# what do mites look like? are they red?



## ajandj (Jul 12, 2011)

Hi all, i was just feeding Yoda and i spotted this tiny tiny little red/orange fleck on Yoda. I was surprised when it moved. It's barely the size of a dot from a pen. Any ideas and how to l get rid of it/them?


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## Pythoninfinite (Jul 12, 2011)

Snake mites are purplish or black dots, so the thing you've spotted is unlikely to be a snake mite. It may be a mite, but there are thousands of species of mites in the soil and on everything around us, they come in all colours so yours is probably just one of those taking a walk on your snake. If it's not a snake mite, you don't have anything to worry about.

Jamie


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## slim6y (Jul 12, 2011)

Australia does get a fair share of red spider mites. But they're plant eaters only.

I did find some pictures of snake mites - but they're quite different to how Jamie describes them, so maybe I leave them off here...


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## Pythoninfinite (Jul 12, 2011)

slim6y said:


> Australia does get a fair share of red spider mites. But they're plant eaters only.
> 
> I did find some pictures of snake mites - but they're quite different to how Jamie describes them, so maybe I leave them off here...



I'd be interested to see them slim. Bear in mind that micro photos can make something look very different to the way they're perceived when we see them with our naked eye.

Snale mites (Ophionyssus natricis) usually present as black, pin-head sized dots which leave a brown smear (ingested blood) if you wipe them with your finger.

J


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## ryanm (Jul 12, 2011)

It's quite common to see Geckos or lizards with small red mites on them, particularly on their toes. Doesn't seem to harm them unless they get in massive numbers.


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## AM Pythons (Jul 12, 2011)

red spider mites like high humidy & live on plant matter, snake mites are black & live on your snake, you may see them in the bottom of your water bowl if your snake has been soaking to try & drown them...or moving around your enclosure, squash them & blood(browny-red colour) comes out if they have just feed...


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## -Peter (Jul 12, 2011)

ryanm said:


> It's quite common to see Geckos or lizards with small red mites on them, particularly on their toes. Doesn't seem to harm them unless they get in massive numbers.



Leaftail geckoes present with these quite a lot here in Sydney.


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## shell477 (Jul 12, 2011)

When my snake had mites there were red ones as well as black ones...



When engorged after a blood meal, protonymphs are dark red, smaller than adult females and not black in color.
VPI Publications - Uncategorized | Vida Preciosa International, Inc.


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## ajandj (Jul 12, 2011)

ok, i've been reading that betadine and water is a good solution to wash/soak reptile to kill mites. Has anyone ever used it


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## Pythoninfinite (Jul 12, 2011)

If you only found one and it was orange-red, it won't be a snake mite, so treatment is unnecessary. For all intents and purposes, they will appear 'blackish,' even the protonymphs...

Jamie


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## reptileKev81 (Jul 12, 2011)

I'm just wondering if Yoda is a snake or lizard. Everyone seems to be talking about snake mites, but you've posted this in the Lizards section. 
You might wanna specify so you get the right info.


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## ajandj (Jul 12, 2011)

Yoda is a 5 month old bearded dragon


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## slim6y (Jul 12, 2011)

Pythoninfinite said:


> I'd be interested to see them slim. Bear in mind that micro photos can make something look very different to the way they're perceived when we see them with our naked eye.
> 
> Snale mites (Ophionyssus natricis) usually present as black, pin-head sized dots which leave a brown smear (ingested blood) if you wipe them with your finger.
> 
> J



http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/0000_0000/0604/1187.jpeg

They look rather orange to me... But it's a reasonable macro though.




ajandj said:


> Yoda is a 5 month old bearded dragon


 
Clearly not the 900 year old Jedi I thought he was....


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## ajandj (Jul 12, 2011)

the other thing l wanted to know. Is vinegar and water ok to clean his enclosure or do l need to go chemical?


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## pythrulz (Jul 12, 2011)

Mites are either black or white I believe but there are so many billions of bugs we dont know about or are to small to see we will never know all there colours and yes vinegar and water are fine dont use chemicals to clean enclosers there all poisoness and toxic household chemicals anyway


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## GeckPhotographer (Jul 12, 2011)

Orange or red mites are a relatively common lizard mite. As some people have said they often are found in large numbers on Leaf-tails in the Sydney area. These mites in low numbers have little to no effect on a lizard but if they become to numerous can have health impacts. It is best to treat them immediately as once numbers grow it can become hard to eradicate them from an enclosure.


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## -Peter (Jul 12, 2011)

There are over 40,000 identified mite species, it is considered this is the tip of the iceberg. They range from the microscopic to large ticks. Check out eyelash mites...


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## reptileKev81 (Jul 12, 2011)

If you wanna go chemical when cleaning your enclosure, get yourself some f10 disinfectant and use that.


