Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

emz · I'm new here... Joined: 24 May 2006 Posts: 13

i am so upset i have just found what appear to be mites congregating in my leo's water bowl. Evil or Very Mad

after reading up on them though I'm not entirely sure that they are mites they are reddish-brown but more elongated rather than round, and a length of roughly 2mm.

i would really appreciate if anyone could help me out with this by telling me if these are in fact mites and what my best plan of action is as i want to get it sorted as soon as i can I'm really fretting!!!

thanks all

emz · I'm new here... Joined: 24 May 2006 Posts: 13

i am disinfecting the viv and furnishings tomorrow as i don't think there are any on the body of the gecko is it possible that they are only infesting the wood (i have two branches and wood chip substrate)?
but if this is the case i have no idea how they have come to be in the viv as i have not put anything new into for 6 months.
could they have somehow been introduced with the new crickets i have been feeding?

Kate · Contributing Member Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 100

I've no idea where they come from either as I have found them in a leo tub before now where they have plastic decor and newspaper as a substrate (quarantine quarters!!).

They sound very much as if they're the same type of mite as they are found to congregate in moister areas and feed on detritus in the tub - not the gecko - so don't panic!

I've still not had anyone shed any light on which species they may be, which I'd be very interested in!!

emz · I'm new here... Joined: 24 May 2006 Posts: 13

thanks for the reassurance i have been worrying all day! i think I'll switch to kitchen roll from now on as i have this in with my Tokay with some moss and she seems happy enough. also do you think putting the branches in the oven at 200 degrees for around 15 minutes will be sufficient?
I'm now wondering if i should disinfect the Tokay's viv as well as they're next to each other... does anyone think this would be necessary?

GJ · Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:56 pm Post subject:

The only time i ever got mites was when i used reptile bark.

Not sure if this is the favored method anymore but i used small pieces of vaponour fly strips in a perforated container. Of course that was quite a few years ago and i haven't had any problems since i stopped using the bark.

Disinfect the whole enclosure and its furnishings and then treat it for mites. There are a few different mite sprays available now on the market.