Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live out in the boonies, so catching lizards is no problem. So when and if I catch them I freeze them for 3 weeks to make sure mites, if any are dead (had an old timer tell me this). What do you think, true or false?

2.3 Black kings
3.0 Hypo flame Brooksi
0.1 Desert king
1.1 Eastern kings, NC
1.0 Thayeri, buckskin
1.1 Speckled kings, Louisiana
1.1 Grey banded, W Lantry
1.0 Cal king desert, striped
0.2 Cal king desert, banded
0.2 Cal king coastal, banded
0.2 sonoran bullsnake, abberent

You mite be right about that
Makes me wonder how wild snakes deal with the mite problem, maybe they have freezers down in those dens

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..Doug
~ø¿ô~

A lot of wild snakes will have mites.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com
^ Updated 7/15

Not so sure about that. I have never seen a wild snake with mites. I have seen the pet store chains with 150.00 cal kings loaded with them
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..Doug
~ø¿ô~

I have found wild snakes with mites. It is not common though.
I've never found the red mites common on fence lizards on snakes, but I have found black mites that look the same as black mites I sometimes find on lizards.

I've also found little black ticks on snakes in the wild.
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.2 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 L. getula floridana (Brooksi)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

It would probably kill any ectoparasites like mites but I'm uncertain just how long you'd need to freeze to ensure all endos are gone..
Others will know I am sure.
That said, I also beieve snake mites to be specific to snakes, right?
Lots of lizards and snakes may have mites but I think you're o.k. with your regimen. Check them over regularly.
I still use anoles from time to time with some of my snakes. I've had no problems.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

Snakes do get mites from wild caught lizards. And the reason why snakes can deal with mites in the wild is because they lose all their mites once they shed. After they shed they move off to an other area. In captivity the mites are on the snake and a few are in the cage, that's why snakes have problems in captivity, because they can't get away from the mites even if they shed. In captivity the whole mite problem has to do with the snake being confined to one spot.

They do not lose all their mites when they shed.
At least I don't think so.

Alligator lizards shed the same way snakes do - a complete shed.
This year I collected a wild alligator with mites and ticks - and he shed the day I collected him while I was manually removing them. The mites and ticks get between the shed and the skin, chewing right through it before it comes off.

I suspect in the wild that both lizards and snakes combat mites by altering their environment. There is a type of mite called the hypoasis mite (I think that's it) that feeds on mites - the hypoasis mite lives in soil of a particular temperature and humidity - it would not surprise me if wild reptiles with mites sometimes seek out those conditions to allow the mite eating mites to take care of the problem. They do not have that option in captivity which is why mite populations explode on captive herps if not taken care of.
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.2 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 L. getula floridana (Brooksi)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Sorry, don't mean to sound like a know it all. I'm going by what I've read and what makes sense to me. In captivity shedding never gets rid of the mites because there's always some crawling around in the substrate that later come back into contact with the snake.