The ultimate mite cure! (And how to deal with mites)

[MrKent]

So I have owned several reptiles throughout my life and I have never once had to deal with mites, until about a little less then a year ago my Indonesian BTS caught mites, and caught them bad. It took 2months to get rid of them just to have them re-flash 2weeks after I thought we were in the clear. I finally said enough with this and took her to the vet to get some professional help. And the vet recommended a rather peculiar treatment. Frontline Spray. At first I was rather worried this would cause some kind of damage or possible kill my BTS. But It worked wonders! Just 2 treatments or spraying some on a rag and whipping the skink down with it, then rinsing the skink off 5min later, 1 week apart and several baths later, she was mite free and has been ever since. Now this is just how one would treat the mites on the skin, the mites in the cage is whole different story. How I safely killed all the mites in the cage was, take everything out of the cage and scrub the cage with hot soapy water (yes soap is fine as long as you wipe it all out, don't let no one tell you different) and boil any decorations/hides you want to keep or you can throw them away if you got money to throw at new hides and decorations etc. Then the only thing you should put back in the cage is paper towels for bedding (ripped and in long sheets), a water dish, and a upside down cardboard box with a hole cut in it. The reason you put so little in the cage is because you want as few places for the mites to go, everything should be disposable (you can use your regular water dish just wash it daily.) You are going to throw everything out every other day, including the box, scrub the cage again with hot soapy water (leaving no residue) and put fresh paper towels and a new box in. While you are cleaning the cage, put your skin in shallow warm bath, deep enough you can bath her in it, but not so deep she is drowning in it. After you put your skink in the bath let he drink some if she chooses (replace water if she goes to the bathroom in it) and after she is done drinking put a very, VERY small amount of original mouthwash in the water (I mean like a light splash or 2), this will kill the mites that come off her so they don't cling to her. Be sure to get no water in her ears or eyes (I used a cotton swab to get her face.) If you keep up with this diligently every other day and rubbing your skink down with a rag damp with Frontline spray your skink will be happy and healthy before you know it. (Just a heads up your skink may have a pretty wicked shed after the mites are gone and all the treatments were done, this is normal and nothing to worry about it, and by wicked I mean its gonna be a fast and full shed.)

[Richard.C]

We get an inseticide areosol that kills snake mites here,all u have to do us spray cage,with animals in it,i usually give animals aspray then spray cage and shut it with them in there,no food or water in there,then a follow up a week or 2 later,i dont bathe them nor do i even change there substrate till im finished treatment,works a charm and about as easy as mite treatment can be

The main thing to get right is follow up treatment/s after initial treatments,as the eggs survive and hatch later and the lifecycle will continue if u dont do follow ups a few weeks after to kill any that hatch after initial treatment

[Gao]

I also used Frontline and it worked like magic

[tcopitho]

I also used Frontline and it worked like magic

Do you use a similar method to MrKent. I've heard of using frontline on reptiles before, but have wondered what methods were used to do so.

Interesting thread.

[Susann]

This method is what my vet recommended to use as a preventative treatment on new animals. Wipe them down with Frontline once a week while on paper towels, and clean everything out at least once a week.

If you have an infestation, the best product (in the US) is Provent-a-Mite --NOT for use on the animal, but for everything else (Frontline for the animal); wash off everything possible in the tank, then spray Provent-Amite. Once the liquid dries, it is a safe to put the animal on items sprayed with it, including hides and substrate.

If I ever get an infestation, I would spray Provent-a-Mite on everything surrounding the tank (stand, table, carpet, any furniture) as well. I would also put a thick layer of Vaseline just below the top of the quarantine tank to help keep pregnant female mites from leaving the tank to go lay her eggs somewhere outside the tank, as they tend to migrate away from the reptiles a bit to lay their eggs.

Soaking infected skinks to help reduce the load of mites is fine as well. I hadn't heard of the mouthwash, but have been told to just put one single drop of dish soap in the water after your skink has had a chance to drink if he's going to --this ensures that any mites on the skink that end up under water will drown after a few minutes.

[Gao]

I also used Frontline and it worked like magic

Do you use a similar method to MrKent. I've heard of using frontline on reptiles before, but have wondered what methods were used to do so.

Interesting thread.

I sprayed it on a piece of cotton pad and wiped it all over the animal's body and the enclosure. My skink shed after the second treatment and recovered very quickly. But make sure to do four treatment. And don't forget to remove the water bowl after the treatment since Frontline is only poisonous as a liquid.

[tcopitho]

Informative thread, great info everyone!

Ill make sure to bookmark it should the unthinkable happen

[Pickles072584]

Just wondering what you think about using plastic totes for temporary homes while treating? I am pregnant and will just need something light weight that I can move around... Thanks!!!

[splashy07]

A few years back I had quite a large snake collection. I made the mistake of bringing home an import, something I just never do. Well, a few weeks later I discovered mites in a water bowl. And another ... And so on
This stuff works. You can spray your reptile, the enclosure and all its furnishings. I did it twice, the entire rack and my BT cages just in case. Gone. In the dead heat of summer. I will never forget it and will never EVER under any circumstances being home another import. My current collection is way too valuable and my space for quarantine limited. And as far as plastic totes...here's mine. Just in case. And of course, a spare if needed for that unforeseen circumstance!

