My son's snake has mites; can they spread to people and carpet like fleas?

Question

I can't get him treated until tomorrow. Is it okay to take him out of his tank and handle him tonight, or will the mites bite us and infest the house?

Thanks -

Answer 1

the mites won't bite you, don't worry about that. It is possible for them to infest the home but from my experience, that would have to be a very bad infestation. You can handle the snake, but if you just want to handle it for fun, I wouldn't at the moment. Just handle the snake to either take it out of the cage or to give it a luke warm bath. If you have any other reptiles, quarantine this one from them and if you do handle any others, wash your hands good as they may travel on your skin. Here are two websites that will help answer any questions

http://www.anapsid.org/mites.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=qQVVUGn...

Answer 2

The mites will not affect humans or non-reptilian pets. They are transmitted from other snakes. Either the snake had mites when you got it, or when it came into contact with a mite-infested snake.

They will leave the snake to lay eggs, usually in porous wood surfaces. The young mites must return to the host (snake) to survive.

Here's how I have successfully treated and eliminated mites:

-Thoroughly clean the snakes cage and everything in it

-Wipe all of the mites off of the snake

-Put a small amount of Seven dust (available at garden stores) at the bottom of the snakes cage. Put NEWSPAPER on top of the dust as a substrate.

-This will kill any mites that attempt to return to the host, thereby eliminating the life cycle. Clean and replace the Seven every few days, until the mites are totally eliminated (about two weeks).

You do not need a veterinarian for this.

Most reptile "mite control" products do not work very well.

Answer 3

The mites will definitely not infest you or your home... And they won't bite you. The best thing you can do is to take the snake out of it's cage, and spray a bleach/water solution in the whole cage area. Wipe it down and then cover the floor of the cage with paper towels. As soon as you can, find a wash for your snake that will get rid of mites and bathe him as directed. Bleaching out the cage daily will help get rid of the mites, as will the washing.

Go to your local pet store to get the bath solution for the snake. Best of luck! Mites are not easy to get rid of :(

Answer 4

Mites can get out of the snake's tank and in the areas around the tank.  I'm not really sure what you mean about "getting your snake treated for mites...you don't really "get a snake treated for mites" it's more something you have to do yourself.  I wouldn't handle the snake until you can treat the snake for mites,

Mites are a pain in the butt.  We brought mites home by handling snakes at the reptile shop one time.  Treating for mites is time consuming.  Take the snake and soak it in a plastic tub...enough water (lukewarm about 80 Fahrenheit) to cover the back of the snake.  Let the snake soak while you do the following.  Take all cage accessories out of the cage if you have logs you don’t have to throw them away…set them aside in a plastic bag tied at the top.  I’ll explain what to do with those last.  With the other cage accessories, bowl and hides put in the bath tub and completely cover with hot water.  Spray the substrate with reptile relief, to kill the mites so that they don’t fall to the floor while you are bagging it up, bag up the substrate tie the top of the trash bag and take it to the dumpster.  Liberally spray your tank with reptile relief…I mean spray it all over.  Take the lid to the tank outside and spray it all over also.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes.  If the tank is light enough carry it to the yard and hose it out then dry it completely, also hose off the top.  Bring the tank back in.  Spray the tank again lightly with reptile relief and use a towel to dry it off.  Put new substrate in the tank and put the water bowl and hides back in.  

Back to the snake now.  Make sure the snake has immersed his face for a second otherwise mites will just run up to his face…the eyes especially.  Take your snake out of the water take a q-tip or cotton ball and spray some reptile relief on it and use that to get on top of the snakes head…don’t get the reptile relief in the snakes eyes or nose or mouth but do get it on top of the head and under the chin.  Then spray your snakes body with reptile relief and use your hands to make sure it gets over the snakes whole body.  Use a dry cloth to get the excess off…you don’t want it dripping off of the snake but you do want it all over your snake.  Then you can put your snake back in his tank.  Also before you put your heat lamp back on take a cotton ball and wipe it down with a bit of reptile relief…mites get everywhere…they are evil!!!

If you have logs for your snake bake them in the oven (250 – 275 Fahrenheit) for 2 – 3 hours.  Allow to cool completely before using them again.

The bad news is you might have to do this every three days two more times to break the mites life cycle.  They are a bit like getting rid of fleas it takes more than one treatment.  Like I said we got mites from the reptile store but I did this and I had to do two treatments and the mites were gone.  If you don’t want to use the normal substrate until the mites are gone it won't hurt to use white paper towels for lining the snakes cage, white paper towels also allow you to see mites more easily so that you will know for sure when the mites are gone.  And then after you have eradicated the mites you can put the normal substrate back in.  If you use the cypress mulch substrate you can freeze it for a week prior to use and then bring it to room temperature before using OR you can bake it at 250 – 270 Fahrenheit for 2 hours in a baking pan.  I do both when I buy new substrate…I freeze it for a week then thaw it out then I bake it and cool it before I put it in my snakes cage.  I still do that just because I never never want mites again.  I had 14 snakes when I had to deal with the mites…it took me literally all day to clean each cage.  

It takes probably about an hour or 2 to do the whole process.

Reptile relief is the ONLY thing that is totally safe to use on the reptile other things can harm or even kill your snake.  This is time consuming but it really is the only safe way to be rid of mites.  

Good luck!!!!!!

  

Answer 5

The mites can't bite you but they can infest the area around the snake's tank....Wipe everything around it down with flea killer

Answer 6

They can infest the house. Buy some spray from the pet store. I forget what it's called, but it's for mites on reptiles. It will have instructions on how to cleanse them off.

With our snake, we immediately sprayed her down with the stuff from the petstore, and then we let her soak it in the bathtub for 15-30 minutes. We didn't have to clean out her cage, since she was brand new and she hadn't been in it yet. But you will have to change out the bedding (or paper) and also wash the accessories in bleach diluted water. Let it soak to kill off mites and eggs. Also, disinfect and wash the rest of the snake's container.

Repeat this process every other week, and you should be free and clear of mites! Good luck.  

Answer 7

Most likely, you may get a little bittin up if you pick him up and don't wash your hands after. Also, I recommend this treatment for your poor poor

snake...

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php...

so the conclusion is... you will not get mites all over you or your house from handling him as long as you wash your hands. I am not saying order from that website.. you can buy it at your local pet store. I hope your snake gets rid of his mites!!! Hope i helped

Answer 8

People can and most likely will get mites from pets if you handle them. Get him treated as soon as possible and only handle him if completely necessary and be sure to wash your hands (or even get a shower) immediately after handling any pet with mites.

I've had a lot of success with this product.

http://www.petco.com/product/105902/Zoo-...

for the snake, of course. not you & ur son! hehe

Edit: they won't really bite you a lot, but if they get on you, you will spread them all over the house and onto any other pets you may encounter.