Mites on Reptiles and Remedy

bugman

November 10th, 2005 at 1:00 am

Categories

Mites

small mite type bug in reptile cage?
What is it? Are they harmful? There were a bunch in the snake water bowl where the snake was laying. They are quite small, less than 1/2 mm.
Thanks!!
Kevin

Hi Kevin,
It is our suspicion that these Mites are up to no good in the reptile cage. You should try to get rid of them.

Mite Remedy (12/31/2005)
Hello WTB, I ran across your wounderful website today while trying to save the life of a missunderstood house centiped that had been called a silverfish by a staff member today. The critter ran past us and avoided a near squishing foot by ducking under our surgery table. I had seen this guy or his relatives in our basement from time to time and though they can move very quickly and startle me they have never seemed to have any intentions of harming anyone. I managed to capture our visiter in a urine cup…it’s all I had and it was sterile =x and decided I would try to identify him so that he would not be sentenced to death simply for being scary. Well your website saved his life and proved he was not a silverfish, but a house centipede that would take care of any spiders or other insects he could find. I released him in our basement and the other staff memebers agreed he was scary but better than having spiders around. His new name is Fluffy. After work I revisited your site, I’ve been a long time fan of bugs and can still be seen with my head in a bush if I see something interesting. As I browsed around I saw a post from someone named Kevin on 11-30-05 on your mite page. His snake’s cage has been invaded by some mites. While I do like bugs and insects, I realy hate ectoparasites. My columbian red tail boa, Link, had a similar problem this spring. While our office does not see reptiles we researched the topic and came up with a plan to free my snake of his friends. I changed his cage completely, discarded all items that could harbor mites, branches, sticks and the like. Link himself was treated with Frontline Spray (fipronil), this is an off lable use, and Merial the company that makes the product has not tested it for use on reptiles. Kevin should check with a local reptile vet before treating his snake. We sprayed a paper towel with frontline and gently wiped Link down then returned him to his cage. In cats and dogs you have to wait 24 hours before giving them a bath after applying frontline. I did not want to deprive my snake that long so I returned his swimming pool after about 6 hours. The mites have not been seen or heard from again. I hope this helps Kevin’s poor snake.
Jessica Leonard, CVT

Thank you Jessica for your awesome solution as well as the anecdote of the House Centipede in the operating room.

Update from Barry M. OConnor (05/23/2006)
Mites on reptiles and remedy (11/10/05). This is the "snake mite", Ophionyssus natricis (family Macronyssidae). This is a very serious, blood feeding pest of many snakes, especially captive individuals. They can be a mortality factor if the owner lets numbers build up in the enclosure. These mites feed only on blood, but remain off the host unless feeding. They can quickly build up a significant population. Keeping the snake enclosure clean is the best preventative.