More about mites.

[adamanteus]

Hi All,

I know that somewhere on this forum there's a thread about mites, but I can't find it...So...

Here is an observation of mine. I've never read it anywhere, but I have seen it many times in all sorts of snake species.

It seems to me, that immediately prior to sloughing, any mites on a snake's skin take part in a mass exodus, leaving their host and accumulating in some numbers in the snake's normal resting place (hides etc). So at the moment of shedding it's skin the snake is totally free of ectoparasites (obviously). On returning to it's hide the animal is immediatly re-infested. I have found (in the past) large numbers of mites hiding within the texture of bark hides or in the rim of plant pots etc. whilst their host is busy "peeling off" elsewhere. It would seem that the mites know when sloughing is imminent and so they react in this way.

This information could be used to our advantage when we believe our snakes to be parasitised.

Has anyone else ever noticed this behaviour?

[KITKAT]

Not sure about what you describe, but it has some logic.

I think you will find the posts about mites in the Urgent care section.

[adamanteus]

Also, I've never found a single mite on a newly sloughed skin. Which would seem to support it.

[Cazador]

Hi James,

Is this the thread you were talking about (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/gene...341-mites.html)? I found it by clicking the "search" button below the "home" tab at the top of the page and searching for the keyword, "mites."

I know you're not suggesting it, but one obviously wouldn't want to delay treatment until the snakes were ready to slough. There are other less invasive remedies that people have used with mixed results. Here's one:

Frequently wash the snake with a mild liquid soap, like Ivory dishwashing soap; then thoroughly rinse it. Next apply a thin coat of vegetable oil all over the snake, including over (but not in) the nostrils. This removes most mites and suffocates others, but it doesn't kill the eggs. This method requires use of a clean quarantine tank in which you can change the substrate (newspaper or paper towels) at least daily. Periodic bleaching of the quarantine tank occurs, being done more frequently in the first few days after the snake has been added. The snake also gets re-washed & re-oiled frequently. Its water bowl is checked often; you can do the wet paper towel trick, and you can usually wet a Q-tip and run it around the rim of the eyes to detect remaining mites. This cleaning and oiling process is normally continued for at least two weeks (often longer), to ensure that all eggs have hatched and all mites have been removed.

If sloughing occurred in the middle of this process, one would want to wash, rinse, & oil the snake before moving it to a temporary holding area and bleaching the quarantine tank to ensure mites and eggs were removed. The problem is that mite infestations can also cause shedding problems, so it might not be a fool-proof method of ridding the snake of mites. Also remember that mites consume blood and fluids, so shed skins don't offer much for the mites in terms of their next meal. Mites give me the heebie-jeebies, so I've turned to chemical treatment and accept the known risks.

Rick

P.S. Don't let my secret search technique out . It makes me look smart and helpful .

[adamanteus]

I wasn't suggesting we use it as a method of eradicating mites! That could never work! I was making an observation of a behaviour that might be of help to us. If we suspect a snake has mites but aren't sure, a quick pre-slough inspection of the plant pot (or whatever) would give us the answer.

[Cazador]

Man was I off track! After re-reading, I see clearly what you were talking about. Ehhhh heh heh. Oops . Sorry for the sidebar.

Rick

[Thamnophis]

I have seen it too, Rick.
On fresh shedded skins often are no mites.
Ik cannot say never, but I will try to take better looks in the future.
In our reptile zoo it is impossible to loose all mites. Often we get infected animals that are seized or found etc.
No problem, as long as you try to keep it under control.
We only use poison when the infection is very big and the animal is weak.

[KITKAT]

I was quite impressed with my first attempt to use Frontline for mites. Not only did the snakes recover quickly, but the frontline continued to kill anything that I may have missed in the environment when I did the cleanup. As a result, there has been no re-infestation.

I protected my Bearded Dragons by treating them concurrently with the snakes, and had good results there also!

[FitnessFreak]

how can you prevent your snake getting mites in the first place?

oh and when i catch my baby from the wild in mid june should i wash it in warm water and rub it down with paper toewl and put vegetable oil on it?

just to make sure?

[adamanteus]

As far as I'm aware there is no fool-proof way of preventing mites. Obviously precautions can be taken with existing pets, when introducing new animals etc. (quarantine). Personally, I wouldn't treat your new snake for mites until you know it has them.