The Dreaded Mite

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The Dreaded Mite

Postby rolandslf » Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:43 pm

I hope I am posting this under the correct button.

Let me start by saying that I do not hold the Manufacturer, Supplier or any Sub-Sidiaries responsible for what you are about to read. I am the sole cause of my woes.
I just need to also add that most of the KZN Big Boys have at some time or the other visited my place and seen the condition of my Reptiles and Enclosures, and I am certain will vouch for the good conditions and cleanliness thereof.

I have been battling the dreaded mite for a while now, and every time I think I have them beat, they surface to irritate and mock me. I have tried the usual methods one reads about, Vapona, Olive Oil, F10, Bleach, and a few other pet pest removers.

Finally at the end of August, I had had enough, and at my wits end went to one of my local Pet Stores. I came across a product called Komodo Paramite Spray.
I read the labels and one said Non Toxic to Pets but Toxic for Parasites, another label said Spray Animal, Substrate and Cage. Could this be the answer to victory in my ongoing war with the mites. I duly acquired 2 x 250ml bottles to spray down my 19 tub rack.

To say that I sprayed Snake and Tub liberally would be an understatement of gross proportions, I sprayed until there was even a bit of a sticky residue on the tubs. I left this and never did clean it out of the tubs, such is the madness that the Mites had reduced me to.

The Species treated were as follows, Corn Snakes, Spotted Pythons, Rosy Boas, Western Hognose, Brown House, Black Rat, Texas Rat, Dumeril Boas, Sinaloan Milk. The Hoggies were about 7 months old and the Dumerils also about 7 months old with the Sinaloan being at least 5 years old. To date 7 weeks later, there is no trace of a single Mite, however I have lost stock because of my folly.

Sadly the Hoggies and the Sinaloan died as a result of my stupidity. The rest of the Snakes are strong, have shed in the majority, and have eaten twice since the episode started. Now why would I broadcast my stupidity. To say that the product used was good and efficient is true, but care must be taken on the application procedure. Maybe that straight on spraying in such large quantities as I did is not the method to be applied. I invite all constructive criticism and comments, oh, and sorry for the long post.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby artmac » Sun Oct 13, 2013 3:57 pm

Thanks for sharing this unfortunate outcome. No doubt we have all learnt from your experience. Hopefully others will expand on their problems thereby helping others. My only experience has been wood mite (small white fellows). I have one BP female that insists on drenching her enclosure when preparing to lay her eggs and hence the infestation of these pests which develop in the Eucalyptus bedding . The other BP females are content with the humidity levels. Fortunately these wood mite are easlly eradicated with a good wash down and washout.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby iiviii » Sun Oct 13, 2013 7:27 pm

I love the product. I have only ever had the problem once and tried the same list of products which didnt help at all. After using Komodo I have never had another problem. Seriosly a very good product.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby rolandslf » Mon Oct 14, 2013 8:13 am

I also vouch for the product.
I just wish there was perhaps more instruction on the application of the product.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby Primogen » Mon Oct 14, 2013 9:03 am

Does anyone know what the active ingredient is in this product?
If it is a pyrethroid then it is toxic to snakes(fine is kept to minimum exposure) but in large doses as it can build up in the kidneys and cause renal failure.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby Fooble » Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:01 pm

I think allot of these products when there isn't sufficient ventilation or resulting in the animals ingesting the product can be detrimental.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby rolandslf » Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:41 am

Tyrone, I think that in this case, you are correct.
Insufficient ventilation.
Why only 3 out of 20 snakes were affected so badly is the big question for me.
The other 17 seem totally fine.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby iiviii » Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:13 pm

If it helps with the directions at all, when I treated the snakes I took them out of their enclosure and moved them into tubs, took out all the logs and substrate ( which I threw away ) and then cleaned the enclosure with the komodo solution. I then soaked the snakes in a 11l tub filled about half way with luke warm water and 10 squirts of the komodo solution as well as sprayed the snakes from tip to tail with it. I left them in there for about 10 min while getting tubs ready which would be their new home over the next week. I repeated this every second day for eight days. I used two tubs per snake as I had to clean the tubs properly after each treatment and didnt want to leave them in the solution or place them back in tubs where there might still be eggs. Im sure rolandslf can back me up on saying that from day one you no longer see any mites and the snakes seem more relaxed. The seven days there after are just to make sure that what ever mite still be there ( pun intended :-) ) also dies.

With this method I was fortunate enough to not loose ane of my reptiles and at the same time get rid of the mites.

All snakes were returned to their enclosures after the eight day cycle.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby Bushviper » Thu Oct 17, 2013 9:31 am

8 days is a great idea but be aware that eggs can lie dormant for a few months. If the mites climbed out and laid eggs in the carpet or behind the cages then the whole cycle will start again in a few weeks or months time. Be very vigilant and then treat them the first time you see them and dont waste time.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby rolandslf » Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:55 pm

Yip, I have not seen a single mite in that rack since the day I sprayed everything.

Arno, here is a question for you, and of course anyone else to ponder on. I have two racks, one is about 2 meters from the other, yet only one rack was affected,
my stand alone cages were also not affected, from what I have heard about Mites, every cage and snake in my collection should have had mites.

Why would only the one Rack be affected?
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby rolandslf » Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:59 pm

Oh sorry, I also heard that Mites travel upwards and not downwards. I can vouch for this theory as the top most tubs in the Rack were the most affected and infected.
It just so happens that I have a yearling Leucistic Texas Rat Snake in one of those top tubs. She was the worst off out of all the snakes in the Rack, this can also seem to be so, because it was so easy to detect the Mites on her. I can honestly say that now almost 2 months after the treatment, she doesn't even have one Mite on her.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby Primogen » Thu Oct 17, 2013 2:08 pm

Roland do you know what the active ingredient of the product was it should be on the bottle if you still have it.

I wonder why the mites never made the jump to you other rack, maybe your previous treatments served to quarantine them to only one rack.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby Bushviper » Thu Oct 17, 2013 5:47 pm

I dont know why they target certain cages. I have had them attack certain snakes in one rack and leave others alone. They are all satan's spawn so I have no idea why they do what they do.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby rolandslf » Fri Oct 18, 2013 7:41 am

Primogen - Sorry, I tossed the bottles after using them.

Arno - I absolutely love your description of them.
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Re: The Dreaded Mite

Postby iiviii » Sat Oct 19, 2013 3:11 pm

I still have the bottle, but unable to resize photos I take. But on the bottle it does not say what the active ingredient is.
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