Black mites on frozen rats

[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.

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