Oh My God! I've got mites!!!!!!!

[africancichlidau]

I am so distressed! I came home from work tonight to find Brenda Bredl in her water dish and as this was the first time I had ever seen her behave this way I decided to check her out. Mites! Big fat bloody mites! water bowl was full of 'em and you could see them crawling all over her. I have stripped water bowls out of every enclosure and treated them all with T.O.D. Now, my question is this....... Has anyone here ever used T.O.D. to treat mites and if so how did it go? How often should I re-treat etc etc. All advice gratefully considered.

 

[Guest]

OMG i will like to know about treating mites too cause ive never had to sdo it before.

 

[python_guy44]

well after doing the cage you should treat the snake every month or so so she just to make sure.

ps: the treatment used for mites on birds is exactly the same as what they use for reptiles

hope this helps, jeremy

 

[Guest]

ok thanks jeremy ive had birds all my life and my dads had em all his life so i should be right PS bird sal on in forbes tomorrow starts at 9:15am be there

 

[NoOne]

Looks like a fun month or so for you AF,
I've never had a problem with mites but you need to make sure you get every cycle of the mites life.
I have had one or two snakes come to me with mites and i find the best way is to go on a cleaning frenzy.
Strip everything out and place cage furniture in BOILING hot water with dish washing liquid and let it soak for a couple of hours. Then clean the cages with orange medic and do the same to the snake(be sure to water it down). After the first time do it the next day to get any that may have survived and then once a week for a month.
I can't remember the full life cycle of mites but from hatching they can reproduce within a couple of weeks and eggs can vary in hatching time (15-30 days) so if you miss some eggs the problem could spring back into life a month down the line.
Be sure to clean the area around the cage and any cages near by.

I find this method to be safest on the animals it's a bit of work but i don't like the idea of snakes inhaleing fumes(TOD or pest strips).

If you get on top of it straight away they can be quite easy to get rid off but let them slip and it could take months and lots of hard work.

I'll have a look around and see if i can find the paper on the mites life cycle it really helps understanding how to get rid of the little buggers.

Good luck!

 

[africancichlidau]

Thanks No One, (I still cant get used to your name ), I have been looking at their life cycle and yes indeed, looks like I have a busy time ahead! I have just got to the tank below the infected enclosure and yup, sure enough, they are in there too! Oh well gotta go, enclosure 3 awaits

 

[NoOne]

Remember suspect everywhere and treat everything, precaution is the best method.
HEHE that name always makes people think twice.

 

[africancichlidau]

Ya can get certified for talking to NoOne
Yeah that's how I am approaching it mate, everything in the room is treated as suspect and the whole room including all tanks and enclosures is gonna get cleaned and treated, and to think I was wondering what I was gonna do this weekend Well, when I say everything,.... I think the fish are safe

 

[lutzd]

:-(

Ouch! Sad news, Phil. :cry: Any ideas how they got there???

Everything I've read suggests to me that TOP is the easiest, most efficient way to go. Works well, and is not harmful to the snake at all.

Keep us informed buddy... :cry: :cry: :cry:

 

[Guest]

THERE'S NO BACON!

 

[Fangs]

Hi Phil,
Real bad luck.We have never had the problem so I cant offer any practical advice but just in case you haven't seen it Melissa Kaplins site has an article on the problem.

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

Along with David I am curious as to how you think the outbreak occured.

Good Luck M.............

 

[Magpie]

When I had mites, I treated using TOD. My situation was a bit diferent, but thought I'd pass on what I did. I had only one snake infested and only with about 10-20 mites. I sprayed all enclosures with TOD, about a 1-2 second spray per cage and sprayed the room for 2-3 seconds. I then closed the lids and left for 5 minutes. Then opened the lids, opened the windows and turned a fan on to flush the air. Repeated 2 days later, 5 days after that, then about 10 days after that (I think.) Kept checking for any signs of mites at least once a day, once no signs had been found for 3 weeks - relaxed. As snarf alludes in his post, TOD does not seem to get into the spectacle region particularly well. Maybe a soak in orange medic water is better for this? After the first spray, the only region any live mites were found was around her spectacle. We removed and crushed these with a pair of tweezers.
Believe me, I know how stressful mites are but you WILL beat them in the end, we have the technology.

 

[africancichlidau]

Well guys and gals, it's 24 hours later and all is going well. I treated, as I said last night, with TOD and sat back and watched the mites just drop dead Both Bredls and the blue tongues definately had mites on them, the Coastals have shown no sign of them yet and I am not sure now about the little Maccies as #2 just shed and it was a very bad shed but that may have been due to low humidity as it shed during 24 hours without water because of the TOD. The male Bredl shed today today and while it was a bit scrappy it wasn't really too bad. I will keep you all informed as time goes on

Now.....

This part is gonna hurt replace all B.C with white paper towelling during the treatment period to monitor success.

I have indeed replaced all the BC, (I only use it on Lizards), with white paper, (reversed desk pad sheets), and replace these regularly, every time I replace them there are less dead mites on them
B.C. will probably not go back in any enclosure as staples and paper clips I can live with but mites??? Hehehe only joking with all you B.C. lovers out there

. I sprayed all enclosures with TOD, about a 1-2 second spray per cage and sprayed the room for 2-3 seconds.

Unfortunately I do not have the luxury yet of being able to spray the whole room as I keep fish in there as well and don't trust the TOD with them. I did however go out and pick up 4 cans of TOD from Brian at the Herp Shop today so I am armed and dangerous as far as those crawling little buggas are concerned

Thanks for all the support guys and gals, it's great to know you guys are out there for us all in our time of need

 

[Morelia_man]

lol well hope it all comes out ok in the end africanfiskman
even though the coastals didn't show any signs you are still gonna treat them for mites aswell arn't you?

 

[africancichlidau]

Sure am, in fact, did, Multi Media man Thanks for the thought though

 

[Morelia_man]

lol cheers afric

 

[astrobeka]

i haven't had mites yet... i don't think...
i'm scared. how would i know? are they obvious?
also, how can i avoid getting them? :shock:

 

[Morelia_man]

well you will sit in the bath for prolonged periods of time and see little tiny dots running along your limbs.
you can avoid them by showering on a regular basis and just keeping healthy.
but seriously, your snake will sit in its water dish for long periods of time and you will see the little buggers swimming in the water dish.

 

[astrobeka]

ha ha ha, i meant STORM, not me...
ty very much... i think she's right then.
ty again

 

[africancichlidau]

Also it can be an early sign if the eyes look sunken. It's not that the eyes are actually sunken but they give that appearance due to swelling of the tissue around the eyes due to the mites bites. Also one of the first places to check is the folds of skin under the chin.