Posted by:
joeysgreen
at Tue Jul 10 10:35:03 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by joeysgreen ]
It does take a while for any infestation to become really bad. Especially for some 250 animals. I'd estimate this has been going on for some time (several lifecycles of the parasite anyhow- I think one cycle being 22 days; temp. dependent) This whole process takes much longer with happy healthy animals. Considering your facility sounds pretty professional, I don't think husbandry is much of a problem. Still, do a few checks. Is your herp room too dry? Low humidity = hypohydration = subpar but normal looking health = slower immune system. Thus, perhaps a possible explaination of the "fast" overtaking of the snake mite. Still though, several generations would be needed, otherwise with all those mites on a few rodents, you would have noticed it.
While I'm pretty sure frozen food will have killed any mite life stage, I don't know this as fact. Take some mites, put them in your freezer and see if they revive after a few days. You can also ask your supplier. Let them know your not accusing them, but just exploring some possibilites. Does your supplier keep snakes? Have they ever had a mite problem?
The link to infected snakes being rat feeders might be a simple as stat's (you have more rat feeders), sharing of tongs and food among similiar snakes, cage position ect.
If I had to critique your setup/system from the small description I've seen, it would be that you have an excellent facility, a good quarantine, but you might be lacking on observation. This can be a daunting task with so many animals, and missing a subclinically infested snake can be a simple mistake. Obviously something was missed; I can't really pinpoint it for you. Additionally the fact that such a massive infestation (you mentioned the snakes were heavily infested) wasn't found until this extent was reached, seems to be a breach in routine examinations. I know even with my own smaller collection, if time is limited, I feed, water, and do a quick look on the animal but that's it. If this happens too often, then of course something like the build up of mites can be missed. So perhaps my best suggestion is to re-evaluate your workload and perhaps find a helper.
I hope this helps, if you have any additional questions, feel free to ask. Perhaps also add a few pic's  , it sounds like you have an impressive collection!
Ian
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RE: Mites and freezing - joeysgreen, Tue Jul 10 10:35:03 2007