# Bearded dragon mites, help needed please



## cheekyfastcat (Feb 11, 2010)

Hi all, while watching my bearded dragon earlier I noticed a very small black mite on his head, on closer inspection he had a small clump of them in the corner of his mouth, cant see any others anywhere, I have obviously removed and killed all I can find but get the feeling this is not the last I have seen of them.
I have never had to deal with mites before. I plan to remove all sand and replace with kitchen roll, and wash and disinfect viv and viv furniture, my question is, whats the best thing to use to get rid of these little beasts? I also have green anoles and american green tree frog in same room. Also where have they come from? can they come in on the hoppers and crickes from the pet shop? any help much appreciated.


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## reptilelover96 (Feb 17, 2010)

hi well buy a really good mite spray i use ardap mine last 6 weeks and when my beardie got them i sprayed the whole tank i got any objects in the viv and frozen them for 48 hours i also bathed him in luke warm water (not hot) with a small dose of washin up liquid, the mites got into my beardies top eye lid wich i removed and like under her legs try checking all over your beardie near the ears and near the vent area, hope this helps,
sophie x


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## cheekyfastcat (Feb 11, 2010)

have checked him over again can not see any on his eyelids, vent, armpits or any where else it was just mouth corners, hopefully will catch this early, he hates baths but will give him one as you have said, do you get the ardap from pet stores? thanks for your reply


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## ralphsvivariums (Dec 15, 2009)

i had this happen 2 weeks ago and try getting a cotton bud and rolling the eye lids shut to see if there are any in the creases. i ended up getting rid of there viv as it had i sand back ground and i didn't want to risk them hiding any where, i bathed the beardies for an hour cleaned all the branches and rocks in a water and bleach solution after there bath they went back into a clean viv a could of days later i found a couple more on one lizard so im guessing they may have laid eggs so i done it all again and sprayed there viv with a mite spray, so far there have been no signs of more mites.
I was told from rob at scales and fangs that the mites come from wild birds and i also here they can be found in the live food but its not that common.
Good luck getting rid of the little mites they are a pain in the behind.


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## cheekyfastcat (Feb 11, 2010)

ralphsvivariums said:


> i had this happen 2 weeks ago and try getting a cotton bud and rolling the eye lids shut to see if there are any in the creases. i ended up getting rid of there viv as it had i sand back ground and i didn't want to risk them hiding any where, i bathed the beardies for an hour cleaned all the branches and rocks in a water and bleach solution after there bath they went back into a clean viv a could of days later i found a couple more on one lizard so im guessing they may have laid eggs so i done it all again and sprayed there viv with a mite spray, so far there have been no signs of more mites.
> I was told from rob at scales and fangs that the mites come from wild birds and i also here they can be found in the live food but its not that common.
> Good luck getting rid of the little mites they are a pain in the behind.


Hi, what mite spray did you use? I'm really confused where they have come in from, I might throw all crickets and hoppers away just in case it is from them.


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## cheekyfastcat (Feb 11, 2010)

oh my god, I have roled his eye lids down with a cotton bud and there where a couple there, is it worth taking him to the vets to get a treatment although I have been told before that the treatments from vets do not work, I am desperate to get on top of this really fast my poor little chap.


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## Woodsman (Aug 12, 2008)

The best and safest mite treatment today is Callingtons.Unlike Frontline/Ardap etc. it's specifically for reptiles.
Since it's recent introduction into UK it's become the treatment of choice for many of our top breeders.Many of who spray it directly onto the animal,as they do in it's country of origin(Australia).
Available from Eurorep or other online retailers.


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## Mysterious_121 (Feb 18, 2010)

i have personally found mites have come in on Livefood and substrate (orchid bark specifically) in my time of keeping there is less occurances than years ago but it does happen from time to time. 

A good way to avoid spread is not to share food or water bowls. seperate each tank so there is an actual gap between them (mites can go vent to vent on linked tanks). use an alcoholic hand rub between touching animals and keep handling right down as they do not affect ppl but to travel via ppl

I take everything out the tanks and use Ardrap, once thats dried F10 and rinse well out. i use kitchen roll as a substrate as i have heard that mites use the substrate to reproduce and reinfect. i also disinfect a plant for them to use while treating but everything else gets chucked out. I bathe the animal every other day carefully removing mites that i may see.

This is just how i do it im sure there are easier ways but i have found this has the highest sucsess rate


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## kingoftherodeo (Sep 28, 2008)

I have the same problem with my beardie. He got them when he went to the reptile boarding whilst we were on holiday - he won't be going there again!

Warm water is working but we've noticed some in his ear - how on earth do you get them out?? They're the ones i'm most concerned about.


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## ralphsvivariums (Dec 15, 2009)

i got them out with a wet ear bud (cotton bud) but be careful.







kingoftherodeo said:


> I have the same problem with my beardie. He got them when he went to the reptile boarding whilst we were on holiday - he won't be going there again!
> 
> Warm water is working but we've noticed some in his ear - how on earth do you get them out?? They're the ones i'm most concerned about.


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## kingoftherodeo (Sep 28, 2008)

Oooh er, not sure he'll let me do that, it's quite a tight space for an ear bud?


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## Jon Swan (Feb 4, 2010)

I had the same problem last year. My beardie went for holiday boarding and came back with mites. The eye lid was a fave place for them to hide.

