Ticks?

[NoOne]

Hi All,

Had a very weird discovery today, i checked a pair of blonde macs that i 've had together for breeding and was a bit shocked to find that they had alot of small ticks on them.
I had been leaving them well alone as i don't like disturbing anything that i'm trying to breed but it's been about a month since i last had them out, at that point they were fine.

I will say now that these where not mites, way way to big and i also know what mites look like.
The first thing thats got me stumped is how they got into our collection in th first place but theres a million ways when you think about it.

What really has me stumped is the fact that none of the snakes in the collection has any sign of them, we went over the snakes above, around and near the infected cage to find the snakes perfectly clear and no signs of the ticks in the cages.

This is my big question!
Has anyone had a tick or parasite infection exclusively in one cage?
The infected cage was on the bottom of a 3 cage bank.

Obviously we have treated the snakes and cleared the ticks and also the cage. We will be on high alert from now on until we are 110% sure they are gone.

Any ideas?

Steve and Naomi

 

[indicus]

Ticks?????, how the hell???.....i'm sure you do know the difference; but it's odd to say the least.
Most outbreaks with mites etc can start with one cage, then another etc. Be ultra clean; washing hands, snake bins and cleaning equipment, between all your herps. Get your childrens their own cleaning gear, bin etc. Move the bank to another room if possible, and try to find out why and how they came to be on the childrens alone???......substraights??? etc

 

[Nome]

One of them was in contact with another collection 5 months ago, but if it got it from there, would the infestation be much worse than 100 ticks (this is about how many that came off them both)? Also, about a month ago, the snake in question was taken out for a photo, and we didn't notice anything then. There were also some light browny small tick/mite looking things, about a kiwi fruit seed size on their stomachs, about 5-10 on only one of them, none of these either on any other snakes, even the one it was in the cage with. We were thinking some kind of mite that ticks carry? Any idea? The other ticks were twice of a flea.

The strangest thing is that they aren't on any other snakes or in any other cages. We don't really know what we are dealing with or how the hell it got in there.

 

[geckodan]

Both mites and ticks lay numerous eggs per clutch. These eggs are laid away from the normal host and the nymphs move back to an area where a host is most likely to be encountered. It is more likely that you have inadvertently picked up tick eggs and carried them into that enclosure either on the snake or on substrate.

 

[NCHERPS]

Duga/Nome,

I would lay money on them coming from being taken outside for a photo, only one or two ticks would have needed to have been transfered, and easily can turn into a infestation, especially if you aren't handling them regularly due to cooloing them.
Ticks also tend not to roam as much as mites, which may be why your Mac's are the only ones to suffer.
It sounds like you caught it in time, before you had a collection epidemic on your hands, or before the snakes succumbed to the blood sucking critters.

Would have been interesting to see a Macro photo of the ones in question.

Hope no more show up.

Neil

 

[Nome]

Thats the weird thing Neil, we have been very careful about things like that and have not taken any outside for pics at anytime since we have been living at the coast.
I never had a mite problem before moving as i lived in inland and it was basically not a worry and any snakes i brought that had mites were easily treated and they never came back.
It was a something i knew would happen at some stage living where we do, just gotta keep on top and make sure it doesn't come back.

Steve.

 

[Nome]

Also since moving to the coast we have only used newpaper and paper towel for substrate.

 

[nuthn2do]

Maybe come in on footwear, they are very sensitive to co2 and heat so they would only go as far as needed to find a host. Probably why it's isolated to only the bottom unit.

 

[NCHERPS]

Thats the weird thing Neil, we have been very careful about things like that and have not taken any outside for pics at anytime since we have been living at the coast.
Steve.

Hey Steve,
Sorry, I must of misunderstood your previous message, I thought you said that you took them outside about a month ago to photograph them.

You definitely get more ticks living on the coastal area's, absolute nightmare for dogs and cats to, fortune in vets fee's! I know from bitter experience, thankfully we have moved more inland now and so don't get too many around this neck of the woods.

All you can do is be vigilant I guess.

Fingers crossed you won't have a re-occurance from egg deposits.

Neil

 

[basketcase]

i had the same thing recently.

got animals back from a mate, only one animal had ticks. small ticks, black, less than a mm in diameter, less than 100... mainly they were around the head and eyes but some also on the ventrals and dorsals. i removed as many as i could, kept on feeding and heating the snake. they disappeared after a month... she was obviously irritated as she soaked herself alot but showed no negative effects

the ticks didnt seem to get aqny bigger than a mm, so werent really engorged

 

[inthegrass]

hi,
could you tell me what treatment you used. i have not had this problem but would like to know just in case.
cheers.

 

[junglemad]

Wow..i have had only one tick on my snakes and it must have come from using woodchip as a substrate I reckon coz even though i took the snake outside it was in my hands, on me or on concrete etc and not in the garden.
As for treatment i have family assistants hold the herp still and I grab the tick with tweezers then i touch the tick underneath with a cotton wool bud soaked in nail polish remover (acetone). The tick will back out as u pull with the tweezers. Make sure you remove the head which will be burrowed into the animal. Make sure you soak the tick in acetone because it will hold on tight, and don't pull too hard you may rip a chunk out. Then dab the area with dettol or something.
If ever we are out near bushland and i happen upon a blue tongue or something i always remove the ticks before letting them go. Wid animals often carry them but an animal in captivity will lose condition
Did you see the pic on here a few months ago of the little blueys a guy had that were absolutely covered in ticks??

 

[Reptilegirl]

g'day Steve and Naomi..
bloody ticks!! i got up one morning had my shower... went outside for about 2 minutes... came back insde.. sat down and to my suprise i was covered in ticks... little baby bush ticks... about the size of this . or even smaller. i had over a 100 on me and before the end of the week all my family had been through the same thing. i would say you were unlucky enough to have a nest hatch close by. make sure you keep an eye out for the rest of them cos i'd say there would be many more around. and yes its very strange that only one enclosure had them. i know you have probably done it but make sure you check all your other animals (and get your partner to give you a good check over and vice versa)
hope the little so n so's leave you alone... and if not a nice dose of tea tree oil always does the job.
Megz

 

[moosenoose]

Could they have come in on any freshly killed rodents hidden in amongst the fur?? I don't know, but they would seem to me more of a likely target than a snake :? Being that most people seem to breed them outdoors. Not an issue if you buy them frozen though lol Just a thought :wink:

 

[instar]

I was thinking you mightve carried them in on your shoes from grass maybe too Steve, but nuthin2do beat me to it Not a big jump from carpet to warmth eminating bottom enclosure. Hope you got em all, never seen ticks here fortunatly.
"Ah haaa!" aka nelson :lol: