Black mites on frozen rats

[FractalVision]

Hey all,

Just something I've been meaning to ask - is seeing a black mite on a frozen thawed rat a big issue? I've seen this, and though the mite is dead, is there any way that the mites can be transmitted to snakes in this way? Is it normal to see mites on feeder rats, or should I try buying my rats elsewhere? I currently buy them where I've always bought them for my ball and boa - reptile shop.
If it is recommended to change, does anyone know of any good online rat shops that do delivery in the UK?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Are the present mite an issue, obviously not, however a rat supplier with mites in their colony shows there are issues and those could only be the tip of the iceberg and I would suggest finding another supplier.

I have bred rats in good amount (5K+ a year) for 12 years and never had mites so there is really no excuse IMO

[pretends2bnormal]

Hey all,

Just something I've been meaning to ask - is seeing a black mite on a frozen thawed rat a big issue? I've seen this, and though the mite is dead, is there any way that the mites can be transmitted to snakes in this way? Is it normal to see mites on feeder rats, or should I try buying my rats elsewhere? I currently buy them where I've always bought them for my ball and boa - reptile shop.
If it is recommended to change, does anyone know of any good online rat shops that do delivery in the UK?

As far as I know, being frozen for at least 1-2 weeks is enough to kill pretty much any mites, so it should be definitely dead. Mites on rodents are different than snake mites in most cases (unless it is a traveler from snakes kept near the feeders, for example), and I don't know of anything that the dead mite itself could carry to he a risk to the snake.

However... I would never again buy from a store that sold me something with mites on it. Be it a snake or a feeder. Anyone who keeps rats in conditions that allow for mites and fail to treat the colony in any way to eradicate mites if the happen is not someone I would ever buy from again. Who knows in what other ways their rodents may be poorly taken care of? Feeding rodents that were in poor health is simply less nutritious for the snake.

Some mite treatments used on feeders render them deadly to reptiles for a period of time, so if they are treating with one of those chemical methods, they should not be selling their own rodents anyway.

Before feeding, I'd ask what, if anything, the rats are being treated with and make sure that won't cause issues for your snake. If untreated, I'd shop for somewhere else to buy that cares enough about quality to keep their feeders mite-free.

I'm in the US, so no idea where to recommend for you in the UK.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[FractalVision]

Yes, I thought the same. Being that you have a long history breeding rats, I am glad to have your thoughts on this, thank you. I will look into purchasing online for next time and see how that goes. If anyone can recommend a good UK website, that would be great. Also, I am happy to hear anyone's thoughts and opinions on this.

[FractalVision]

As far as I know, being frozen for at least 1-2 weeks is enough to kill pretty much any mites, so it should be definitely dead. Mites on rodents are different than snake mites in most cases (unless it is a traveler from snakes kept near the feeders, for example), and I don't know of anything that the dead mite itself could carry to he a risk to the snake.

However... I would never again buy from a store that sold me something with mites on it. Be it a snake or a feeder. Anyone who keeps rats in conditions that allow for mites and fail to treat the colony in any way to eradicate mites if the happen is not someone I would ever buy from again. Who knows in what other ways their rodents may be poorly taken care of? Feeding rodents that were in poor health is simply less nutritious for the snake.

Some mite treatments used on feeders render them deadly to reptiles for a period of time, so if they are treating with one of those chemical methods, they should not be selling their own rodents anyway.

Before feeding, I'd ask what, if anything, the rats are being treated with and make sure that won't cause issues for your snake. If untreated, I'd shop for somewhere else to buy that cares enough about quality to keep their feeders mite-free.

I'm in the US, so no idea where to recommend for you in the UK.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

You have made some good points here, thank you. I assumed they were the same mites as the snake mites would be. I never considered that it could be a different type of mite. All I know is that it was very small, and black, floating in the water. I had to strain my eyes to see if it was dead, which I believe it was.. I will most certainly change my arrangements then! I ought to have let the shop know. They've been great in every other respect. I had my snakes from them too.

[pretends2bnormal]

You have made some good points here, thank you. I assumed they were the same mites as the snake mites would be. I never considered that it could be a different type of mite. All I know is that it was very small, and black, floating in the water. I had to strain my eyes to see if it was dead, which I believe it was.. I will most certainly change my arrangements then! I ought to have let the shop know. They've been great in every other respect. I had my snakes from them too.

Since they sell snakes & rodents, it may be a snake mite that happened to crawl over the rat before getting frozen. But there are other types of mites (or even ticks) that rats can carry/have while alive that are separate types.

Snake mites only feed on snakes/reptiles, but there are other mites that feed on mammals or rodents. Snake mites do leave the host to lay eggs, so that's not impossible to find one dead on a frozen feeder like that, but it would mean their reptiles in store have mites that might hitch-hike home on your clothing.

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[Bogertophis]

Snake mites are different than mites that can feast on rodents, but either way, they can spread diseases. Not something I'd want to see on my feeders! And
as mentioned, if the rodents were treated for mites, you wouldn't want to feed a chemically-exposed rodent to your snakes either...that could be deadly. Ugh!
For sure get another supplier. It's not a sign of good quality. (I've been breeding my own rodents for decades...without mites.)

[FractalVision]

Thanks for the info guys, it is much appreciated. It seems that everyone's thoughts correlate then, and it's a deal breaker.