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my blizzard died from mite treatment

redrott

New member
My blizzard corn had mites and so I cleaned his rubbermaid house and washed it. Then sprayed it with lice bedding spray from walmart which I have used before with my boas. It has the same ingredients as provent-a-mite. I sprayed the entire cage with it and let it air for about 30 to 40 minutes I put him back in. WHen I went to check on him last night. He was kind of writhing around and acting very weird sort of twitching. I could tell something was very wrong and knew then he was probably not going to make it. It had to be from the chemical. Did I not let it air long enough or did I use too much I don't want this to happen in the future.
 
I am really sorry that happened man... My suggestion would be to use a product specifically designed for use with reptiles... No tellin how you could have done it better with the product you used... One home remedy uses Listerine, but I still suggest getting a product designed for the purpose...
 
Did you dillute the mixture? I've heard of using Nix lice treatment, but it must be dilluted in water first. I did a search and found a detailed page on how to do this ( Thank goodness I never had to) For future reference I guess. Sorry for your loss.
 
Wow.. I am sorry to hear that, I would be beside myself if I wwere in your place.

In the future may I suggest using something such as Reptirelief.. I used to rid my Snow corn of mites when I first got him. It worked great, Took two application cycles but we've been mite free for about three months now. I think I paid like $6 for it at the local Petco, maybe more. You might find it cheaper at a specialist shop or online I dont know.

Im not trying to come off harsh, just giving you options for the next time you have to battle this thing. I really feel for your loss.
 
You probably used too much. The active ingredient in Provent-a-mite is Pyrthrins/permethrins~ I don't know the percent of Pyrethrins in Nix~ but Pyrethrins should be diluted DOWN to .03% for reptile use. Pyrethrin toxicity signs include "salivation, muscle fasciculations, and ataxia".

Info from "reptile medicine and surgery" by Mader
 
I must have sprayed too much. I used equate lice spray. The ingedients and amount of them are exactly the same as provent a mite. I tried reptile relief before and they kept coming back it seems it doesn't work too well on wood cages I probably could have used it on him though.
 
Provent-a-mite isn't the same thing, or that is how it has been explained to me. What makes Provent-a-mite different is that it is the cis version of the molecule instead of the trans version (or was it the vice versa?). Supposedly this is a much safer molecule. I believe it from experience. Perhaps the inert ingredients, that aren't listed, are what caused the harm to your snake. Lots of things safe to us (no listing required) are dangerous to them.

This is one of the reasons it is illegal to use insecticides in a manner not listed on the label. (Yes, the .gov made it illegal for you to use human lice products on snakes if it doesn't say it is OK on the label. It is illegal to make termite spray 10% stronger than the label says and spray it around the yard. Grrrr!)

I've used just about everything, and now I ONLY use Provent-a-mite. The cost of a can is les than even my cheapest snake - probably the same for most of y'all, too. I can't justify NOT using it to save a few dollars.

KJ
 
Yes, from your description your snake was overdosed with pyrethrins.

The one time I had to treat for mites in my personal collection (treating a snake brought home from an expo, thank goodness for quarantine procedures), I used diluted Ivermectin at the same ratio Kathy Love lists in her book. It worked beautifully for me, though I had the easy situation of an isolated case in a new animal in a plastic box on paper towels, so the environment was easy to control. With that dilution, I could spray tank, furniture, and snake without a problem. I did remove the waterbowl and cleaned it separately and placed it back in.

Wood cages are a bear because of all the nooks and crannies that are perfect mite breeding grounds. Another problem is that wood soaks up all of the chemicals you spray in there and doesn't "air out" as quickly as plastic/glass, if at all.

I'm sorry for your loss.
 
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