Mite account

[cguarino30]

So I thought I would add my experience here with another mite infestation. I know there is already a good deal of information here on the forum, as I used most of it myself to treat the infestation, but I did do some things differently, so I'd like to record it here for everyone else to learn from my experiences.

Firstly, I would like to concede that this infestation was 100% the result of poor quarantine practices. I urge anyone out there to properly quarantine animals, and am already quite aware of how stupid it was for me to take a shortcut here, so no need to inform me.

For posterity, I will say that I currently have 3 Merauke Gigas skinks, as well as 5 Bearded Dragons. 2 of the Meraukes are wild caught, and one is CBB. The originally infested skink was one of the wild caught ones.

I first noticed some crustiness under the scales of my newest skink, which I took to be scarring as a result of fighting under previous ownership, or possibly due to insufficient humidity, and brushed it off as something that could be dealt with via a few soaks and some tlc (should have considered mites first off, but did not) This was mistake #1.

Mistake # 2 immediately followed, as I soaked the skink in the laundry tub, I decided that my other two might as well get a soak at the same time (I assume this is how/when the transfer took place).

after a week, I noticed that a small occurrence of similar symptoms of scale disfiguration were evident on one of my other skinks, and assumed that it had started fighting with its cage-mate, and so I immediately split them up.

After another week, I noticed that all three had the symptoms, and that they were getting worse, so I inspected them more carefully, and this is when I first noticed that they were all riddled with mites. The mites were a dark brown, almost black, with small beige/white saddles on their backs.

Frustrated with myself for not realizing the problem sooner, I immediately got to researching the issue here on the forum (large thanks to Fatal_S for her accounts of dealing with mites) and settled on the Nix solution treatment.

The information sheet link originally provided to me through a post by Fatal_S can be found here:

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-discussion/17014-nix-treatment-snake-mites.html

Here is where I put forward some new information that will hopefully help others in the future.

1) My treatment regimen consisted of spraying down the entire animal, allowing it to sit for approximately 10-15 minutes, rinsing the animal thoroughly, and then spraying again. The rinsing in between served to remove many of the dead mites that had already succumbed to the treatment (as I said before, the infestation was quite significant, and it was like washing off a thin layer of fine powder)

2) I know Fatal_S stated that she avoided spraying the head of her animals. Due to the severity of my infestation, and the claims of the information sheet listed above, I decided to spray the heads and especially ears of my animals to minimize the chances of mite survival. So far no ill effects have been observed as a result.

3) Because I did not have ready access to a 1 gallon jug that I was willing to use, I ended up using approximately 1/2 of a bottle of nix in a 24 oz spray bottle. I know it's not a major difference, but it does show that the nix can be slightly more concentrated than the article calls for, and so far no ill effects have been observed.

4) I also noticed that my colony of bearded dragons had started exhibiting the mites, especially under the folds of the eyelids and in their ears. As a result, the beardies were treated with the same solution as the skinks, with special care taken to make sure the ears and eyelids were exposed (this involved gentle swabbing of the eyelids with my finger, taking care not to get any undue solution directly in the eye) So far, there has only been one instance of an ill effect. One of the 5 beardies had one eye crusted shut approximately 12 hours post treatment. This was remedied with some careful swabbing with a cool, wet paper towel, until the crustiness was removed. Once removed, the eyelids functioned perfectly, and no further problems were seen. I had a lot of trouble finding information on using Nix with beardies, so I thought this would undoubtedly be useful information.

I would also like to add that all substrate was removed, all cages were cleaned with the solution and wiped down, and all decor was sprayed with the solution thoroughly and stored in a rubbermaid bin. All food and water bowls were frozen, as I wanted to avoid any toxic residue getting into food or water and causing unnecessary further exposure.

We are currently at 24 hours post treatment, with no ill effects witnessed with the exception of the one bearded dragon's minor ailment. All animals are currently in temporary, paper towel-substrated cages. All are eating and drinking normally, and behaving in a healthy manner. So far, as hard as I have looked, I have been unable to find even a single, live mite.

My plans are to continue the next week in hospital enclosures, inspect again for any infestations, and treat all animals a second time before re-introducing them to their home enclosures. I also intend to treat them a third time a week later, just to be on the safe side.

I will update this post with any developments, or just to record progress. Please feel free to ask any questions that interest you.

[Katrina]

This is great information. Thank you for sharing it and being so honest. I'm sure many will learn from this!

[Bird_Brain]

Does the Nix have a residual effect to kill mites later down the road? If not, why did you decide to go this route and not Provent-a-mite?

[cguarino30]

Nix does leave a residue which is supposedly almost as effective at killing mites and eggs as the solution itself. I chose Nix because it was the treatment I found the most accounts regarding, it was readily available to me, and my understanding is that Nix is one of the few things that will kill eggs as effectively as mites, and Provent a Mite does not kill eggs, as I understand it.

I do not think that it would have been a mistake to use the other option, but this one suited me a little better at the time.

[Bird_Brain]

I have never really looked into the Nix method. I was just curious. Good luck on getting rid of them!

[cguarino30]

OK, so we are a week into treatment, and all is looking well. The permanent cage has been treated once more by spraying with the nix solution and wiping down, and Zilla brand reptile carpet has been installed, since it will undoubtedly be easier to remove and clean if this happens again.

The skinks themselves are noticeably recovering from the infestation, as their scales have already started to become healthier looking. I have not been able to find a single live mite, though I have found a significant number of dead ones on the smallest skink. This goes to show that the residue of the solution is instrumental in eradicating the infestation, as those mites would presumably have lived and continued to reproduce if the residue had not been present.

Each animal was bathed and then sprayed again, across the entire body, including face, head, ears, etc. and placed back in the permanent enclosure. So far everyone is looking happy and active, showing virtually no signs of stress from the procedure, and no ill effects have been observed.

The Bearded Dragons will be sprayed again tonight, though I have been unable to find a single mite, live or dead, anywhere on them. I will post a follow-up regarding this after it has occurred.

I should note, that just for safe measure, the temporary enclosure that was housing the skinks was also treated with the nix solution after being cleaned out, just in case there were any surviving mites.

[cguarino30]

Beardies have had their second treatment, no signs of any ill effects or continued infestation.

[Fatal_S]

I love Nix, it works so well. I did use it on the heads as well when I used it. It's nice to get another account of it being used successfully and without problems. I'm a big believer in it, but I'm always hesitant to recommend something I've only used once.

[cguarino30]

yeah, I was really pleased. I had some concerns that there would be minor irritation in the ears and eyes, or that it might sting in some of the more damaged scales, but aside from what I would chalk up to being the discomfort of being held over the sink and sprayed, I really didn't notice any discomfort whatsoever at any point from the animals.

Obviously, if it were to successfully eradicate the infestation, I would be willing to subject the animals to some minor irritation, but I really didn't notice any problems whatsoever. I'm not even sure that the one beardie's eye problem was caused by the nix, since nobody else had the problem, and it wasn't caused by the second treatment. It could just as likely have been caused by a piece of sand in the eye or even just a fluke of shedding or something.

[cguarino30]

I realized I never finished this thread, so I wanted to put in one last account. Due to the utter lack of mites or symptoms, I decided to forgo the third treatment that I had originally planned. It is now 4 weeks after the first treatment of Nix. All livestock is in perfect health and completely mite free.