[WildestThornberry]

We get an inseticide areosol that kills snake mites here,all u have to do us spray cage,with animals in it,i usually give animals aspray then spray cage and shut it with them in there,no food or water in there,then a follow up a week or 2 later,i dont bathe them nor do i even change there substrate till im finished treatment,works a charm and about as easy as mite treatment can be

The main thing to get right is follow up treatment/s after initial treatments,as the eggs survive and hatch later and the lifecycle will continue if u dont do follow ups a few weeks after to kill any that hatch after initial treatment

I know this is a very old thread, but if you see this, can you tell me what the aerosol is that you mentioned?

[Susann]

Just so you’re aware, Richard lives in Australia, a lot of times their products are different from the the stuff we can get here.

[kingofnobbys]

Just steer clear of anything with pyrethrins in it.

Toxic to many reptiles on contact from what I've read.
a ref :
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile ... rmethrins/

In conclusion, pyrethrins and pyrethroids can be used in reptiles if the following precautions are observed:
•Use pyrethroids, rather than pyrethrins. If pyrethrins are to be used, make sure the concentration is less than 0.09 percent. If the pyrethrin concentration is greater than this, dilute the product with tap water. If diluting, shake well prior to using, as not all products are water soluble.
•Avoid spraying whenever practical. The inhalation of these compounds is responsible for the majority of peracute, fatal reactions. It is advised to spray the product on a cloth away from the reptile, and then apply it.
•Ventilation is essential with any of these products. Do not use these products in an enclosed cage. Do not return animals to treated cages until the cages are thoroughly dried and no vapors persist.
•Obtain your pyrethroid product from your reptile veterinarian, or base the purchase on your veterinarian’s recommendation. Treat your reptiles during the day so in the event of an adverse reaction (seizures, open-mouth breathing, altered locomotion), you can take the affected reptile to your veterinarian. Although there are no specific antidotes for pyrethrins, intensive supportive care measures may save the reptile.

fortunately none of my reptiles has been infested with mites so I've never had to cross that bridge .

[Scotts1au]

Most treatments that actually work are variations of pyethrins- namely permethrin due to it’s half life that is longer than the larval cycle of the mites. The worst outcome for your skinks is to treat with something that doesn’t work. As I have outdoor enclosures unfortunately mites are a fact of life. Be careful that you are getting advice from people who actually deal with mites regularly.

[Andrea]

This is an old thread but is literally saving my life right now!
So the Frontline spray should be applied only once and then again after 7 days, right? Not every time you bathe her with the mouthwash…?

Also, I can’t believe the Frontline Spray is not available anywhere near me and the soonest I can get it shipped is within 5 days! Is there anything I can do in the meantime? Thank you!

[Ashtonthebluetongue]

Hi All, My son's BTS Ashton has mites, not sure how bad it is but OH MAN am i freaked out about them infesting his room

Here is my plan, would appreciate anyone's advice;

1. as many warm soaks for Ashton as we can manage
2. 3 "sprays" of frontline on gloved hands and then wiping over him in well ventilated area, not on his face or near his eyes. Note I have NOT bathed him after spraying as from what i understand for Frontline to "KEEP" working it needs to be absorbed. I dont want to over-dose him, but also want to actually help get rid of the mites, am i putting too much/not enough on?
3. Strip his enclosure - bye bye expensive substrate - wash inside with bleach and then spray with frontline, let dry in sun.
4. Keep him in a separate enclosure for a day or so until is main one is "de gassed" use newspaper as bedding for now

Will repeat frontline sprays monthly for next 3 months to kill any new mites from eggs as the frontline wont kill any eggs under his scales. No bedding for Ashton for a LOONG time!

Note; i'm in Australia so we don't have access to "reptile relief" here as i have read on other posts.

Thanks everyone1

[Andrea]

Hi!
I followed the steps I indicated in this post (using Frontline) and I was able to get rid of the mites!
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=33458
Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!
Andrea

[Ashtonthebluetongue]

Hi Andrea,

thank you for the advice. In the post you linked me to, someone uses Nix spray. Did you use this?

i'm interested to use it to kill any eggs in the environment. Do you know of any treatments that kill the eggs? While i cleaned his enclosure well, all it takes is one egg. Or do you just have to wait for them all to hatch and let the frontline do its job?

My issue is that i still have him in a temporary enclosure, have cleaned his main enclosure and also moved it outside on our patio to avoid infecting inside the house... but am reluctant to put him back in it.

The frontline is working well, I wiped him over with it and didnt rise off (there is a bit on confusion around this, some ppl do some ppl dont) and also used a q-tip around his ears/eyes and face, have seen a significant improvement. Dead mites all day. Will repeat every 3-7 days.

[Andrea]

I didn’t use Nix so I can’t say how it works unfortunately. I got rid of all the porous stuff and cleaned the non- porous decor and enclosure with water and Dawn (which in case you don’t have it there is dish soap).

I didn’t put him in a separate enclosure either because if any eggs hatch and the mites go to him, since he’s wearing the Frontline, it’ll kill them. Just make sure to quarantine the tank and the animal in a different room away from any other reptiles (if you do have more animals) and to wash hands and change clothes after being around him or his enclosure.
Dawn dish soap is supposed to kill the eggs when cleaning with it but you have to get in every crevice and every corner every time you clean the tank.

I didn’t wipe him off after applying Frontline either. Remember to soak him first in water, you can leave him in a bin with an inch of lukewarm water while you clean the enclosure (so he can get hydrated) and then dry him off and apply the Frontline. Wait until it dries and then put him in the enclosure. Do not offer water in his enclosure for the next 24h to avoid contamination of the water with the Frontline!

I did this every 7 days for 3 weeks and was free of mites.