Are Mosquitoes a Problem?

Tiny Boidae · 08-23-15, 09:32 AM

So, for those of you who don't know, I have two female CWD's who sometimes get to go in their outdoor enclosure when the weather is forgiving. Unfortunately, we have a river that's in walking distance from the house and a canal runs through the middle of our backyard that's always full of green, stagnant water. Obviously now, mosquitoes are a big problem here and I'll find myself with a new bite every day. I've never found a bite on my water dragons, however, I just want to be safe rather than sorry. Do you think mosquitoes are a problem? If so, do you think if I draped that bug-net stuff over the chicken wire, that it would stop these pests? Thanks for your input

Wingbeats · 08-23-15, 11:57 AM

I remember when I was in the Dominican Republic doing field work, i was always plagued by mosquitos. I gave up swatting them after a time and just sat in mosquito netting while I was monitoring hawks.

There were tons of anoles and other lizards around as well. As I was holding pretty still in the blind to avoid scaring the hawks, the lizards would get really close to me. I often noticed mosquitos landing on them, and sucking blood from them. If something like five landed on the anole, it would spaz and roll to get them off.

I don't know if they are a problem per say, but I thought it was interesting that mosquitos do like the reptiles. Maybe they don't have the allergic reaction that causes the mosquito bump on mammals? I never found any anoles with bumps. Maybe your water dragons have thicker skin or something? I dunno.

Tiny Boidae · 08-23-15, 12:22 PM

I had two thoughts on mosquitoes and reptiles. The first one being since they find their host's veins by infared vision, an ectothermic creature wouldn't be nearly as enticing as an endotherm. Apparently I'm wrong there.

Another thought is that, since mosquitoes are adapted to biting creatures with fur, rather than scales, they have a hard time getting past that barrier. Regardless, West Nile is going around in my area so I'm going to get some mosquito netting to put around the enclosure. They obviously seem interested by what you're saying, so I'm not going to take any chances with this. Thanks.