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 #1568138


Tokay Dad
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 My BTS has mites!!!

My BTS now has mites! I have had him for over a year as well as my many other reptiles. Nothing NEW has been introduced into the house.
My questions are as follows:
Why do these show up now?
What is the best method of getting rid of them?



01/04/08  04:27pm

 #1624883


Monkey123
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   Message To: Tokay Dad   In reference to Message Id: 1568138


 My BTS has mites!!!

i can’t tell how he got them?? but one thing you can do is go to your nearest pet store or vet and ask if they have any cure for that or see if they can cure it.



02/15/08  02:21pm

 #1625435


Inferno14
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   Message To: Monkey123   In reference to Message Id: 1624883


 My BTS has mites!!!

did you recently change his substrate? sometimes the substrates (dirt, mulch, aspen, etc) can carry harmful pests like mites inside them, especially if they were at an unclean petstore (Petco, for example) aslo, do you have maybe cats that go outside and then sit atop of the tank? they can pick up harmful insects on their fur, sit atop the tanks, and then if you have a screen covertop they can get through. it’s real nasty.
one thing you could do is maybe give your skink a nice long soak in luke-warm water, which probably won’t get rid of all the mites, but it will condition it’s skin, because after a while the scales begin to get a wrinkled appearance and you can only imagine how itchy it could be! a vet visit would be strongly suggested. i took mine for mites and they prescribed an anitibiotic that you put into the water and soak the lizards in it. the dose and the length of time it takes each day depends on how bad the mite investation is.

you should get some type of mite spray that is both safe for the animal and that will efficiently kill off the mites (you can purchase these types of sprays at almost any local petshop) and the next step would be to take all the substrate out along with all the accesories (rocks, hides, plants, etc). for the substrate, if you have soil of some kind, you should bake it in an oven, but i don’t remember the exact time and temp to bake it at, although i’m sure somebody else on here will! ;]) this will kill off the remaining pests that could be living within it. as for the accesories, give them a thorough cleaning, and i would recomend using a brand-name mite cleaner or terrarium and accesorie clenser. make sure the inside of the tank is cleaned, also. for this job you could use anything from a brand-name reptile terrarium cleaner, "salt" water, up to even vinager mixed with water! hey, it works! doesn’t smell pretty, but it works! just make sure you rinse with water afterward! :)

hope this helps,
inferno
02/15/08  09:39pm

 #1643915


Blix
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   Message To: Tokay Dad   In reference to Message Id: 1568138


 My BTS has mites!!!

Home Remedy for Reptile Mites:

Place a small strip (1-2 inches long) of fly paper in a small Tupperware container with small holes poked in the lid. Suspend Tupperware bowl inside enclosure for three days. Repeat ten days later. If mites are still present, repeat cycle. If mites are still in enclosure, you’ll have to buy a mite killer at the pet store or vet. Mites live primarily in the cracks and crevices of the reptile enclosure and not on the reptile itself. They come out at night to feed on the host reptile. It will be necessary to treat every reptile enclosure you have as mites reproduce an spread very quickly. Don’t buy ZooMed Mite Off. Didn’t work at all for me. GL.
03/01/08  06:11pm

 #1665736


Timmyd
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   Message To: Tokay Dad   In reference to Message Id: 1568138


 My BTS has mites!!!

ok, mites suck, but are easy to get rid of. 8 steps

1st. isolate the animal, like in a 10 gallon for a few days, using paper towels for bedding, no hides or nothing, treat the animal with mite spray, and then the day after that, change the paper towels each day

2nd. take all hides, bowles, ect........anything in the tank, should be put in to a trash bag, treated with mite spray, sealed tight, and set out side for 2 days

3rd. dump out all bedding, take cage out side, scrub it and the cage lid with 10% bleach water, rise good
then treat it with mite spray, and leave it out side for a day or so

4th. treat the area around the cage, couch, chairs, carpet etc.

5th wash out the cage with anti-bactral soap, then wash the cage accessories with the 10% bleach water, then with the anti- soap

6th. buy new bedding, and set back up the cage

7th. treat the animal 1 last time, and about 1 hour later rise off the animal, let him soak for a bit, the realse back in to the cage

8th. make sure to treat the 10 gallon tank the same after this is all done




03/18/08  01:01pm

 #1667659


Ariana!
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   Message To: Timmyd   In reference to Message Id: 1665736


 My BTS has mites!!!

Quote:

an unclean petstore (Petco, for example)

Petco isn’t that bad!!!! At least the one by my house isn’t. Maybe yours is, but not all Petcos are bad!!!!!!!!
-Ari <3
03/19/08  05:49pm


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