Are Tortoise Mites Transmissible to Snakes?

SerpentineDream · 10-21-17, 06:03 AM

Got a baby cherry head red-footed tortoise in quarantine in the same room with my olive house snakes. I noticed little red mites scurrying about in the tortoise's tub and was wondering if they can infest the house snakes as well.

First time we've ever had mites, believe it or not. Thank goodness they are quarantined upstairs away from the snake room.

I am planning to treat the tortoise with Reptile Relief. Should I hit the snakes as well?

TRD · 10-21-17, 06:28 AM

Yep.. those mites which people call snake mites are actually reptile mites.

SerpentineDream · 10-21-17, 06:34 AM

Aw, nuts.

Well, at least it's confined to those animals. What a nightmare it would be if those infested the entire collection!

Now I have psychosomatic creepy-crawly sensations all over my skin and scalp.

toddnbecka · 10-22-17, 12:02 AM

I just found black mites on my woma python. Only counted a few dozen, some were drowned in the water bowl. I gave him a bath in lukewarm water with Dawn dish detergent and changed his bedding from aspen to paper towels after thoroughly cleaning his sterilite tub. He didn't like the bath very much, but I was careful not to alarm or stress him out in the process.
First time I've had to deal with the buggers. Like you, I'm just happy that they didn't spread any further before I found them.

toddnbecka · 10-22-17, 12:33 PM

Yeah, a few dozen last night, and many many more today. I placed white paper towels in the bottom of the tub, saw some on those, then found a load of them closer to the woma under the pvc hide. Another bath, and it looked like 10x the number came directly off of him than I found last night. They must have been under his scales, he was looking clean when I put him into the tub last night. Going to the pet shop to see about something to treat for them today.

SerpentineDream · 10-22-17, 01:43 PM

I hate the little monsters. The snakes in quarantine DO have them now. They were soaking in their water bowls trying to drown them.

Reptile Relief is supposed to be safer and gentler than Provent-A-Mite. I hit them with it today and was able to spray the animals themselves, which you can't do with PAM.

TRD · 10-22-17, 02:44 PM

I kill those little shits off with Frontline... kills them dead real quick and lasts long.

Jim Smith · 10-22-17, 04:01 PM

I had an episode of mites in my collection that drove me to near distraction. I tried all the "traditional" and some less know treatments, but they kept coming back. I ended up resorting to using predatory mites which worked fantastic! You just put some of the predatory mites in each cage and let them do their thing. They only eat nematodes and other mites including their eggs. In about a week, there were no mites to be found

Once their food source is gone, they die off. It took me 5 minutes to treat all of my cages and I've been mite free since then. Knock on PVC - (I don't have wooden cages) Here's the link to where I got the predatory mites.
Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Hypoaspis miles) - Fungus Gnat, Thrips, Snake Mite Predator

SerpentineDream · 10-22-17, 06:15 PM

I do like the idea of using natural means to bust those bugs.

For such a small infestation they may not be necessary, but in the event of a widespread outbreak that would be the most efficient way to do it. Having to tear down so many cages and treat with chemicals would be a nightmare.

TRD, I assume you dilute the Frontline?

scales.jp · 10-22-17, 07:52 PM

We get geckos here and there in the summer, usually on the outside of the house and often around the windows. Last year I had to remove one from the kitchen that had got in through the extractor fan. I've seen red mites on them before, so I really don't want them coming inside.

SerpentineDream · 10-23-17, 01:43 AM

I'm not sure they are reptile mites. I think they are chiggers.

They move fast and are orangish red. I think they have bitten me too. I have some welts.

Chiggers will bite nearly anything with blood and are prevalent in Florida, where the tortoise was raised outdoors. Snake mites don't go for humans, IIRC. Also not sure how fast and agile snake mites are. Chiggers are quick little devils. Treatment should be the same I would think.

TRD · 10-23-17, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SerpentineDream

TRD, I assume you dilute the Frontline?

Nope, but I spray it on a tissue and apply a thin layer, I don't spray directly on the snake. Works a charm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SerpentineDream

Also not sure how fast and agile snake mites are. Chiggers are quick little devils.

Reptile mites are pretty damn fast as well.

And yes treatment is the same. Take care when treating reptiles in bio-active setups as it will demolish the critters in there too. Mite treatments aren't species specific and basically just kills off any insects. On the other hand bio-active setups are resilient to mite infestations.

toddnbecka · 10-23-17, 11:38 AM

The only product available locally was something called Reptile Spray, Diactyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate 2.1%, Undecylenic Acid 0.5%, other ingredients 97.4%. I sprayed it on the inside of the tub lid and allowed it to dry in the sun to see if it would be effective after it dried. Directions say it's safe to spray directly on the reptile, but only once every 3 days. This morning I found a fair number of dead mites on the paper towels around the edges of the tub, so apparently it does work that way. Still doing the dawn baths twice a day and changing out the paper towels after hosing the inside and outside of the tub. Figure I'll get them knocked down that way for a week then start using the spray to finish them off.

About 13 years ago I brought home a german shepherd puppy, and when I took her to the vet found she was infested with hookworms. After about a week of better diet and no more worms she went from being a shy, hardly active puppy to a very active one. I'm wondering now if that's the reason for the woma's mellow disposition, and if he will become a somewhat different critter after killing the mites and he's feeling stronger.

Can you use the frontline to treat the tub as well as the snake? There's a product called provent-a-mite that's usually recommended for treating the cage.

TRD · 10-23-17, 02:19 PM

Frontline works on the animal... Use Frontline Spray which is somewhat diluted. Use only under following conditions;
1) You have to apply it with a towel/paper towel on the animal but not in eyes (irritates) or mouth. A thin layer is enough. Do not spray directly on the animal, do not soak the animal in it. For the facial parts you can use a cotton stick of sorts in case needed with larger snakes.
2) Take the animal out to treat. It has to dry completely before placing back the animal, this takes about 3-4 minutes. The smell of it will dissipate, that's how you know it's dry.
3) It's alcohol based, so don't put in in any wounds obviously unless you want to hold a pissed off snake
4) Water bowl should be taken out for 24 hours because snakes with mites soak, and drinking that water isn't good if there's a chance some still liquid parts get into the water. After 24 hours (actually much earlier, but take 24 hours as precaution) it should be completely dried out and not able to transfer into drinking water for the animal. Regardless, you'd need a lot of the stuff to become medically significant.
5) 1 Treatment works for about 3 months or until a shed, so practically no need to repeat. As it works on the animal the mites lose their source of food. It's active long enough to break the mite's reproduction cycle. If you need to repeat the treatment due to a shed it shouldn't harm the snake as Frontline penetration through the skin is very low (as opposed to PAM that readily goes through, hence can't be used on the animals)
6) You can treat the substrate and all, but I saw never a need for it. Given that it's a pesticide, I would only treat what should be treated and not go all nuclear on it. It could just harm.