MITES! - P. Ornata

[quadi]

I never realised that keeping the vivarium dry would kill mites.

I don't remember where I read that hint, but it really works fine. I tried that for all my five Lygodactylus williamsi, that were full of bloodmites. After 6 weeks all mites were gone without any cleaning or killing. Just put the plants out of the tank so that is no chance for high humidity. The mites need a higher humidity and for the geckos it is no problem if you keep them dry for a while.

 

[pono]

Hiya. I just thought i'd update.

Two days ago the female laid two dud eggs, so i thought i'd better get rid of the mites so i can introduce the pair.

What i have done is i got the geckos out and put olive oild on the mites as best i could. The geckos did end up with some on their feet, so they don't grip very well currently. I put the pair in two small plastic tanks whilst i washed out the female's viv. I have the two tanks under a 5% uv tube. I will keep them in them for a 3-4 days when hopefully the mites will have died. If the oil has failed to kill them, i will introduce the pair in the females viv on the weekend and keep them dry and try quadi's technique as the female has just laid a dud clutch so is ready to mate for the next clutch. If the mites still fail to go after a couple of months in a dry viv, i will remove the pair and try the oil again. Please tell me if this sounds like a good plan

Here is a picture of the two small plastic tanks:

Cheers,

Ed