Hi there folks
We have reason to believe our red tail boa has mites. Can anybody give us some advise on how to rid her of them please?
We have heard that we can use diluted brown vinegar to wipe the snake down with as this will effectively kill the mites and the eggs. But without confirmation, we are hestiant to do this. Please advise.
Thanks a ton !!

I've never had mites but this link might help you.

Snake Mites - Identification and Removal - Reptile Information - Caresheets Database

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

Well, I don't know about the vinegar.
But I have had a mite problem before, and I use Mite Off. It worked really well, although it did take about three applications, but our was somewhat severe.
What you need to do, no matter what you use to get rid of the mites, is this:

Completely clean out your enclosure. This means throwing out any bedding.
I would also through out anything in the enclosure that is paper or cardboard, as you can't really treat these.
Treat every piece of furniture in the enclosure with the mite killer. This includes hides, water dishes, and anything else.
Completey wipe down the enclosure itself, inside and out. Make sure you get every crevice really good.
Once this is done, and you are sure everything has been treated, including your snake as per the directions of your stuff, put paper towels down as bedding. Paper towels are easy to clean, and you can really see the mites on it as they die and fall off.
Treat your snake and everything else as many times as it takes for them to go away. Most mite killers that you can buy have a specific time between applications, so make sure you pay attention to that.
OH! And very important, make sure you wash your hands after handling your snake. I was my clothes if I have been around mites, just to make sure that I don't pass them along.
Other than that, I don't know of anything to do.
Good luck on getting rid of the mites!

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<3 Tessa

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I sgree with thead11 and I wanted to add that I use provent-a-mite on all of my enclosures once a month to keep mites out of my collection. it's hard to find and kind of expensive but completly worth it. i spent a long time battling mites in my collection after I adopted a snake and sinse I stared using it I havent seen another one for almost a year. you can't spray it on the snake but you fog up the enclosure, wait about 30 min- 1 hour and it forms a sort of barrier to keep mites out for 30 days.

What makes you think this? Have you seen them ?

Hmmm vinegar for mites? Never heard that one before. But I doubt it would do anything other than make your snake smell like a pickle!
Many use mineral oil or vegetable oil to wipe the snake down and reduce the number of the infestation but this is only a quick fix and the mites will be back in full swing in no time.

The safest most effect product out there is called Reptile Relief by Natural Chemistry. You can put it on the snake as well as the furnishings. Follow the label directions exactly and it should solve the problem.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

agree with merlin I took the same advise (reptile relief) from him and the mites were gone in no time. thead11 pretty much nailed it too cleanliness is key and be thourough the fisrt time. its sucks enough having to clean the whole enclosure nevermind doing it twice. I also quarantined each snake in an enclosure seperate from their usual and used the paper towel also. i tried the provent a mite too it worked well but was around 35 dollars (CAN) but in the end its worth it mites suck!

Best of luck to you all will end well im sure!

Thanks Merlin

They are small black like little insects that are walking/running around on the boa. She lay in her water bowl for close on 15 hours and that is when we noticed them, after she got out. I originally thought that she was on the shedding routine but she was not blue.

I got mine from LLLReptile.com. They sold the reptile relief and provent-a-mite together tin a package for $23.99 I think it was

If you are using the Reptile Releif you don't need the Provent-a-mite.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Thanks Merlin.....we are not in America and are not able to source it from our local vet here in South Africa - though we will keep looking. Is there any other quick remedy to alleviate the problem...
We have cleaned out the original "corn" substrate and replaced it with newspaper, as well as soaked all her furniture in a solution of water and diluted bleach. We have not noticed any on her since..
Are you able to tell us what colour the eggs are?