Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, well as you may have read, i bought a pair of spiny leaf tail geckos a lil over a week ago. i checked em over when i got them, but i must have overlooked. last night something caught my eye, a tiny red dot on my female. as i inspected closer she had a few on her. of course, i called the vet and scheduled an appointment asap, but that doesnt come till thursday. this is my first time with this problem, so im wondering what you guys would suggest doing in the meantime? i dont think i should try to pick them off myself, theyre so tiny and i wouldnt wanna have one of these mites make my lizard sick if i tried to pick it off. whats a good way to treat for this? where do these tiny mites come from, cuz i used the same materials i always use in setups and have never had a problem with mites before.

try and spray her of get a wet paper towel and the substrate might be to wet and lured them there thats the only advice i can give until you take it to the vet hope i've helped

a guy at the pet store sold me a can of stuff called provent-a-mite, supposedly you spray down the cage after taking out the lizards and water dish, let it dry, then put everything back in and the mites will just die, works for 30 days and only takes a little spray, best thing is you dont have to remodel the enclosure. still taking her in to be sure though.

try a thin coating of vegtable oil , but try not to get it in the mouth and eyes. then disenfet the entire cage. hope it helps.

I would not use the provent a mite , just yet, thats pretty powerful.

The oil is good for the red guys, I have used it on wc collareds alot.

Thankfully the red guys are not as bad as those tiny pepper colored snake mites.

Anyway the oil is safe, and smothers them. They will evenually fall off or can be taken off, with a q- tip is ya want.

Hope they get rid of those lil nasty buggies!
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Eve

im thinkin about trying this...but only after the trip to the vet. any idea how long it would take after applying it for the mites to fall off?

usually a couple days! Its quick they die!
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Eve

never seen the red ones before. I have had a buddy that had the little black pepper mites. They will infest everything. Get rid of all removeable substrate that cannot be baked or bleached. Clean and wash the tank in a 10% bleach to water. Keep an eye on the other tanks. A good soaking in warm water or veg oil will usually work. Black Knight is better than provent a mite in my oppinion if you can find it. Goood luck mites can be a pain. Geckos not having scales make it easier by a bunch at least.
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"Why is it we treat the earth as if we have a spare in the trunk"