snake has mites

Question
My snake has mites, I think he/she had them when I got it. (I went to the pet store a couple days later and the guy told me all his snakes had mites). I've tried the pet store solution as well as using a bedadine solution, but am still seeing mites. Do you have any better solutions or advice, I'd really appreciate it. My snake is starting to show sores and I'm getting worried and frustrated.

Answer
Over the counter solutions have varying effectiveness. If you are gong to use one, I recommend Natural Chemistry Reptile Relief, but you will still need to do several things in addition.

FIRST:
GET RID OF ALL SUBSTRATE IN YOUR SETUP. TAKE THE TANK OUTSIDE AND DUMP SUBSTRATE OUT INTO DOUBLE BAGGED TRASH BAGS BEING CAREFUL NOT TO UNSETTLE THE SUBSTRATE ANY MORE THAN NECESSARY. PROMPTLY THROW AWAY AND WASH YOUR HANDS AND ARMS OUTSIDE. FILL THE TANK COMPLETELY TO THE RIM WITH AT LEAST 1:9 RATIO BLEACH/WATER AND ALLOW TO SIT FOR 30 MINUTES - MINIMUM.

If tank is not completely washed and substrate discarded, you will never get rid of mites. They lay their eggs in the crevices of the tank and live in damp substrate.

Discard any wooden tank decor. It's not worth reinfesting your snake to try and save it. Any plastic, ceramic, or other non-porous decor or accessories can be soaked in the tank with the bleach water.

Rinse your tank completely with very hot water multiple times to ensure all traces of bleach are gone. Make sure to get in all crevices and scub or scrape away any traces of debris. You may also follow up bleaching with: dish soap cleaning, dilute lysol, nearly boiling water, alcohol, or Healthy Habitat spray cleaner. Make sure to rinse residue out completely and allow to air dry before use so that fumes have dissipated.  

Line the tank with reptile turf or paper towels ONLY. No bark, etc. while the snake is being treated for mites.    

*Rinse your snake under lukewarm/room temp ( not hot ) running water. Use a head to tail direction. Make sure to rinse completely.

*After running water rinse, then place snake in a bath of lukewarm water rising just above the back of the snake. Add just a drop of mild dish detergent ( Dawn ) to the bath water to break the surface tension of the water and make it a bit slick. This will help the water penetrate the scales and will more easily drown any mites in the water. Dawn is very gentle and is used also on wildlife after oil spills. Make sure snakes' head stays above water. Afer a short time, rinse snake well in clean roomtemp water and proceed to next step.

*Rub snake down again with betadine or novalsan and allow to dry somewhat, making sure it doesn't get in the snakes eyes, mouth, or nostrils. Check under the anal plate and rinse here for mites, being careful not to open the cloaca and get any cleaner inside. Check also under belly scales if possible. This is not really effective in killing mites, so much as to disinfect the skin and any open wounds, though it may kill or remove some as well when they are coated with the disinfectant. Novalsan is a bit more effective as a disinfectant, but betadine penetrates and sticks well.  

*After several minutes, rinse completely and pat dry the snake with paper towels.

*Coat the snake liberally in mineral oil. This is a safer alternative to many of the chemicals offered on the market which might harm or kill a snake. People should really try the safer methods first, before reaching for a store bought chemical. This oil will penetrate between scales in harder to reach areas and suffocate some of the mites. Work the oil between the belly scales and around the vent if possible. If you can keep the snake in a closed tupperware container while coated with a little oil for 10-20 minutes, this would be good. Work on the snake's head with a q-tip dabbed in mineral oil. Coat the eye caps and scales around the eyes, and rub around the nostrils, and scales around the chin and jaw area. Anywhere mites may be hiding. Mineral oil will not harm the snakes eyes.  

*When this is done, you may pat the snake down to remove most of the excess oil, and leave it be for a bit longer.

*Whenever you are ready, you can again rinse the snake down with lukewarm running water to remove the oil. If necessary you may use a bit more mild dilute dish detergent, only if you are having trouble getting all the oil off. Use as little as possible however, so that it does not irritate any wounds the snake may have.

* Now you may treat the snake with a mite spray such as Reptile Relief. You may repeat these steps every 2-3 days as needed, but eliminate the dish soap step on subsequent treatments.

* Place the snake's clean water dish back in the habitat after the mite spray has completely dried. You may also rinse snake in clean water after 30 minutes of spraying to remove mite spray if it makes you feel better. Some people recommend rinsing mite spray off so it does not get into drinking water if snake soaks in it's dish often.

* I recommend you see a vet as soon as possible if there are sores or swollen areas where it looks like mites are under the scales. If they are not suffocated by the rinsing and oil, then they will have to be removed by the vet with forceps and maybe a bit of cutting. If not, they will make the snake sick and may cause an infection or anemic condition.

* For stubborn mites that won't respond to the above treatments after a week or two, then I recommend you have the vet prescribe a dilute solution of ( fenbendazole ) Panacur for you to coat the snake with. This is an anti-parasitic which is normally used orally for worms and other gastric parasites, but it is also very safe and effective topically. DO NOT allow the vet to use or prescribe Ivermectin ( Ivermec ) on your snake. It is contra-indicated for use in herps, and kills many turtles and snakes, though many vets still foolishly use it.

* Keep the snake, tank, and decor clean. Clean and rinse water dish daily. Discard paper towels daily and spot clean tank where necessary. If the snake has been soaking in the dish, then rinse it with running water and allow it to take a bath for hydration purposes. Once finished, reapply the reptile relief spray. Re-treat the tank if you are finding any mites crawling on the paper towels.   

http://www.vpi.com/publications/the_life_history_of_snake_mites