Red 'cat' mites on my feeder mice!

[Salamander Rising]

I meant that the OP might have tropical rat mites. They are tiny, black, brown, red, or white (depending on growth stage, and when they last fed).



I hate tropical rat mites. How does something SO SMALL hurt so much when it bites!

It's funny that they showed up after I bought a bale of aspen shavings at PetCo.

I haven't see any in the snakes' enclosures but the poor mice are full of them.

The mice and my pet rats got sprayed last night and have a flea collar hanging above their house, now.

If they bite me, it looks like a hornet stung me.
I must be really sensitive to stuff like that.

[Salamander Rising]

Have ya ever dealt with chiggers? Those lil bugs tear ya up

OMG...don't even mention chiggers.

When I was a little kid my dad would take me blackberry picking and chiggers love living in blackberry thickets.

[Salamander Rising]

http://www.ralphdavisreptiles.com/ma...ack_knight.asp

I reckon I should get a can of prevent-a-mite just to have on hand.

[Salamander Rising]

Don't ever use treatment on your rodents, you never know what kind of effect it will have on the snake that ingests the treated rodent. Spraying the tub/tank the rodents are in would be about the only thing I would feel comfortable with, and I would use PAM for that since it's safe to spray in the snake tubs as well.

Are you breeding the mice yourself, or just keeping them until your snake eats them? Do you have a lot? If you don't have a big colony, I would just feed them all off. Clean everything out really good, and get some new stock. I have some flea spray for the house I got from the vet that I use during flea season in areas the cats/dogs spend a lot of time in. The spray kills mites as well, I would get something like that and spray it in the area the mice where in. Just make sure you get the snakes far away from any fumes from the spray. I usually go room by room, close the door, and wait 2 hours before letting the animals back in.

I got some all natural, non-toxic stuff from PetCo last night.

There's 3 mice affected.

I don't breed or maintain a "colony", they're just food for the two thick heads who refuse F/T.

I'd love to feed them off but the one snake is on a hunger strike and the other is being treated for an RI and isn't in the mood to eat yet.

I could just turn them loose in the smokehouse and they could live with the field mice who hang out in there, sneak-eating my goat feed.
[or I could feed them to Leah who'll happily eat live or F/T without getting "stuck"]

I'm thinking it's the new shavings.

My other aquarium of pet mice has no mites but they're on the old aspen bedding I bought a bag of several months ago.

What's the name of the flea spray you use?

I have to be really careful because Ibizan Hounds are terribly sensitive to chemicals and most flea sprays are totally forbidden for them.

[Salamander Rising]

Which is why i dont feed live out of the racks for 2 days after treatment This way the chemical is dry and wont harm the snake

I did exactly what you told me to.

I scrubbed their tub, put in new shavings, sprayed he shavings, shook them around to coat them and then let them dry and returned the mice.

After about 15 minutes of the mice fluffling around through the new bedding, I could see the mites actually emerging and sitting on top of their fur, as though they were being 'driven out by' or "escaping from" something....the spray, I assume.

I expect that means it's working.
If they crawl off the mice, they're just going to fall int the treated bedding so either way, they're doomed.

I don't plan to feed those mice to anybody for at least a week and only after they've been on new bedding for a few days.

[RichsBallPythons]

Yes, My mite problem isnt that bad, I didnt notice them till I was feeding frozen and seen them on the frozen rats.

The mites your getting from aspen shouldn't be biting you at all, as its basically same ones i got from the pine and they dont bite me. I noticed the mites started to reduce in numbers after 3 weeks of treating.

Just dont freak out over it if your rodents arent. If the rats and mice were getting bald spots cause of it then its time to work harder getting rid of em.


What spray are you using.

[Salamander Rising]

Yes, My mite problem isnt that bad, I didnt notice them till I was feeding frozen and seen them on the frozen rats.

The mites your getting from aspen shouldn't be biting you at all, as its basically same ones i got from the pine and they dont bite me. I noticed the mites started to reduce in numbers after 3 weeks of treating.

Just dont freak out over it if your rodents arent. If the rats and mice were getting bald spots cause of it then its time to work harder getting rid of em.
What spray are you using.

This stuff:
http://www.petco.com/product/109610/...ile-Spray.aspx

I'll freak out, anyway.
If I even see a tick, flea or mite I start thinking I can feel them walking on me....LOL

[RichsBallPythons]

Im not too sure that spray will work well on the mites. But that stuff is non toxic to snakes so you could feed same day you treated with that stuff.


You need to buy a can of Lice bedding spray. Small can at walmart is $5, treat same way you did with the abvoe spray, but this time dont feed for few days.

The spray you bought Contains no pyrethrins, which is an ingredient needed to kill a lot of pest insects. Used correctly and its harmless

[Salamander Rising]

Im not too sure that spray will work well on the mites. But that stuff is non toxic to snakes so you could feed same day you treated with that stuff.


You need to buy a can of Lice bedding spray. Small can at walmart is $5, treat same way you did with the abvoe spray, but this time dont feed for few days.

The spray you bought Contains no pyrethrins, which is an ingredient needed to kill a lot of pest insects. Used correctly and its harmless

Can't use any pyrethrins because of the Ibizan Hounds.
Sight Hounds can't abide that stuff and a lot of other normally harmless chemicals....

What is lice bedding spray?

Which department would it be in?

I also have a very small piece of Hartz flea collar taped inside of their tub.

If all else fails, I'll wait a week and feed them to Leah and start over.

[RichsBallPythons]

Can't use any pyrethrins because of the Ibizan Hounds.
Sight Hounds can't abide that stuff and a lot of other normally harmless chemicals....

What is lice bedding spray?

Which department would it be in?

I also have a very small piece of Hartz flea collar taped inside of their tub.

If all else fails, I'll wait a week and feed them to Leah and start over.

Keep the dog away for few days from that room. Also dont have the collar inside the tub, The mice/rats will chew it and end up dead, keep it outside to stop the spread from one tub to the next.

The lice spray is found at pharmacies in first aid usually