# Help! Might have mites?!



## Zaknaril (Mar 21, 2013)

I came home from work today and Soryn came over and I noticed this tiny white-ish creepy thing skitter across her side, I've only seen one on her. Is this a Mite and how on earth did it get into her enclosure?! Do they come in on bedding? She's on a mix of ReptileBark(Fir bark) and Forest Floor (Cypress mulch) with some shredded sphagnum moss for added help holding in humidity. I've never had to deal with this problem with my other reptiles (beardies/Crested Geckos). She does have a general exam Vet visit scheduled the 28th and I plan on asking the vet, but if this is a mite how do i get rid of them before they spread throughout my house to my other reptiles? Please Help..


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## Tannaros (Mar 21, 2013)

Zaknaril said:


> I came home from work today and Soryn came over and I noticed this tiny white-ish creepy thing skitter across her side, I've only seen one on her. Is this a Mite and how on earth did it get into her enclosure?! Do they come in on bedding? She's on a mix of ReptileBark(Fir bark) and Forest Floor (Cypress mulch) with some shredded sphagnum moss for added help holding in humidity. I've never had to deal with this problem with my other reptiles (beardies/Crested Geckos). She does have a general exam Vet visit scheduled the 28th and I plan on asking the vet, but if this is a mite how do i get rid of them before they spread throughout my house to my other reptiles? Please Help..




White? That sounds like a wood mite, not the parasitic type you might be thinking of. Usually you get them when you purchase wood of some type.

Usually when you have a mite infestation you can see them nesting _under_ your reptiles scales, and concentrated around places of easy access to blood vessels - such as the eyes.

I can't actually judge what 'mite' be going on (sorry I had to) but I'd put a guess in that you don't actually have the parasitic mites.

Go ahead and poke around in Soryn's enclosure - see if they're not highly focused in the decomposing wood opposed to on her body.


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## Zaknaril (Mar 21, 2013)

I'll go do that, if they are little wood mites whats the best way to get rid of them? Remove all bedding scrub and add new bedding?


I hunted her enclosure, and couldn't find any other's we did recently put a piece of Duluth Drift Wood in to her tank, along with her new bedding, i also managed to not thoroughly piss her off and look her over and i can't find any on her. Checked her ears, under her legs, tummy, around her vent, nose and mouth. She's now happily eating her Turkey mix. I'm going to keep hunting around her enclosure and clean out the bedding tomorrow. It's too late for pet stores around me to be open right now.. So I can't get her new stuff tonight.


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## Tannaros (Mar 21, 2013)

Zaknaril said:


> I hunted her enclosure, and couldn't find any other's we did recently put a piece of Duluth Drift Wood in to her tank, along with her new bedding, i also managed to not thoroughly piss her off and look her over and i can't find any on her. Checked her ears, under her legs, tummy, around her vent, nose and mouth. She's now happily eating her Turkey mix. I'm going to keep hunting around her enclosure and clean out the bedding tomorrow. It's too late for pet stores around me to be open right now.. So I can't get her new stuff tonight.



Well, if you only saw one and can't see any others moving around over the wood, or near the water bowl or any fecal matter then you might not even have mites. It could've been a spiderling or something similar.

Either way, if you're worried about mites there are a few options you have. You could go with the chemical route - many people I know like to use Provent-a-Mite or Black Knight. I've also seen people use pest strips. You could also go with the biological alternative - Hypoaspis, a predatory mite. There's also the option of using CO2 or something similar to suffocate mites and potential larvae, though I'm uncertain on the effectiveness through substrate.


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