MITES! - P. Ornata

[pono]

Hi. When i got my ornata in december from hamm, they had mites. They still have them now as i didn't think much of it, as they dont seem to care about them and the prospect of removing them from such a small, fast species is a bit dawnting. It has come to a time where now i think i better try remove them. What are your different experiences with removing mites. Are products such as in the link below any good - the review on the website implied it didn't work. I hope to remove the mites asap so i can introduce the pair once the female drops her infertile clutch she is currently carrying (they are not very far developed). Here is the product i was looking at:

Livefood UK Ltd.

Thanks very much for your help in advance.

Ed

 

[hexentanz]

For removing mites most folks have excellent success using a q-tip dipped in some olive or veggie oil.

 

[colinmelsom]

Ed, I would agree.The problem is getting near enough to be able to cover the mites.
I have tried the commercial preparations and they dont seem to work very well.Dont use Frontline or any other dog or cat flea preparations.I have killed animals in the past with these.
It is probably best to remove as many of the decorations as possible if you have a naturalistic vivarium.Leave enough for the Geckos to feel safe and disinfect the rest.I give them a quick blast in the microwave or oven but its probably best to ask your Mum first ;-)
On the good side Gecko mites do not seem as problematical as snake mites they are usually around the eyes or legs.Good luck.

 

[pono]

Ok thank you very much for your replies. So when using olive oil, do i literally just swap the areas with mites on them? Does the oil actually kill the mites, or just make them fall off?

In regards to disinfecting the viv. My bamboo is too large to fit in the microwave. Would i be ok just spraying everything in regular reptile disinfectant?

Thanks very much for your help,

Ed

 

[colinmelsom]

I may be wrong but to my knowledge the olive oil loosens the mites by not allowing them to breathe.The reptile disinfectant will not kill any mites.How about a bucket of boling water and make sure you sterilise the inside of the bamboo.Please check for gecko eggs first

 

[jpmarcel]

Provent -a- mite

I've used this product with good success and no ill effects for geckos. Geckos I've used this on also had healthy offspring after treatment.
I do not spray it on the gecko as directed but give a couple short sprays in terrarium and repeat 2 weeks later.
Jason

 

[pono]

Ok thank you guys for your help. I will try to swap the geckos in olive oil and i will submerge the bamboo in boiling water. What should i do to clean the plants? Don't worry Colin, there won't be any gecko eggs in the bamboo yet as they are in two separate vivs at the moment. I hope to get rid of the mites and then introduce the pair for breeding

Ed

 

[hexentanz]

What should i do to clean the plants?

If you wish to reuse them again, most plants (pothos, sanservia, bromeliads, ficus) can tolerate being soaked in a 10% bleach solution. Just be sure to rinse them really well.

 

[colinmelsom]

I use bleach to sterilize my vivariums.But will it kill mites?

 

[Adrn]

The bleach should do a decent job of killing the mites, but seeing that you have had them visibly on the animal(in the enclosure) for ~5 months, you may have to reapeat this treatment to end up getting rid of all of them. Try to effectively treat the gecko as this is the only thing that would be very hard to replace. Honestly, it would seem best to quarantine the animal inside a very plain container until you are certain the mites are off of it as well as the enclosure. If you must re-use the substrate, place it in a plastic shopping bag with enough water in it to make it evenly damp. Tie off the opening to somewhat seal it. Cook this in the microwave long enough to create a good amount of steam, ~4-6 minutes. This should take care of any mites or live organisms in the soil. To really prevent these from coming back, do a complete tear down to the bare tank and redo while dissinfecting all objects that were inside. If you do treat with a strong mite killer, pay special attention to the seams and corners. Alot of this may sound redundant but it sounds like it must be stated along with all the other good advice above. Best of luck. Let us know how this turns out and what methods you used successfully.

