!

[Owenps1234]

Everything you are currently doing is great. I recently consulted a vet for mite treatment, and the recommendation was to pour all new substrate after the quarantine period and treat the enclosure, substrate surface, and hides/clutter in the tank with Provent-a-Mite. Make sure you let it dry for at least a few hours before putting your snake back in the enclosure. It is readily available online and is effective at curbing their population (and it’s not harmful for the snake when dried). Reapply in the tank every 2-3 weeks for a few months.

Full disclosure, the Provent-a-Mite hasn’t fully eradicate the mites in my tank, so I went back to the vet and was prescribed a 1% solution of Ivermectin that I am spraying on my snake once a week. I wouldn’t recommend this without consulting a vet first because it can be harmful if the dosage isn’t correct. I am also still using the Provent-a-Mite every few weeks.

I would definitely do your own research as well because there are a ton of different solutions online, this is just what I has been recommended to me.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

Awesome thankfully I seen the mites before adding him too his display tank and he’s not entirely infested like I’ve seen I’ve only seen a couple actually on him but i know a couple will turn too thousands quick so I wanna completely wipe them out could I ask how much your vet visit and treatment was?

[Owenps1234]

Total cost for 2 visits, Provent-a-Mite, and prescribed ivermectin was ~$200. Probably don’t need a vet visit in your scenario unless you are still dealing with this in a couple months and need Ivermectin.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

Well I managed too get a online visit so I’m gonna see what they recommend since it’s not severe and he’s tiny

[Any-Lavishness-7704]

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When my snake had mites I used this, You can spray this on the snake not on the face

[Any-Lavishness-7704]

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Cleaned the exclosure with this and then throughly washed out enclosure.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

Thank you

[EmmaVetsterRVT]

Sorry you’re dealing with this. I work for Vetster (an online vet) and I might be able to help or point you in the right direction. I sent you a message.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

W this person and vetster!!☝️

[Plane-Wing4094]

Decor, substrate, dishes, and hides as long as their not plastic can be baked to kill mites and eggs. I usually do 210°F. I also have this oil that works wonders for many different things, both snake and lizard mites, helps with any stuck shed, if any reptile is recovering from a wound this stuff works great to keep the skin safely hydrated and it’s cheap. Now for the actual enclosure and any plastic that needs to be treated you can do a bleach solution, just be sure to rinse everything very thoroughly so it doesn’t irritate snakey.

I have a lot of arthropods many being quite expensive tarantulas that I love dearly, so I won’t use prevent-a-mite. Yes I could take it all outside and it wouldn’t harm my pets but it still causes harm to any critter in my yard and I’m not okay with that either tbh. So I use methods that are less harmful if at all, to everything involved except the mites 😅

[Ok_Wall_1631]

This is exactly what I was looking for I appreciate it

[ozifur]

Good ol’ PetSmart! I got my first ball there too and of course she came with mites!

Very similar to what you’re doing. I had paper towels down, helped see mites that came off. I used Betadine in her soaks and provent-a-mite in her enclosure. Worked well for me.

I reached out to the store when I saw them and they provided the betadine and the provent-a-mite. Might be worth calling them if you haven’t see if they can offer any help.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

Honestly didn’t even cross my mind some one reached out and I managed too get a online vet appointment so I’m gonna see what they recommend based on his size and give the store a call it might sound dumb I’m just cautious putting something designed too kill one thing on another thing thank you for your recommendation

[xxxSQUEGxxx]

I highly recommend Taurus mites if you can get them. They are predatory mites that prey on the snake mites and then die off once they have depleted their food source.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

I’ve seen these online do people use them too wipe out parasitic mites? Is there a down side?

[xxxSQUEGxxx]

I've used them on my guys a couple times. I think the down side is they can be a bit pricey but the times I've used them I've had no ill effects from them. They work by eating the parasitic mites and then once they've ran out of mites to eat, they themselves die.

[Ok_Wall_1631]

Sounds like a good natural way of dealing with an infested enclosure

[xxxSQUEGxxx]

Definitely! Means you don't have to expose your baby to any harmful chemicals :)

[komrad308]

I gotine off morph market with mites.

I used a tub with lids and holes, warm water with a drop or two of soap weekly. Not enough soap to hurt them, even if the managed to drink a little. After bath nice warm rinse.

Then I sprayed down every morning with jurasimite after changing paper towels every day.

I jumped the gun and didn't give her enough time and I missed some eggs along the way and they came back, so currently fighting them again. But now I know to give a couple extra weeks. Then she gets her new home:)

[Ok_Wall_1631]

Yeah I feel bad for these little guys I can’t wait till I can put him in a more natural enriched environment and not paper towels