Short version: Am looking for the best way to combat mites with the absolute minimal use of chemicals. Just ordered some predatory mites. If used properly, will that be enough? If not, what is the next safest treatment?
Long version: In the past week my kingsnake has started doing a lot of soaking in his water bowl. His normal habit is a soak first thing in the morning & again late evening. He does a bit more of this prior to a shed, but he shed recently so this increase in soaking concerned me. And then I saw little black specks in the water bowl. Both my BF & I thought those specks look like mites. When I attempted to squish one, I felt a tiny pop & a dot of red came out that looks like blood.
Am not sure where the mites came from. We do have two new reptiles in the house, both quarantined in different rooms. My mitey kingsnake is in a separate room on the same floor as the newest reptile, a gecko. The new snake is upstairs. Have tried to be careful with quarantine procedures. No equipment is shared between them & I always wash up between handling or work in enclosures. Will admit that I do not change clothes if it's only my hands & lower arms are in contact with the reptiles or their furnishings. That may be my mistake.
Neither gecko nor new snake have any signs of mites. Gecko has paper towel bedding & no mites are visible on that. New snake is on aspen, from the same bag as my kingsnake. (Yes, I now realize he should have been on paper towels so I could better see mites.) He's a squirmy baby & dark in color, meaning he's mite colored. Certainly possible mites are there & I just can't see them. Why I've only found mites on the snake I've had the longest is a mystery, but I'll treat all three reptiles on the assumption one of them was the source.
Have searched for info on eradicating mites on the snakes. Will new search for more on this problem with gecko. My main problem is that we have a cat who in the past has had strong reactions to both flea & heartworm preventatives. And has had mild reactions a couple times when I've used those on the dogs. As a result, we are super cautious when using these products. I fear we'll have a problem with mite treatments, even if I'm only treating the reptiles & their enclosures.
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