 

[Olivier]

The bleach should do a decent job of killing the mites, but seeing that you have had them visibly on the animal(in the enclosure) for ~5 months, you may have to reapeat this treatment to end up getting rid of all of them. Try to effectively treat the gecko as this is the only thing that would be very hard to replace. Honestly, it would seem best to quarantine the animal inside a very plain container until you are certain the mites are off of it as well as the enclosure. If you must re-use the substrate, place it in a plastic shopping bag with enough water in it to make it evenly damp. Tie off the opening to somewhat seal it. Cook this in the microwave long enough to create a good amount of steam, ~4-6 minutes. This should take care of any mites or live organisms in the soil. To really prevent these from coming back, do a complete tear down to the bare tank and redo while dissinfecting all objects that were inside. If you do treat with a strong mite killer, pay special attention to the seams and corners. Alot of this may sound redundant but it sounds like it must be stated along with all the other good advice above. Best of luck. Let us know how this turns out and what methods you used successfully.

the best thing would be fight fire with fire and introduce predatory mites that feed on blood mites, once they all devoured the blood mites they will eventually starve to death, problem solved:biggrin:

predatory mites feed only on other mites and don't pose under any circumstance a treath to the animals and is a biological process

Refona - Respect For Nature

search tem dutchies:fight:

 

[pono]

Ok thanks for your help. Will boiling water kill the mites?

I think i shall wipe down the female with olive oil on a cotton wool bud. Then i will replace substrate, either put the bamboo in the oven (how long should i bake it for and what gas mark?) or submerge it in boiling water, and soak the plants in 10% bleach solution (i will soak them in clean water afterwards and rinse thoroughly). I shall put the female back in her viv, but with only some pieces of plastic tubing so i can keep an eye on her. I shall repeat for the male.

This is the females viv:

The males viv should be easier to clean than the females as it is already quite sparse and one bromiliad is fake.

Ed

 

[hexentanz]

Do not wipe down the whole gecko!!! Only hit the mites with the oil or you will suffocate the gecko.

 

[pono]

Do not wipe down the whole gecko!!! Only hit the mites with the oil or you will suffocate the gecko.

Oh sorry, thats what i meant, i just wasn't clear. They are mainly on her legs so i would have thought i will have to wipe over quite alot of them. I won't coat her or anything or put much near her face.

Also, i was wondering why do the mites not come off when the gecko sheds? Surely they would stick to the skin and get eaten.

Ed

 

[hexentanz]

Also, i was wondering why do the mites not come off when the gecko sheds? Surely they would stick to the skin and get eaten.

Most probably because blood mites are to reptiles as ticks are to humans. Ticks do not easily come off unless cut, tweezed or suffocated out.

 

[quadi]

Just keep your tank dry for about 4-6 weeks (maximum one time sprinkling a little bit for them to drink) and the mites will die without any other aid.

If you want to use oil, try to keep it away from the toes, otherwise your gecko cannot climb any more!!!

 

[BalticSea]

And the best way to prevent for mites is not to buy wc!!

 

[pono]

And the best way to prevent for mites is not to buy wc!!

These are P. ornata, so it is illegal to export them, so unless they were illegally wild caught, they are cb. I had someone pick them up from hamm for me, and they had the mites when i got them.

Ed ;-)

 

[colinmelsom]

Please keep us posted Ed.There have been some interesting answers.
Olivier have you used the parasitic mites?I like the look of these.
I never realised that keeping the vivarium dry would kill mites.
Boiling water will kill them Ed and if you are putting bamboo in the oven keep a close eye on it as I dont want you to burn your house down.I cant give any cooking recommendations for the bamboo as I am not a good chef
It is possible for captive bred lizards to have mites but the are more common in wildcaught animals.Whilst it is illegal to import ornata you can often see them at Hamm but you can see alot of wildcaught animals there.

 

[meloha]

For sterilizing substrate in the microwave, I suggest using a glass or ceramic casserole dish with a lid. Plastic bags can melt and some plastics -- the soft ones especially -- give off toxins when heated. You'd wind up saturating your geckos' substrate with the toxins -- not a good outcome!

Be sure to thoroughly sterilize the casserole dish before using it for people-food again!

Silk plants from the dollar store are great for quarantine tanks -- the geckos have cover, and the plants can be soaked in a bleach solution or just thrown away.