The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 28, Number 1; January, 2001

A Better Treatment for Snake Mites

by amyb@brotcke.com

Reprinted from The Michigan Herpetologist, the newsletter of the Michigan Society of Herpetologists, September 2000.

There are few statements more disturbing to a keeper than "You've got snake mites in your collection." Snakes mites are an arachnid ectoparasite of snakes. They suck snake blood, they annoy snakes, they are potential vectors for the transmission of serious diseases, and they can be difficult to eliminate once they are introduced to a captive snake collection. This interesting solution is adapted from a message sent to Slither, a moderated list server on the internet. The author is known to me only by her e-mail address.

Mites are a serious issue that most reptile keepers will face at one time or another. Those who do not are the lucky ones. For the rest of us, we're left scrambling, trying to find the most effective and safest method to rid our collections of these predatory pests. Common methods of treating mites -- "home remedies", if you will -- often involve using dangerous chemicals and pesticides. There isn't a single "common" method in use today that I have heard is 100% safe.

When Bugs Get Bugs:
Invertebrate keepers, too, are plagued by mites. However, when bugs get bugs, the "standard" treatments that reptile keepers often use are not possible. One cannot treat their insects and spiders that are plagued with mites with insecticides or chemicals, as these will invariably kill both. It is a common practice among invertebrate keepers to use a particular species of predatory mite to treat mite infestations. The predatory mites prey upon the "bad" mites, then die off after their food source disappears. They are harmless to the host animal.

About three months ago, I found mites on my giant centipede, Scolopendra subspinipes. I found myself going on-line to order some predatory mites (Hypoaspis sp.) to take care of the problem. "Hypoaspis sp." means that the mite is an unspecified species belonging to the genus Hypoaspis.

I then began to wonder if the same treatment would be effective on reptile mites. I asked around, and could find no one who had tried this method. I sent an e-mail to the company from which I was ordering the predatory mites to ask if they would be effective against Ophionyssus natricis, the common snake mite.

The biological supply company replied that yes, the Hypoaspis would indeed prey upon 0. natricis. They did not know if the predatory mites would prey upon the eggs of the snake mite.

My First Experiment:
I then decided to do my own experiment. Before I go into the details, I would like to preface by saying that I recognize that this was not a "proper" scientific experiment. I did not have enough animals for control groups, nor did I compare against other mite remedies, but I believe my findings are of some merit.

Since I had no snakes with mites, I borrowed three ratsnakes, all with a moderate mite problem. I set each animal up in a separate cage, with paper towel substrate, and a water dish. I then introduced the predatory mites into the enclosure.

The predatory mites are shipped in plastic containers filled with vermiculite. I shook the container to distribute the mites throughout, and put two tablespoons of the mixture in each cage. I checked the snakes daily, and saw both mites crawling about the paper towels. Two weeks later, I saw none of the Hypoaspis, but a considerable number of 0. natricis -- not at all what I had expected.

My Second Experiment:
I contacted the biological supply company, who instructed me to put the snakes on a bedding that would allow the Hypoaspis to burrow and breed. I ordered another shipment of Hypoaspis and I put the ratsnakes on bed-a-beast. When I received the mites, I again put 2 tablespoons of the mixture into the cage.

Two weeks later, I again thoroughly checked the ratsnakes for snake mites, and found none. It appeared at this point as if my experiment was successful. As well as preying on the adult form, it would appear that they Hypoaspis mites either prey upon the eggs of the snake mites, or upon the juveniles shortly after hatching.

Conclusions:
Now, two months after the project began, there is no sign of snake mites in any of the snake enclosures. The experiment, in my opinion, was successful. It appears that predatory mites are a very safe method of treating snake mites. No chemicals are involved, and therefore no danger to the snake. The Hypoaspis mites remain in the substrate for a while, then begin to disappear, when their food source does.

I have concluded that predatory mites are the best way to treat an infestation of snake mites. While they are more expensive than many of the common "home remedies", there is no risk of respiratory or neurological illness from chemicals and insecticides. My source of predatory mites was an online company found at <http://www.biconet.com>.