Mites. : (

[TragicQuietus]

Just did a habitat change... used cocohusk for humidity. now Gamera has mites. avoiding that from now on. Just in case anyone else uses it or has been told it's ok.. be careful. I feel bad for subjecting her to them. Time to clean clean clean. ....

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

The mites were in the cocohusk?

 

[GBtortoises]

Just about any organic natural substrate is going to contain mites, as well as a plethora of other tiny bugs.
I've never personally seen mites in the coconut coir that I use, but they could be there. Mine probably come more from organic soils, moss and cypress bark that I'm using.
I've never seen any problems associated with their presence.

 

[Neltharion]

Just about any organic natural substrate is going to contain mites, as well as a plethora of other tiny bugs.
I've never personally seen mites in the coconut coir that I use, but they could be there. Mine probably come more from organic soils, moss and cypress bark that I'm using.
I've never seen any problems associated with their presence.

When I kept boas and constrictors, I had to treat for mites on a few occasions. They're known to bite and consume blood. The risk exists that a large enough infestation could cause anemia in snakes.

I had assumed that the same would be true for tortoises, though I've never had to deal with a mite infestation in the tortoise enclosures.

 

[DesertGrandma]

Would freezing it before use kill anything in it?

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Just about any organic natural substrate is going to contain mites, as well as a plethora of other tiny bugs.
I've never personally seen mites in the coconut coir that I use, but they could be there. Mine probably come more from organic soils, moss and cypress bark that I'm using.
I've never seen any problems associated with their presence.

When I kept boas and constrictors, I had to treat for mites on a few occasions. They're known to bite and consume blood. The risk exists that a large enough infestation could cause anemia in snakes.

I had assumed that the same would be true for tortoises, though I've never had to deal with a mite infestation in the tortoise enclosures.

I've dealt w/ the little nasties on my boids, but never had 'em on my tortoises (knock on wood!).

A "No Pest Strip" hung at the ceiling in my snake room seems to keep mites and such under control.

 

[Neltharion]

Just about any organic natural substrate is going to contain mites, as well as a plethora of other tiny bugs.
I've never personally seen mites in the coconut coir that I use, but they could be there. Mine probably come more from organic soils, moss and cypress bark that I'm using.
I've never seen any problems associated with their presence.

When I kept boas and constrictors, I had to treat for mites on a few occasions. They're known to bite and consume blood. The risk exists that a large enough infestation could cause anemia in snakes.

I had assumed that the same would be true for tortoises, though I've never had to deal with a mite infestation in the tortoise enclosures.

I've dealt w/ the little nasties on my boids, but never had 'em on my tortoises (knock on wood!).

A "No Pest Strip" hung at the ceiling in my snake room seems to keep mites and such under control.

I used to buy cans of ProventAMite spray for $13 a pop. It worked well to keep the mites out of the existing collection, but every once in a while you acquire a new one and it has mites right out of the shipping box. That happened at least three times for me.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Just about any organic natural substrate is going to contain mites, as well as a plethora of other tiny bugs.
I've never personally seen mites in the coconut coir that I use, but they could be there. Mine probably come more from organic soils, moss and cypress bark that I'm using.
I've never seen any problems associated with their presence.

When I kept boas and constrictors, I had to treat for mites on a few occasions. They're known to bite and consume blood. The risk exists that a large enough infestation could cause anemia in snakes.

I had assumed that the same would be true for tortoises, though I've never had to deal with a mite infestation in the tortoise enclosures.

I've dealt w/ the little nasties on my boids, but never had 'em on my tortoises (knock on wood!).

A "No Pest Strip" hung at the ceiling in my snake room seems to keep mites and such under control.

I used to buy cans of ProventAMite spray for $13 a pop. It worked well to keep the mites out of the existing collection, but every once in a while you acquire a new one and it has mites right out of the shipping box. That happened at least three times for me.

Sheba, my female African Rock, was so thoroughly covered w/ mites that I thought she'd pass before I could bring her back to good health. At 9-1/2', she was so anemic that she weighed 41#...literally skin and bones...and the mites were so thick on her that I'd run my hands down her body and a black "goo" would be all over them. Her previous owner rarely cleaned her cage, so it was easy to see how it'd got to badly infested

I put her in a 5-gallon bucket full of warm water, with just enough space for her to breath, and there she stayed for 3 days...there were dead mites in the bottom that bucket 2" thick!

