Snake mites in reptiles INFO

Snake mites in reptiles

General information
Ophionyssus natricis, better known as the snake mite, is often found on reptiles. Snake mites are ectoparasites that live on their host. Almost every terrarium enthusiast has to deal with these mites at some point. Snake mites transmit various diseases and can weaken a reptile to such an extent that the animal dies. It is therefore important to take countermeasures in good time. General characteristics
The snake mite is a very small, spider-like parasite that feels very much at home in the litter layer of the terrarium. An adult blood mite is approx. 1 mm in size, eight-legged and dark red in color. The female lays 15 to 25 eggs at a time in various places: in the litter, in the gaps between the glass, on the pine wood and even on the reptiles themselves. In the latter case, we usually find them under the eye scales and around the anus. Under ideal conditions, a larva hatches from the egg after just one day. If the conditions are not ideal, the eggs can remain there for months. The larvae only hatch when the climate is favorable for them again. In this way, the snake mites overwinter and survive for a relatively long time even in bad times. Before the mite becomes an adult, it goes through a number of nymph stages in which the larva always takes on a different shape. Snake mites can live for a maximum of six months and can survive for months without food. Lifestyle
Snake mites live in the immediate vicinity of reptiles. Development from the egg takes place in the litter layer, in crevices and cracks. As soon as the mite has grown up, it seeks out the reptile and crawls onto its body. It pushes itself between the scales and pierces the reptile with a special sucking snout to suck out blood. This can take several days. The mites generally spend 4 to 6 days on the host animal. The females can absorb up to 15 times their own body weight in blood. Once they have sucked themselves full, they leave the reptile and look for a safe hiding place in the litter layer to lay their eggs. Symptoms
It is important to detect a blood mite infestation as early as possible. Therefore, check the terrarium and the surrounding area regularly for the presence of mites. An infestation can often be recognized by the fact that the animals are listless and less active. The attentive reptile owner can often discover small nymphs that look like peppercorns in the water container. If these are viewed through a magnifying glass, it can be seen that these nymphs have legs and a head. Control
Until now, cleaning a terrarium infested with snake mites was almost impossible. Although various chemical agents are available on the market, they are rarely effective and often have very negative effects on the reptiles.

A good solution is biological control. You can use Dutchy’s® for this. Dutchy’s®
Dutchy’s® are very small predatory mites that can survive well in the litter layer of the terrarium. They feed on various soil insects, including snake mites. The predatory mite spreads across the surface of the terrarium at lightning speed and looks for food wherever the snake mites like to hide. When there are no more pests, the predatory mites feed by hunting other organisms in their environment. Predatory mites have no detrimental effect on the reptiles. If there is no more food because all the pests have been eaten, the predatory mites eat each other and die out. If the day and night temperature in the terrarium is higher than 28º C, control is somewhat more difficult. Under such conditions, the predatory mite hardly feeds but goes into a dormant phase. In such cases it makes sense – if possible for the animal – to lower the temperature a little more at night. When applying the required quantity of predatory mites, follow the instructions in the reptile instructions for use carefully so that you can solve the problem as quickly as possible. You can place your order quickly and easily at tierfutterpro.de. Controlling snake mites, spider mites (Tarantula is very often infested) or mites in terrariums with predatory mites has also proved very effective.