Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone used the product Reptile Relief (by natural chemistry) to kill mites and such in the enclosure of an e.box turtle? does this product work well when used on substrate (bed-a-beast) and other natural decorations in the enclosure? anyone know for sure if it's safe for hatchlings? thanks in advance.

I have never heard of "Reptile Relief", so if anyone reads this and has some information on it, and treating mites, I'd appreciate that.

I think the best thing to do is clean the turtles environment thoroughly and let it dry out completely. There is a product called Provent a Mite that you can spray on to keep them away after you clean. I have never used this product so I don't know just how effective it is, but you could read the label and see if you can also use it on your boxies.

I would also rinse the box turtles off and let them dry good too. You mentioned that these are babies? You will want to use extra care for them. Read your labels, and if you have a good herp vet, call and ask about treatments. To find a good reptile vet, visit the www.arav.org web site.

Best wishes,

PHKiwi

>to kill mites and such in the enclosure of an e.box turtle?

What have you seen that you think are mites? Lots of little critters can happily co-habitate with turtles that are completely harmless, for instance, springtails. Tiny red mites are parasitic on plants but not vertebrates.

Can you describe or post a photo of the "mite" that concerns you? Are these mites seen solely on your turtles or are they out and about the habitat?

I actually wondered about this too. The "bugs" in question are indeed mostly seen on the substrate, etc. They don't seem to be living on/infesting the turtles, but i wasn't sure. They are very tiny insects that look somewhat spiderlike and move quickly.
-----
0.0.2 T.c.carolina

If you have alot of insects in the substrate, you may be best off just changing all of it out, thoroughly cleaning the enclosure with warm soapy water, and putting in fresh substrate.
While your doing this, you can isolate your turtle on some damp papertowels with a saucer of water to soak in, and take the opportunity to have a really good look at it to see if it has mites. If it does, you can remove alot of them by wiping them off.
Stephanie

I have some good info on springtails...in my other computer, of course. However, you may want to check out this "image/Google" search, one schematic and one photo of springtail,
images.google.com/images?q=g%20springtail&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=wi

(paste together if URL wraps poorly)

Bottom line, springtails are harmless.