are mites a normal household bug?

just curious cause I just moved into a new house and have noticed quite a few little bugs walking around. I'm going to have the bug guy come out soon but just curious if mites are a normal household bug and/or what do they look like, just so I can be on the safe side. Also what preventative should I use in the cage and where's the easiest place to pick it up? Thanks!

Reptile mites are most definately not a normal household bug.

For preventative, the best product to use is Provent-a-Mite. Runs $20-25/can. Reptile shows or online order, most pet shops don't carry it.

There are many, MANY different species of mites, including common household dust mites. A few species are parasitic. The most common snake parasite species is Ophinonssus natricis. This mite will not be found wandering aimlessly around your home unless a snake has brought it in.

If you see black specks moving within your reptile's cage, on your reptile, or dead in its water bowl, you probably have a mite problem.

Treat the cage with Provent-A-Mite. This product can be easily purchased online, from the manufacturer or a retailer. Follow the instructions carefully--it is meant to treat the cage, and not be sprayed on the animal. It should be completely dry before the animal is returned to the cage, and avoid contaminating water with it.

There are many different types of mites, but you're probably referring to snake mites (Ophionyssus natricis). Fortunately, they are not very common around households but can be picked up by your snakes from other snakes and reptiles or people or places that come in contact with infested snakes.

Sheesh... you guys are fast! :) :gj:

You all talk about retile mites but i found out from my vet the mites that everybody says are retile mite can be found on almost any animal .

Everyone covered it but w/e

Reptile mites are not a common household bug. They can be transmitted from reptiles or people who handled them. Use provent a mite.

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Originally Posted by Haydenphoto

You all talk about retile mites but i found out from my vet the mites that everybody says are retile mite can be found on almost any animal .

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No disrespect to your vet, but this is incorrect. Reptile mites are very species specific. An ectothermic parasite doesn't care for endothermic hosts and vice versa.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

No disrespect to your vet, but this is incorrect. Reptile mites are very species specific. An ectothermic parasite doesn't care for endothermic hosts and vice versa.

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Rabernet is exactly right. The mites that would feed off your snakes would never mammals for instance. There are a TON of different mite species, cats and dogs can get eat mites, rats can get mites, etc.

If you're seeing them in your home and on your carpet you've got something else going on entirely, get an exterminator in there pronto.

For reptile mites and their prevention, we recommend Prevent-a-mite, aka PAM.

you guys might not know and its kind of sick when you think about it but look at this
http://www.worsleyschool.net/science...creatures.html

awesome thanks all! just wanted to make sure with all these creepy crawly bugs crawlin around

If you lived in Indonesia and had snakes invading your home, I would say yes they may be a common pest.

But since you live in Texas, I would call the exterminator and have him take a look ;)

just to give you an idea of how big the mite group is, there are over 5000 species of snake mite alone! there are a couple of hundred that infect terestrial inverts as well as ever other species on earth. bed bug are mites. i have been working with some species of mites for a little while now. mostly grain and predator mites. they are not really species specific (well some are) they are more "group" specific. an invert mite will not infect a snake and vise versa.

here is a picture of a snake mite i too a while back.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...entralcopy.jpg

i keep for getting to bring in samples of the predatory mites for pictures in my lab.

what you have crawling around you house aren't snake mites. they could be hundreds of different things given your location.

According to the info I got, snake mites generally lay their eggs outside of the enclosure, so almost anything you but from a pet shop could have mite eggs on it and when the temp/humidity requirements are met, they will hatch. Mite eggs can survive for months before hatching.
I used Provent-A-Mite to get rid of a mite break out once, and now I continue to use it to prevent another one. When I change out the snakes paper towels, I just lightly spray the top layer and let it dry. It doesn't take much. I average 2-3 months on one can...


Rob