During those 3 days, I put two complete No-Pest strips in her 5' X 3' X 3' cage and Duct-taped every edge, to seal in the fumes.

After the 3 days, I put her back in her cage, with a 3" piece of No-Pest strip screwed to the wooden lid for another week, until I was satisfied it was pest free...while all this was going on, I'd put fresh No-Pest strips throughout my snake room so that my boas and other pythons wouldn't get infested...

After a week, she was still lethargic and I was afraid I might have to force-feed her (something I'll do only as a last resort), but every day I offered her a freshly killed rat and one day she nailed it, then later ate 2 more...every 3rd day after that, she got 3 more until I knew she was truly feeling better...by her biting the crap out of me!

5 years later, at just under 14 feet, she and Taergus (my male) have produced almost 110 healthy hatchlings and, while Taergus is still as sweetly-tempered as he was as a hatchling, she remains just as evil tempered!

But in excellent health.

 

[GBtortoises]

There are literally tens of thousands of different types of mites. I'm thinking small white plant and soil mites. I think the mites that cause problems with animals are the larger types which I believe are also closely related to ticks.

 

[TragicQuietus]

I was given the advise to super soak and bake the coco if plan to use it again. talking to other repti owners this apparently happens a lot it's common to cocohusk, and other wood subs. : ( Found a spray used on a cotton ball and avoiding the eyes to wipe her down with..clove based. She looks ok now ( no more on her body and a very good clean of her habi, still in the small tank until I'm sure) but I can't believe how fast and how bad it was. wrote the company and took what was left of the husk back so the store would know and hopefully pull the batch so now one loved ones of any kind have this problem. poor girl. Anyone know if there are illnesses from the mites? I have her booked to see a vet but any heads up on signs would be more then appreciated. she's acting normally so far. But being of poor health when i got her, shedding, and this young to start with I'm very worried. Gave her a dip in very diluted lime and water too, again avoiding head and eyes. Thanks everyone.

~EDIT~ The mites are tiny, look much like lice. white. Seemed to cluster on her shell, the scar on her plastron, and the folds where she is shedding. she itched and rubbed and scratched a lot until her dips. no cuts or otherwise damage.

---

As a note, it took only 5 days from fresh dry husk, to damp under a heat lamp, for it to be on her. Not a crazy infestation ( I am watching my corn snake closely now too tho) I could only see three to six at any time. but I'm sure you would all agree upon seeing this, the horror and " MY BABY!", mentality would have come to mind.

 

[Raymo2477]

I've had the mites on my corn snake collection once. I had to soak them in a weak betadine solution every day for a week. I sun cooked their cage and accessories ( black trash bag in the sun all day) then washed with a bleach solution.
Thankfully I've been mite free since then.

Those no-pest strips are highly toxic to animals and I would never use them in a cage with them in it.

Also a lot of the organic soils have little bugs in them. I think most are harmless. I have seen whitish mite like bugs in the cypress I use but they are not the black blood sucking mites. To get rid of them most garden centers sell sticky traps to collect the bugs, just make sure they don't have an insecticide on them.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

I've had the mites on my corn snake collection once. I had to soak them in a weak betadine solution every day for a week. I sun cooked their cage and accessories ( black trash bag in the sun all day) then washed with a bleach solution.
Thankfully I've been mite free since then.

Those no-pest strips are highly toxic to animals and I would never use them in a cage with them in it.

That was the "wisdom" until about a dozen years ago...turns out they're really only a problem w/ certain vipers and primarily neophytes...as long as you're judicious in their use (a good rule of thumb is as long as the smell is extremely faint, you're using the right amount). I've never lost a snake to their use.

Further info: http://iherp.com/Answers/ReptileProblem.aspx?Id=20987

Also a lot of the organic soils have little bugs in them. I think most are harmless. I have seen whitish mite like bugs in the cypress I use but they are not the black blood sucking mites. To get rid of them most garden centers sell sticky traps to collect the bugs, just make sure they don't have an insecticide on them.

 

[TragicQuietus]

The mites cleared up with one cleaning. they didn't seem to be biting. just were and irritation to Gam then anything else. I will be cooking all my subs from now on in. bought a clover water just in case it spreads to my snake. none on gams body. : ( what is recommended to put heron to keep humidity up? her base is plantation soil.