This information was originally found in a post by Jay on Cornsnakes.com in 2007. We had decided to try it out as a possible new method on treating for mites on all incoming snakes and the method proved its success on an infested Ball Python (which was received with mites). Since then, we have been successfully using this method on all incoming reptiles for nearly three years.
Nix is a human Head Lice treatment that not only kills the Lice, but the eggs (nits). Nix has proven effective against many insects, including snake mites (Ophionyssus Natricis). It is not dangerous in its diluted form to your reptilian and mammalian pets. Nix is also the most economical mite treatment we have found to date. Two 2oz bottles of Nix can be purchased at Walmart for roughly $10 and will make 2 gallons of mite treatment.
First, create the treatment solution by mixing the Nix cream into the gallon jug of distilled water. Shake the jug thoroughly and then pour a portion into your spray bottle. Make sure to store the extra treatment room temperature, away from daylight (light breaks down the active ingredients found in Nix).
All incoming animals at Triple Moons Exotic are put into quarantine. This is good practice for anyone with multiple reptiles to insure healthy, established animals are not exposed to anything a new animal may be carrying. Our quarantine bins are setup identically to our regular bins as we keep everything as simple and easy to clean as possible. Animals are provided shredded paper bedding, a water dish and 4-6 pieced of crunched up paper to hide in. A simplistic setup is imperative when in quarantine and when treating illnesses or infestations in general. More on how to properly quarantine can be read here.
Before placing the new reptile into a quarantine bin, liberally spray down the snake with the Nix solution. Make sure to thoroughly spray down the head, including the eyes and heat pits. The Nix spray will not harm the snake if it gets into the eyes or mouth (we have in fact had snakes drink the solution). Do not provide a water dish until 24 hours after treatment. A snake soaking in its dish will wash off the solution and not provide it time to kill all of the mites.
Repeat twice more, seven days between treatments. Generally one treatment is enough to eradicate a mite problem, but better safe then sorry.
Your shopping cart is empty
Visit the shop