I have recently been reading up on reptile parasites and have become quite interested in herp mites. I have come across some articles that state that mites are generally host specific, and in general, Ophionyssus natricis is the "snake mite", while Hirstiella trombidiformes is the "lizard mite".
I would imagine that these mites are indeed host specific, or would like to believe so. Does anyone have any input on this? What about keepers that feed wild caught lizards (for example, Scelop. or Uta) to lizard-eating snakes (I've been looking into some North American milksnakes that are said to be notorious lizard eaters, much like certain zonata ssp and pyros)? Is there a risk that a potential meal may transmit ecto-parasites (of course endoparasites are a whole other thing)? Or is it due to the nature of the mite to be host specific that this is a minor concern? Do people prepare feeder lizards in a certain way, such as freezing and thawing prior to feeding, or just toss them in?

[ Show Entire Thread ]