I bathed the beardie in a luke warm bath with some Zoomed Mite-off spray diluted in it (although this can be sprayed directly on the animal as well).

I then chucked any substrate, wood or rocks that I had in the viv in the bin -too many hiding places even if you do bleach them etc... Any plastic bowls went in the dish washer on the hottest setting (don't put them back in until you're 100% sure the mites are gone for good).

I then bought a large bottle of specialist viv cleaner from my local rep shop (not sure what's in it to be honest - it wasn't expensive) and I sprayed the entire inside and outside of the viv - the vents, runners, glass, lights, fittings and heat mat.

I then put kitchen roll down as substrate and used a large cereal box as a hide/basking spot (all easy to replace if the mites come back after the first round of treatment).

I then sprayed the beardie in the Mite-off spray and popped him back in the viv.

Then keep a check on things. You might have to do it twice to break the egg cycle. If you do find more then: bathe, clean viv, new kitchen roll, spray beardie, keep an eye out.

Repeat as many times as need.


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## Warmachine (Jun 28, 2010)

I had a really bad infestation of mites on my beardies not long ago and I will quickly run through the treatments that worked best for me

1.) treat the environment, wrap any wooden decor in tin foil and bake at 350 degrees in the oven for half an hour and if it wont fit in boil it in water 90% water and 1 cap of bleach, let it soak for a couple of hours then leave it to stand then wash it off.

reapeat the above for any decorations e.g. plants, rocks etc boil for a couple of hours.

then take anything and everything out of the viv and use a reptile safe disinfectant to clear EVERY corner of the viv because mites like to hide in the hardest to reach places, if you cant get the disinfectant again use 90% water 1 cap of bleach and clean it that way but be sure to air it out for couple of hours if you use the bleach. 

Make sure to take any substrate out and bin it and just use kitchen roll till the problem is solved and keep decor to a very minimum .

2.) treatments:

what i initially tried was getting a sandwhich tub filling it with extra virgin olive oil and putting your beardie in it up to his shoulders and then use a spoon to cover him in it entirley and just keep spooning it on every so often it is totally safe for him (he wont enjoy it but should endure it_ and this will suffocate the mites.This method got rid of 75% of the mites after this method just get a pair of tweezers and gently pick at the mites to see if they come off if you have left them in long enough and made sure the mites are smothered they should.

Callington mite spray this worked really really well at ridding the enclosure of any mites i missed and the other mites on him just spray the enclosure let it air for about half an hour then put them back in do not spray directly on the reptile (well i didnt and it still worked because the environment was treated) a small can of this is about 20 quid but worth the money just spray it along the edges and every corner of the tank from top to bottom and let it settle.You dont need to use alot either.

And this sorted the mites out for me but some other treatments that I hear work are are T-rex's mite spray as far as i know you can spray that on the animal and it works but have not personally tried it.

And zoo meds mite off I myself and others on the forums believe is a very expensive waste of time so I personally would not recommend this but other members say it works so whichever works for you but I would not advise zoo med mite off.

If you have any more questions about it or if you feel i have missed anything feel free to message me because I spent ALOT of time looking for methods of treatment for them because i very very nearly lost my male beardie to them and will not let it happen again.

I really really hope this helps for you because it wasnt fun watching my male deteroriate.

Good luck!


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## Jon Swan (Feb 4, 2010)

The Mite-off worked for me and was £5.50. Ask around, there's a few different products about. Good luck.


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## cheekyfastcat (Feb 11, 2010)

I was planning on taking my little chap to the vets for treatment but first spoke with my local reptile shop (I am a very good customer and they know me very well there :whistling2 the rep manager told me call at the shop and he would give me some of the stuff the shops vet gives them when they have a mite problem, I washed the viv and my BD in the solution he provided and left it and him to dry, that was yesterday (Monday), today I can not find one mite, I will do the same again tomorrow and then on friday as these where the instruction, I have no idea what the solution is calld so not helpful for others sorry, but am sooo relieved. This was only a small infestation and I think I caught it very early so fingers crossed this is the last I will see of them. 

Thanks for all the replys and advice much appreciated, I still have no idea where they came from though.


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## Jon Swan (Feb 4, 2010)

Im glad your beardie has improved.

I would keep a very close eye on him over the next couple of weeks. Just because there are no mites it doesn't mean there are no eggs.

Have you treated/chucked out any logs, stones etc... that you have in the viv? There are so many hiding places in these - i took the hit and binned mine.

I hope everything is sorted, they are little buggers!


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## cheekyfastcat (Feb 11, 2010)

Jon Swan said:


> Im glad your beardie has improved.
> 
> I would keep a very close eye on him over the next couple of weeks. Just because there are no mites it doesn't mean there are no eggs.
> 
> ...


His viv is quite bare at the moment too scared to put anything back in, he has his basking rock and his favourite rock he likes to sit on, both treated with the same solution as the viv and paper towel on the viv floor and thats it, I will probably bin the rest of the viv furniture, which is a shame as he had some nice stuff but better safe than sorry.
I will be keeping a very close eye on him for a good few weeks to come, he'll probably get a complex with me starring at him:lol2: anyway hopefully have seen the last of the horrid beasts.


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