Index

Mite Problems! (written 12/9/00, updated 5/4/04)

5/4/04 - After trying different mite eratication methods from predatory mites to products specifically designed to kill mites, I found this combination of products worked very well and was safe to use when used as directed.

I used a product called Provent-A-Mite to kill the mites in the room, and in and around cages, anywhere the mites might try to hide. I removed the lizards and feeder insects (for the geckos) from the room and sprayed cracks and crevices as well as drew boundaries and borders with the spray.
The product could be used sparingly because the way it works. Any insect that crosses where the product had been sprayed would die - so by just spraying a circle around a cage, any mites trying to leave the cage or enter the cage would die as soon as it touched the sprayed barrier. The spray was water-proof and would last up to 30 days as long as the barrier wasn't scrubbed away (i.e.- during cleaning). This was also useful in corners of cages and if a cage was untreated (unpainted or not sealed or caulked).

Now that the cage and surrounding areas have been treated so the mites cannot enter or escape, I then used Reptile Relief on the iguanas. Treatment using this product could be repeated as often as every three days. I would squirt some Reptile Relief into a cap and use a cotton swab to dab on any mites I would find during the three days between complete treatments. The cotton swabs were also very handy in applying the Reptile Relief on the iguanas' heads (I was also dealing with the mites on bearded dragons, but to a lesser degree. The mites never bothered any of my geckos or anoles.) as well as working it in around in problem areas (between toes, folds of skin around the neck, under scales in areas where the mites were heavier, etc.)

My iguanas' mite problem lasted around 3 years. I was able to keep it from getting out of hand with just the Provent-A-Mite and soaks, but I was dealing with quite a few lizards and unsealed cages. Reptile Relief enabled me to kill the mites on the reptiles as well. In my situation, I don't think Reptile Relief would have worked well by itself either. Using the combination of these two products rid my iguanas of mites within a month. I recommend this treatment for anyone dealing with mites.

Big Apple Herpetology carries both Provent-A-Mite & Reptile Relief

 

I got a call from my vet regarding someone who needed to find a home for their iguana. I called this person and he brought the iguana over. I took her in as a "foster iguana parent" until I was able to find her a permanent home. This took place in August of 2000 - the iguana was Hemme (which I still have). This unfortunately is going to take longer than planned because a week after I had her, I discovered she had a pretty good infestation of mites. They were so tiny that I had missed them. I just happened to notice one walking along her back one evening while I was cleaning cages. I think the reason I missed them in the first place was they were never in the areas I knew mites generally seem to be on lizards. These mites were not in the folds of skin, around the eyes, or in her arm pits or creases around her legs and vent. They were hiding under her scales on her toes, legs, back, belly and especially around the spikes down her back and tail.

I soaked her for a long time in the tub as advised by my friend, a vet tech, soon to be exotic veterinarian. He said a good soak would drown a good deal of them and the ones that could make it to the surface I could kill off (I carefully used rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab).

I took many pictures of her before soaking her. I did what I could, but I wasn't able to completely wipe out the mites mainly because I didn't want to use pesticides such as "No Pest Strips" and I had too many lizards to soak everyday, wooden cages and carpet. Although I kept the mites in check for awhile, it was almost impossible to stop the inevitable from happening and now it's to where all the iguanas have them.

I got online and did some searching and found a few stories of people on Kingsnake.com who used predatory mites successfully in ridding their snakes of mites. The one person had a url for the place in which he ordered the mites, so I checked it out. I found what I was looking for and called to find out more. The predatory mites I ended up ordering are called Hypoaspis sp. and I asked if they would be a problem for the feeder insects I keep to feed my anoles and geckos and they said that they weren't. These mites are rather specific in what they control and my crickets and worms are safe from them. They will not harm the lizards and once they eat all the mites and their eggs (or freshly hatched), they will run out of a food source and eventually just die off. This company will send a 1/2 liter of these mites in various stages of development which will take care of the mite problem on my lizards. I was also told that they should live just fine for up to three weeks in the vermiculite they come delivered in. I will post again after I get the predatory mites and have given them a chance to work.

Here is the company in which I ordered - Biocontrol Network. The predatory mites I ordered are Hypoaspis sp.

Here's pics of mites on my iguanas... The first threee pictures are from the rescued iguana, Hemme. The next five pictures are of mites on Igor. My predatory mites are supposed to be shipped out to me tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have something to report back here in a week or so.

