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Advice needed for mites

Pyro

Pyro

N=R* fs fp ne fl fi fc L
Moderator
Okay, I have a bit of a conundrum and it is possible that no one here can help but I want to check all my possible avenues.

I have a small colony of waxy tree frogs (Phyllomedusa sauvagei.) For those not familiar with these they are a desert dwelling species and as such are kept pretty much bone dry with minimal humidity.

Over the weekend I noticed mites on them. I know where the mites came from (a snake picked up at a show which has been treated along with all the other snakes/cages as a preventative measure.) However, I can not go spraying the waxy cage as Prevent-a-Mite is toxic to amphibians.

I already have a call in to my herp vet and I am planning a tear down and sterilization of their tank but that will only clean the tank and not any of the mite physically on the frogs.

So, anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks
 
I suggest that you take the tree frogs out for a night and dry ice bomb the tank, it will kill all bugs and hopfully not the plants. I also have a viv that i need to get sterile before I can put my darts into it so if you do it first let me know how it works for you. Hopfully this link will also help you some.
http://www.geckosunlimited.com/Getting-rid-of-terrarium-pests
 
Hey Ery,

That is one of many ideas I have thought of for clearing out the tank but I would still have the mites that are on the frogs themselves... There in is my conundrum.

Best sterilization method I have some up with for tanks is the 10% bleach application. Never had anything make it through that.
 
try dippin them in water and hand washing them in distilled water... think that will work?
 
How sensitive would they be to saltwater? People give SW fish FW dips to kill parasites because of the osmotic pressure differential between the saltwater inside the parasite body and the freshwater outside. Maybe it would work with the mites if it wouldn't be harmful to the frogs?

Just an idea. I don't keep frogs so I wouldn't know. Maybe this stuff.

http://www.c-derm.com/repthome.html
 
I used to treat my snakes for mites by spraying them with a highly diluted solution of lice shampoo. It worked wonders.

edit: on second thought I don't know how that would work out for amphibians since many of them absorb things through their skin. It's worth looking into, though.
 
Lice shampoo is the same stuff as Provent-a-mite: either 0.5% or 0.25% permethrin.

I've heard of something called "reptile relief", but it seems a bit 'naturalistic' for me (I'm a better-living-through-chemistry kinda guy).

IMHO, the best option is to take the frogs out, put them in a container of water so that they *must* be in standing water (but so they can sit and not drown), and wash them by hand several times (stressful, but better than mites). Return them to a temporary home (a rubbermaid or something), then throw that home in the bin and wash them again. Then another temporary home, then washing, then a new cage.

Just toss the cage and everything in it. Without chemicals to kill them off, you'll NEVER be rid of them. Get a new cage, new stuff for it, and return the thoroughly washed frogs.

What I would do, since I know you have other herps, is go through your entire collection with a fine-toothed comb and use a commercial lice spray such as Nix, Rid or Equate on anyone possible, mites or not. Then use the rid to draw a ring around the cage of the contaminated tree frogs, so any mites that try to spread will die.

I really, truly hate mites.

Mokele
 
Well consultation with the herp vet is as many have suggested: Water torture method. 3-4 hours at a time every 2-3 days for a stint. And he would also like me to photograph the little vampires as it would be "interesting to document"

Mokele,

I already treated all my snakes. I am certain that is where they came from. My carpet python had them when we picked it up. I sprayed its cage and all the other cages as a preventative matter but it never occurred to me that the things would hop on to the frogs. Lesson learned.

The tank need not be trashed. I can do a 10% bleach wash on it and that will kill of anything in there. Will have to strip out the back wall and replace it with a new one. And new media and plants... Tedious but not a big deal.

So I shall have a busy couple weeks ahead of me. All for the love of my herps :)
 
I was going to mention Reptile relief. I don't know much about amphibians, so I don't know if it's poisonous to them. The ingredients are:

Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate 2.1%

Undecylenic acid .5%

The rest is probably water.
 
  • #10
Never mind, I just read on the bottle:

Not for use on amphibians such as frogs and/or toads

Sorry
 
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