Sorry Dave
But my research shows that the active ingredient in Nix is Permethrin.

According to the Institute for Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Zürich in Switzerland, this substance is HIGHLY toxic in all reptiles, amphibians, fish and cats!!!!
It's mainly recommended to treat EMPTY terrariums but should not be left on residually or sprayed near the animals.
It is not recommended for continual use. To use this so prophylactically could breed resistant strains of mites.

As an ULTIMATE last resort to mites resistant to organophosphates, a dosis of 0.1mg/kg body mass in a maximum 0.1% concentration can be applied to the animal.

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Andrea

Hey BlackJack, I was only trying to help in sharing a proven, safe, method that I, and very many others use in erradicating snake mites. I can't see the resistance thing happening unless you don't effectively treat your whole collection. I have tried other methods including natural botanical products and for the most part unless your willing to do battle weekly with them, the mites come back. As was stated in the Nix treatment you cannot apply full strength, but diluted 1 part Nix to 68 parts water, it has been found to be effective and very safe. I would not suggest something I personally didn't trust. If in your research you found something contrary to this I would love to read it as well. Do you have a link or website I could check out? Thanks and good luck with whatever method you choose.

Dave

Sorry, one more thing permethrin is also the active ingredient in "Provent a mite" and is marketed specifically for use on reptiles. It just costs a lot more than Nix.

Dave

Hi Dave,
I hope you are not offended. The whole point of this forum is to share ideas and learn from eachother. I appreciate your tips and advice, even if I, personally, am not willing to try them. You've obviously found something that works for you that you're comfortable with.
I'm new to this whole "war on mites" thing and I'm not willing to spray ANY chemicals onto my animals. (Provent a Mite included). I understand that you dilute the Nix, as I'm sure Provent a Mite does, but I'd still only want to use anything like that as a last resort. (In which case I'd probably give Reptile Relief a try first, since it seems to have safer ingredients.)
I've got a permethrin spray insecticide that I will use on Monty's empty terrarium and then wash off completely several times, and let sit empty for at least a week before he goes anywhere near it.
I don't have a huge collection and I have the time to spend, changing my snakes to fresh containers every day and soaking them daily for several weeks to break the mite life-cycle.
Here is the site I got my info from: http://www.vetpharm.unizh.ch/WIR/00005264/5531__F.htm It has dosis information for permethrin on everything from dogs to camels to turtles, etc. It's all in German, but the key words to understand are: Schlangen (snakes), Echsen (Lizards), Schildkröten (turtles), Reptilien (reptiles) and Hochtoxisch (highly toxic).
I know they are speaking of the undiluted form, but how can I be absolutely sure that it is diluted enough to be safe for my animals and still be effective on mites? It's not a risk I'm willing to take right now.

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Andrea

It's all good BlackJack, no offence taken. Good luck and thanks for the link.

Dave

Well, although I haven't seen a mite on him or in his plastic boxes for a few days, poor little Monty's skin is still full of pus-filled blisters! It seems like there are more and more each day.
I thought it could be scale-rot/blister disease, but the underside of his belly doesn't have any blisters! It's just all along his back and sides. They seem painful to him and he is losing scales. Every time I change the paper-towel substrate, there are several scales on it. Do you think those mites might have infected him with something?

The good news is that he ate a mouse yesterday and he's gained all his weight back plus a few grams.

I love this little guy to bits and I made an appointment for him on Monday at 11:00 in the morning. I'm sure this is going to be the longest weekend of my life; but there's only one vet in my city that is experienced in snakes, so I hope she knows her stuff!!

I'll let you know... keep your fingers crossed for little Monty that it isn't something really bad!
Thanks!!

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Andrea

Good luck and keep us informed.

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Answers are great. But I prefer questions!

Visit me at www.jaysreptiles.com

Thanks Jay,
When Martin gets home I'll try to get him to take some pics while I hold Monty.

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Andrea

good luck! hope everything gets all straightened out for you all.

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Professional Pet Sitting/Dog Walking
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yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot (RIP) and Bear

Disclaimer: Do not read this if you get easily grossed out!

Here are pics of Monty's skin problem. The scales seemed to be getting pushed up from eruptions underneath. When light pressure is applied, a thick, sticky pus comes out. They seem very sensitive/painful to poor little Monty. There are no bumps on the ventral scales: here some of the scales look torn or eaten away and there is a rust colored edging to them... but there aren't many of those.
I've also included one pic showing one of his scales about to fall off.

I'd welcome any guesses and I'll let you all know what the vet says about them on Monday.
I still haven't seen a single mite on him since last Tuesday. So the bumps seem to be caused by some other kind of infection (caused by the mites? /caused by internal parasites? / or some other infection???)

Attached Images

	Monty's skin1.JPG (24.2 KB, 8 views)
	Monty's skin2.JPG (14.3 KB, 8 views)
	Monty's skin3.JPG (20.0 KB, 8 views)
	Monty's skin4.JPG (20.1 KB, 7 views)
	Monty's skin5.JPG (10.4 KB, 8 views)

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Andrea