1/5/01- I haven't called back the place where I ordered the mites to ask more about their limits, but I think my lizard room was too warm and humid for them. I released them and never saw them again, just more of the mites that were feeding on my lizards.

So what I did was order a lot of Betadine from a place online that had very good prices (BuyMed.com, Betadine Solution). I ordered 7 bottles so I could water it down to look like weak tea and give the lizards soaks and clean their cages and such. This seems to be working well. I also removed all the loose wood articles from their cages and put them outside in the cold. I'm planning on soaking them in Betadine before returning them to the cages, but am also planning on leaving the wood outside for awhile. I washed all their pillows and towels and will keep them out of the room for a few weeks until I haven't seen mites for about a week. I soaked all the lizards and am going to repeat the process everyday for 3-4 days, then I'll be doing that again about 9 days later (that's what I heard the life cycle is for the mites). I only saw one mite today which is promising. Note: For those of you that have a mite problem and want to try the Betadine soaks... Give your iguana a chance to drink the fresh water in the tub FIRST, then add the Betadine. You really don't want them drinking the Betadine. Keep it out of their eyes. Use a cotton swab for areas on the head. And remember to use the Betadine Solution watered down so it looks like weak tea. The Betadine is for preventing infections from the mite bites.

This latest attempt seems to have really done the trick. After talking to some of my herp friends, I decided to order a product called "Provent-A-Mite" . Provent-A-Mite is a non-water soluable spray, that lasts up to 30 days, and when used as directed, will not harm reptiles. It's been tested for over 8 years. I called and talked to a guy there at Pro-Products and asked about side effects in iguanas. He said it was tested with iguanas in Florida and the only side effect was that they ate more after the product was used (I figured they felt better after the mites were gone). I had a whole room to do (places here and there and furnishings that I had removed, but wanted to get back in there as soon as I could, such as the igs' pillows and logs), so I ordered 3 cans.

2/3/01- I soaked each of the igs, spiny tail igs, and bearded dragons, in shoulder level water for at least 30 minutes each. They were watched at all times to make sure they didn't drown (My 5 year old was a great help with that). After each lizard finished its soaking, I would dry them off and bag them in a pillow case and move them to a mite free room. In addition to soaking and moving the igs, spinys, and beardies, I also removed all the geckos, my knight anole, (anoles are downstairs), my prehensile tailed skink, every water bowl in the room (would have removed their food too if there was any to remove), all feeder insects, and as many spiders as I could catch that were in the room before spraying. After I got the room cleared out of all reptiles and insects, I put on a pair of gloves and a respirator and sprayed the cages, areas around cages and areas I wanted to create a barrier. As I said, the spray is non-water soluable and lasts for 30 days... if an insect were to walk where I sprayed within the 30 days, it would die. Okay, so after I sprayed, I gave it some time to dry. It's safe for the reptiles once it's dry. It dries in about 10-15 minutes, but the safest way to know it's dry is if you don't smell it anymore. I think I waited close to an hour before putting everyone and everything back into the room. The igs were certainly pleased to get their pillows back.

2/10/01- I saw two mites on Helmut's head, so I'm soaking him again. Other than that, I haven't seen a single living mite in the room since before I sprayed. These are probably ones that hatched since the spraying and that haven't touched an area I sprayed. This product has been very effective and safe. I feel comfortable recommending it.

3/21/01- I have not seen a mite now in about a month. I have put the rabbit pellets back into the iguanas cages as well as sprayed all their pillows and logs and such with Provent-A-Mite before replacing and it seemed to kill off any other mites that might have been left. I am confident enough to say my lizards are mite free now. I'll be adding pictures of some of the dermal scarring on some of my iguanas from the mites. Those mites can be quite damaging and can carry disease as well.

6/21/03 - I had the mite problem make a resurgence around the beginning of the year. This is still from the initial mite infestation from just one iguana, Hemme, brought in in August 2000. The mite problem seemed to be gone, with the exception of finding one here and there, but their population started making a comeback little by little, and without being able to actually spray the iguanas, it was very difficult to comepletely irradicate them. I mentioned it to a friend of mine (has a large reptile collection) who said she bought a product at one of the reptile shows. The product is called "Reptile Relief". This product is safe to use directly on the reptile (not for amphibians whatsoever!) and kills mites on contact. I have found that using Reptile Relief in conjunction with Provent-A-Mite works most effectively. Big Apple Herp carries Reptile Relief.