mites on snakes

Question
I have a 7 foot red tail boa, 2 royal pythons under 3 feet, and a retic about 4 feet long. I'm having a problem with mites. I've tried several bathes and sprays but still they persist. I heard from a friend about a kind of mite that will eat other mites and then die off with no harm to the snake. Is this true and how can I get them?

Answer
Hi Justin, The predatory mites you are talking about are the Hypoaspis species and you can get them through natural gardening centers. I have included a link where they can be ordered. The predatory mites are soil breeders and work better if they have a substrate like coconut mulch rather then newspaper or wood chips. I've linked an article about their use with snake mites as well. Good luck.

http://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/hypoaspis.html

http://webspinners.com/coloherp/cb-news/Vol-28/cbn-0101/SnakeMites.html