Mites, Help :(

[jellybaby90]

So my last beardy Jaffa suffered from mites, unfortunately she was put down due to impaction.. So before getting another I completely cleaned the tank, everything was steamed at 300c, disinfected, boiled, you name it!

Now on Gizmo I've just noticed 2 bites on him, the typical little blood scabs, I dont understand where they're coming from

Can anyone tell me how I can get rid for good, I've heard you can use frontline on beardies? If so what one do I get, how much do I use, or is there something else I can use?

I'm from the UK and I've never seen anything aimed particularly at beardies

Someone heeelp

 

[vampy]

So my last beardy Jaffa suffered from mites, unfortunately she was put down due to impaction.. So before getting another I completely cleaned the tank, everything was steamed at 300c, disinfected, boiled, you name it!

Now on Gizmo I've just noticed 2 bites on him, the typical little blood scabs, I dont understand where they're coming from

Can anyone tell me how I can get rid for good, I've heard you can use frontline on beardies? If so what one do I get, how much do I use, or is there something else I can use?

I'm from the UK and I've never seen anything aimed particularly at beardies

Someone heeelp

Are you sure the bites are from mites and you didn't accidentally leave any crickets in there overnight?

If there were mites I'd imagine you'd be able to see them in the viv, they like to hide in dark places and teeny nooks and crannies and come out at night, sometimes they just look like teeny grey spots, but they get red when they have eaten and if you squish them they leave a nasty blood trail. I've never dealt with mites on beardies, but when my chickens had them I covered all the hiding places in their coop with diatomaceous earth. This got rid of all the mites within a few days, and I leave a bit of the DE around all the cracks the whole time now and they've never come back. It's a very fine powder that scratches the carapaces of insects and kills them. I wouldn't want to use it in an enclosure with the beardie in as it can be pretty bad for your lungs if breathed in, and I'd worry that he might eat it, but if I were you I'd remove any wood from the enclosure and look carefully for mites, and if I saw them I'd take him out and put him in a temporary home for a couple of days and cover the viv in DE until there was no more evidence of them.

I'm sorry I can't be any help about frontline/other topical stuff you can use to kill them that is safe for beardies, but hopefully someone who knows will be along to help shortly.

 

[jellybaby90]

I don't feed him inside the viv so it can't be crickets, and the vet diagnosed Jaffa with mites so I'm guessing its the same, I just don't get where they're coming from

Thankyou though

 

[vampy]

They are SO teeny they can hide in any little space, I think they are about the same width as a human hair, so if you can get a hair between the wood sides of the viv, or under parts of the runners, or anywhere else, then they could have been hiding in there too

If he was diagnosed by a vet, can you call the vet and say your new beardie has the same problem and ask if he can prescribe something to deal with them without you having to take him in, or recommend something OTC you can get? That'll save you stressing him out with travelling and save you the consultation fee.

 

[jellybaby90]

Why didn't I think of that? lol. Thankyou!
Thats the thing, everything in the tank is silliconed in, the only thing i can think of is the wood in which I put the fake plants in to make them stand up?

 

[vampy]

They certainly like to hide in cracks in wood, or it could be in the fake plants, or if the tank isn't totally made of glass the wood normally has these little rectangular plastic bits where the wood is attached together, they could have hidden under/around those...or behind the cables for the light fittings. They are SO teeny they really can hide anywhere.

I'd take out the fake plants and any wood and put them in sealed plastic bags to deal with later (or shake them up in bags with diatomaceous earth if you happen to have some around, unlikely though), take out any other rough cage furniture and just give him the bare bones of a basking spot and use a saucer or something for a food bowl, maybe an old tissue box for a hide if he likes to stay in the cool end...minimise places for them to hide as much as possible.

 

[jellybaby90]

plan batman! thanks so much

 

[sweetiepie9]

moving to ER