Reptile & Amphibian Forums

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?

Here's my experience.....

I have NEVER had a problem with feeding wild caught lizards (live & frozen/thawed) to ANY of my snakes......NEVER.......Maybe it has something to do with husbandry....I dunno, but I've heard of folks "transmitting" parasites from lizards to snakes.....I haven't seen it happen in my couple of decades of working with those lizard eating Mexican & Montane kings......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Thank you for the reply! I would imagine that endoparasites, such as pinworms, etc., would be more of a concern with feeding reptiles to reptiles.

I have had no problems with mite transmission. When I catch wild lizards I first examine them with a 30 x handheld microscope for mites or ticks. Then I give them a bath in Reptile Relief. I also breed them, and have a colony of cb fencies which have never been exposed to any type of parasite.

The only time I have ever had a mite problem was when I rescued the little Cal king from the cat, and he had snake mites, but the Reptile Relief fixed that pronto. Some permethrin sprayed around his cage as well.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

Hey Bob,
Did you directly feed reptile-relief treated lizards to snakes? Or was it meant that you treated "pet" lizards?

I feed lizards that have been treated for parasites first. I don't feed them to the snakes right away after treatment, though.

I have pet wc lizards and pet cb lizards, which are not fed to the snakes. The wc ones do get treated for parasites. The cb ones never need treatment.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

The lizard mite will not feed off of a snake, and vice-versa. So I think ectoparasites are not a concern.

In my opinion, I would think it would be near impossible not to contract some kind of internal parasite from w.c. lizards. From what I understand they are loaded with them normally and will live inside a snake just as happily as in a lizard. You may just not be seeing any adverse affects. I'd like to hear some Veterinarians opinion. Mike Bodner
Mike Bodner's Thayeri

Endoparasites are a total concern, without a doubt. Ectoparasites were in question.
Thanks for the info!

Feeezing the lizard first should kill endoparasites. My pyros will eat ft lizards.

Next spring I expect to have a good supply of cb hatchling fencies from my colony, in preparation for the expected pyro hatch.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

Zach, sorry,I know I was off topic. I was just responding to some of the posts in this thread.....Mike

I work for an exotics vet, Jill patt here in mesa Arizona. I also am pretty communicative with Rich Funk who is a long time reptile dvm.

To answer your first question about ectoparasites. No it is generally not a concern bc mites are host specific. Even trumbiculids which are like chiggers and not host specific only feed on lizards, in their armpits usually.

And for endoparasites, FREEZE THE LIZARDS FIRST. If at all possible. Since we all have internet obviously I would point anyone reading this to read up on pentastomids, which are lung worms, not host specific, and not killed by feeding.they have in a couple rare cases been inhaled by an owner while cleaning g cages and stirring up dust and migrated into a human brain causing death. Obviously rare but possible. Pinworms are host specific but are NOT KILLED BY FEEDING. Panacur is a good means of treating pinworms if neccessary usually dosed at 50mg/kg every 24hours for 7 days then repeat two weeks later. The second is to cover the newly hatching babies. The second treatment varies depending on the prepatent period for the species of parasite and a recheck fecal exam is recommended . Now on another note, trichomonas and other bacteria are serious issues. Even just read Bob Applegates report on pyro and greeri and you will see that when he resorted to feeding wc lizards he found himself treating animals for those infections.

So, when feeding lizards. MOST will eat them frozen thawed in a paper bag left alone for a while. I've done it with longnose pyros and with one milksnake. A good book to look through is the most recent Mader. Reptiles and amphibians clinical pathology.

Thanks for the good info. Correct me if I'm wrong. Many times, live wc lizards are fed to baby snakes to get them going. Even though pinworms and such are species specific, if a bunch of pinworms hatch in a baby snake after being fed a lizard or even a live mouse with pinworms, roundworms etc, These parasites can overwhelm the babies body and kill it pretty quickly. Something else to think about. Mike Bodner

This is the main reason I raise cb fence lizards. My lizards are kept on clean topsoil and fed clean crickets I also raise, so as many avenues of endo infection are closed as possible. That way I can feed a live lizard to a baby snake safely. With wc lizards I freeze the lizard first.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

Yea, the way your doing it is good. Mike

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Love the baby picture!

I just abhor worms! Once a friend's little child who would eat anything he could put in his mouth got a case of roundworms from eating dog doo....discovery was disgusting...
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

That is correct. Even though all nematodes have a goal and in the case of pinworms its to feed and grow in the gi tract, there is a chance of parasites getting to the wrong host... Which is WAAAYY WORSE. When a parasite reaches the wrong host this can cause them to migrate. When the young migrate it can lead to visceral larval migrans, which means damage to the organs as the attempt to find where they are suppose to be since they are lost in the wrong host.

A prime example of this is toxiscaris leonina. A dog and cat roundworm that IS a gi tract parasite, yet when they infect children, can get into their eyes and make them go blind and very sick.

Thanks!