what do mites look like? are they red?

[Pythoninfinite]

F10 is good and very safe. Vinegar is just another chemical - weak acetic acid. Probably useless as a cleaner or disinfectant, as it's a product of bacterial and yeast activity.

Neither should be used to kill mites or other creepy crawlies - they are not insecticides.

The 'mites' in the picture may be on a snake, but they are unlike any snake mite I've ever seen. I doubt very much whether they are Ophionyssus natricis, the only one you have to worry about. They look much more like something which is local to the animal in the photo, and are probably something similar to those found on some geckos and dragoins here in Oz.

As I said, if you only found one, and it was orange, you do not need to do anything at this point in time, as it will not be a snake mite. Just because a mite is found on a snake doesn't mean it's a snake mite.

Jamie.

 

[ajandj]

i know where the little red thingy came from!!!.. i use newspaper under the papertowel in the enclosure. When l bought in the local papeer last night, l was looking thru it and guess what l found. A little red/orange thingy just like l found on Yoda yesterday. I've still only found on on hiim an no others in the enclosure

 

[slim6y]

i know where the little red thingy came from!!!.. i use newspaper under the papertowel in the enclosure. When l bought in the local papeer last night, l was looking thru it and guess what l found. A little red/orange thingy just like l found on Yoda yesterday. I've still only found on on hiim an no others in the enclosure

You said it 'moved' - or are your newspapers more active than mine?

Also - to back up what Jamie said about vinegar as an insecticide... When we use vinegar to clean - we use it to clean lime scale (calcium carbonate build ups) and other 'basic' substances that can break down in a weak acid.

It is no more effective than lemon juice (in fact, probably less so).

Baking soda is used in much the same way, neutralisation reactions...

Best to stick to F10 for killing newspaper red dots

 

[ajandj]

ok just to clarify. The newspaper isn't active.... it doesn't run round and just on beardies backs
There was another mite like thingy on one of the pages so l assume that how it got into the enclosure in the first place. I need to go to the petstock shop and buy another UVB globe (another long story - look under thread called light fittings) so l will look for F10 and do it properly the first time. Thanks for the info.

Cheers

Jane

 

[-Peter]

heres a pic of a gecko with orange mites, its a copyright image so you will nee to go to the relevant site to view it.
Leaf-tail w/ mites | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[S&M Morelia]

Here's a picture I took when I was in Adelaide of what I think is a Red Spider Mite. But of course I could be way off.
He was about 1.5-2mm in length and about 1mm in width.

 

[Bluetongue1]

There are a number of mite species commonly found on geckoes and dragons, belonging to the Gekkonid group. They are a bright orange colour and in my experience most commonly occur around the eye and in the armpits but can also be found anywhere there is a fold of skin. They are parasitic on the lizards (hosts) sucking blood. Under normal circumstances they do not appear to have an observable adverse effect on their host. Populations on any given lizard tend to be quite limited as the mites need physical protection at same time as access to skin or membranes thin enough for blood to be withdrawn through.

Application of alcohol to the body of the mite will kill it. So a cotton bud soaked in metho is all that is needed. For mite occurring around the eye (which has a sizeable blood sinus behind it) physically remove them by gently wiping away with a moist cotton bud. Do NOT use alcohol near the eye. Mite that are removed in this manner should be placed in a small quantity of alcohol to kill them.

If you have evidence that there is an infestation of gekkonid mite in an enclosure, then use an appropriate mitecide (that is not the technical term by the way) that is known to be reptile friendly. The very best is Top of Descent but there are others, such as Frontline, Orange Medic and the like. Refer to the relevant threads already here.

Having said all that, it sounds like you have Red Spider Mite in your garden that have been brought in on the newspaper. To confirm this, get some butcher’s paper or an old white sheet, place it under the plants where you collected the newspaper and give them a good shake. If what comes off is identical to what you saw on Yoda, you have nothing to worry about. Red Spider Mite only live on plant sap.

I am no expert but the Berkley photo, posted by Slim6y, are not Snake Mites (Ophionyssus natricis). If you want to know what the real thing looks like close up just Google the scientific name. As has been pointed out, with the unaided eye the three stages of snake mite all appear as black dots – some a little blacker than others. Their occurrence under ventral scales on snakes is diagnostic in itself. If you want to start looking at them under the microscope then you will be able to pick up differences in each of the three stages, such as number of leg and actual colour. An interesting pursuit but not an essential one in practical terms or pragmatic outcomes.

Blue