Rat babies have mites/fleas, are my snakes in danger?

[meatmarionette]

I was handling a little baby fuzzy and noticed some yellowish flea like things around his neck. i assume the others have them aswell. what can i do to take care of this? -and are my snakes in danger of getting them aswell or do they not jump that big of a species gap?

[jsmorphs2]

I'm not 100% sure but I believe mammal mites do not feed on reptiles. However, they will bite people .


http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcmites.htm


Are they rats you are breeding at home? If so I would treat them all for mites. But you wont be able to feed them to your snake until the treatment is done and even then, you might want to wait to be on the safe side so no pesticide residue is left on them. OR, if they are meant for feeders, euthanize them and freeze them. That will take care of the mites and they'll be safe for the snake to eat.

[meatmarionette]

yeah they are rats i'm breeding at home. i love the rats, i'd prefer my snakes did the killing... i suppose i will treat them all. any suggestions on what kind of treatment i should use?

[jsmorphs2]

I'm not really sure the best method to treat rats for mites, especially because there are babies too.

I found this site: http://www.fancypetrats.com/pet-rats...ites-fleas.php

But I would call your vet and ask before doing anything. Seems like its relatively simple. Also be sure to let your vet know they are destined to be food and find out when or if it will be safe for the snakes to consume them after treatment.

Good luck and hope they do ok.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Mites are species specific so your snakes will be fine, however definitely something you want to address with your rat colony.

My guess would be wood mites.

[Alex James]

The mom with pups needs to be separated. The pregame rat needs to be separated near her time.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

I agree with with Deb. They sound like wood mites. Those and fur mites, which are microscopic, are the mist common. For wood mites I spray the bedding with mite spray long before I use it for the rats. I also put down flea powder on the floor (carpet) and leave it for a few days before vacuuming. This helps prevent all sorts of bugs in the snake/rat room.

[meatmarionette]

thanks everyone got some mite spray coming in the mail(Rat kind and snake kind JIC). from now on i'm going to freeze my bedding before using it.. i think they're wood mites then. BUT wood mites are described as white, these are kind of a light yellow... ?

[meatmarionette]

also on this link it says i could prevent a mite, which is made for reptiles, on my rats... i went ahead and got some stuff specifically for rats, but for future reference, is that true?

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

No way! Provent-A-Mite should never be used on any animal. For reptiles, only the enclosure and substrate are treated. Then the enclosure must be allowed to air out and completely dry before putting the snake back in. At least 20/30 minutes but many people wait longer.

It would not be safe for use inside a rat enclosure due to it's long term residual effects. Rats clean their selves. If any were ingested, it would be detrimental.