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## ajandj (Jul 12, 2011)

i'd rather not use chemical, but l also want to be sure that vinegar and water will be enough to clean thoroughly


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## reptileKev81 (Jul 13, 2011)

f10 is a veterinary grade disinfectant which is said to be complete safe to humans and reptiles, just fyi.
Sorry, I don't really know about cleaning with vinegar water, but I'm keen to see a reply to your last post.
I might start using it whenever the f10 runs out as I can't always replace it quickly (its quite expensive IMO and only available through a handful of suppliers but its worth it).


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## Pythoninfinite (Jul 13, 2011)

F10 is good and very safe. Vinegar is just another chemical - weak acetic acid. Probably useless as a cleaner or disinfectant, as it's a product of bacterial and yeast activity.

Neither should be used to kill mites or other creepy crawlies - they are not insecticides.

The 'mites' in the picture may be on a snake, but they are unlike any snake mite I've ever seen. I doubt very much whether they are Ophionyssus natricis, the only one you have to worry about. They look much more like something which is local to the animal in the photo, and are probably something similar to those found on some geckos and dragoins here in Oz.

As I said, if you only found one, and it was orange, you do not need to do anything at this point in time, as it will not be a snake mite. Just because a mite is found on a snake doesn't mean it's a snake mite.

Jamie.


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## ajandj (Jul 13, 2011)

i know where the little red thingy came from!!!.. i use newspaper under the papertowel in the enclosure. When l bought in the local papeer last night, l was looking thru it and guess what l found. A little red/orange thingy just like l found on Yoda yesterday. I've still only found on on hiim an no others in the enclosure


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## slim6y (Jul 13, 2011)

ajandj said:


> i know where the little red thingy came from!!!.. i use newspaper under the papertowel in the enclosure. When l bought in the local papeer last night, l was looking thru it and guess what l found. A little red/orange thingy just like l found on Yoda yesterday. I've still only found on on hiim an no others in the enclosure



You said it 'moved' - or are your newspapers more active than mine?

Also - to back up what Jamie said about vinegar as an insecticide... When we use vinegar to clean - we use it to clean lime scale (calcium carbonate build ups) and other 'basic' substances that can break down in a weak acid.

It is no more effective than lemon juice (in fact, probably less so).

Baking soda is used in much the same way, neutralisation reactions...

Best to stick to F10 for killing newspaper red dots


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## ajandj (Jul 13, 2011)

ok just to clarify. The newspaper isn't active.... it doesn't run round and just on beardies backs 
There was another mite like thingy on one of the pages so l assume that how it got into the enclosure in the first place. I need to go to the petstock shop and buy another UVB globe (another long story - look under thread called light fittings) so l will look for F10 and do it properly the first time. Thanks for the info.

Cheers

Jane


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## -Peter (Jul 13, 2011)

heres a pic of a gecko with orange mites, its a copyright image so you will nee to go to the relevant site to view it.
Leaf-tail w/ mites | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


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## S&M Morelia (Jul 19, 2011)

Here's a picture I took when I was in Adelaide of what I think is a Red Spider Mite. But of course I could be way off.
He was about 1.5-2mm in length and about 1mm in width.


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## Bluetongue1 (Jul 19, 2011)

There are a number of mite species commonly found on geckoes and dragons, belonging to the Gekkonid group. They are a bright orange colour and in my experience most commonly occur around the eye and in the armpits but can also be found anywhere there is a fold of skin. They are parasitic on the lizards (hosts) sucking blood. Under normal circumstances they do not appear to have an observable adverse effect on their host. Populations on any given lizard tend to be quite limited as the mites need physical protection at same time as access to skin or membranes thin enough for blood to be withdrawn through.

Application of alcohol to the body of the mite will kill it. So a cotton bud soaked in metho is all that is needed. For mite occurring around the eye (which has a sizeable blood sinus behind it) physically remove them by gently wiping away with a moist cotton bud. Do NOT use alcohol near the eye. Mite that are removed in this manner should be placed in a small quantity of alcohol to kill them.

If you have evidence that there is an infestation of gekkonid mite in an enclosure, then use an appropriate mitecide (that is not the technical term by the way) that is known to be reptile friendly. The very best is Top of Descent but there are others, such as Frontline, Orange Medic and the like. Refer to the relevant threads already here.

Having said all that, it sounds like you have Red Spider Mite in your garden that have been brought in on the newspaper. To confirm this, get some butcher’s paper or an old white sheet, place it under the plants where you collected the newspaper and give them a good shake. If what comes off is identical to what you saw on Yoda, you have nothing to worry about. Red Spider Mite only live on plant sap.

I am no expert but the Berkley photo, posted by Slim6y, are not Snake Mites (_Ophionyssus natricis_). If you want to know what the real thing looks like close up just Google the scientific name. As has been pointed out, with the unaided eye the three stages of snake mite all appear as black dots – some a little blacker than others. Their occurrence under ventral scales on snakes is diagnostic in itself. If you want to start looking at them under the microscope then you will be able to pick up differences in each of the three stages, such as number of leg and actual colour. An interesting pursuit but not an essential one in practical terms or pragmatic outcomes.

Blue


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