Can reptiles get fleas?

[Lamour]

I know that's probably a dumb question but I was cleaning out my crested gecko tank and when I lifted the lay box there were a bunch of tiny little bugs under it!

The bugs are real small and brown, they look like brown specs of dirt. They were too tiny to really get a picture. The lay box was filled with sphagnum moss. Any idea what these are? I squished most of them but I'm freaking out if they are fleas or termites or something! Can they get my gecko sick, could they have come from my gecko in the first place?

If any one knows what they possibly are and how to properly take care of them please help! I'm guessing all I could really do is rinse everything down with hot water but I'm not sure. I've already taken the lay box out, dumped it, and rinsed it out.

 

[Kate]

When you squished them were they quite hard? I think they will be carpet beetles. I forget their proper name. You might have seen little hairy caterpillars in with your crickets. They change into the beetles. They eat cricket poo and dead crickets. They can be quite destructive to fabric if they get loose. Best squish them. Repliles can get mites but I can't tell you much about them.

 

[Lamour]

They didn't feel hard at all when I squished them. I only feed the gecko the repashy crested gecko diet. I'm thinking they came from the moss cause it was kept wet but I'm worried my gecko has bugs now

 

[dcooley08]

they are most likely mites. small brown beetle type things that suck the blood of reptiles. i used to have a huge problem with them when i bred snakes back in the day. if you find a bigger one and squish it blood should come out. if not properly exterminated they could kill your animal. also look around and in the water dish to see if you can spot some dead ones.

Hope this helps.

 

[Kate]

they are most likely mites. small brown beetle type things that suck the blood of reptiles. i used to have a huge problem with them when i bred snakes back in the day. if you find a bigger one and squish it blood should come out. if not properly exterminated they could kill your animal. also look around and in the water dish to see if you can spot some dead ones.

Hope this helps.

How do you get rid of them?

 

[Lamour]

If it is mites what can I do? Will just rinsing the vines and stuff in the tank help or do I need to replace them? Do I need to give my gecko medicine just in case or will just squishing any I see be ok?

 

[dcooley08]

you will never be able to squish them all. i used to strip the cage bare and soak everything in a steaming hot tub with a cup of bleach. while it was soaking i would use soap and make sure to scrub everything. if you dont get rid of them the first time it turns into a nightmare. wile everything is soaking in the bleach and soapy water i would then used a water vinager solution to scrub down the cage. Make sure you get in all the corners and cracks. if you dont feel like that is enough they sell mite sprays at petco/petsmart. some of them are even safe to spray right on your reptile. I never liked spraying the snakes directly. i would soak them for a couple hours to drown the mites. you will see them on the bottom of the tub you soak your reptile in. All in all just really sanitized everything. any nook and crany can be full of eggs and you will have to start the process all over again. Please be sure to thoroughly rinse all cage furniture before returning it back to the enclosure. Also be sure to rinse the cage out from the water vinigar solution.

EDIT**Recommend getting rid of the sphagnum. Thats probably how they entered the cage. They usually come in with the substrate or the animal when you buy them. For new animals a quarantine period is always recommended so any other herps wont get parasites brought in by the new animal.

The mites really like wet places so be sure that the substrate isnt soaked at the bottom of the enclosure or anything like that.

Mites are a pain in the ARSS

GOOD LUCK

 

[Lamour]

Thanks a lot! My vines and little tree decoration have a few holes in them, will they be ok being soaked? Once you soak all the decoration stuff, do you just rinse the bleach mixture off or do you wait a while after rinsing and let them dry out or something to make sure they are safe to be licked and such?

Also, how would I go about soaking my pet? Just with a misting of warm water? Sorry for so many questions, just want to make sure everything is safe and clean.

 

[chamlover98]

Watch for mites with live plants

 

[dcooley08]

Thanks a lot! My vines and little tree decoration have a few holes in them, will they be ok being soaked? Once you soak all the decoration stuff, do you just rinse the bleach mixture off or do you wait a while after rinsing and let them dry out or something to make sure they are safe to be licked and such?

Also, how would I go about soaking my pet? Just with a misting of warm water? Sorry for so many questions, just want to make sure everything is safe and clean.

yes they will be ok with holes. Id rinse all the bleach and soap off with hot water then let everything air dry. Make sure you rinse very thoroughly.

I soaked my snakes in a shoebox size tub but for a crestie that not going to help because they will just climb ontop of the lid. Hmmm. i would give him like a 20 min luke warm shower then do a thorough visual inspection with a magnifying glass to be sure none are on him. the mites tend to hang out around the eyes, nose and neck. (best places to get blood)

 

[dcooley08]

just to let you know how important it is to get them all the first time.

I had one case of them with one of my snakes. at the time i had around 20 snakes living closely together. in separate enclosure of corse. so anyways i battled with them for a couple weeks and could not get rid of them in the first cage. a couple weeks go by and i notice them in all my other snake enclosures. it was horrible and i tried and tried to get rid of them. Wasnt happening. long story short i ended up wasting hundreds of dollars and had to throw everything away and buy new cage furniture. It was an awful and expensive experience.

Just a little trick.
Dont put substrate back in the cage after you clean. First go a couple weeks with just paper towels. you will be able to see them better due to the contrast. little pepper flakes on a white paper towel are easy to see. rather than black on brown.

Hope all this helps!!!

 

[Kate]

Sorry you had a problem. How you dealt with it was so interesting. Thanks

 

[Lamour]

yes they will be ok with holes. Id rinse all the bleach and soap off with hot water then let everything air dry. Make sure you rinse very thoroughly.

I soaked my snakes in a shoebox size tub but for a crestie that not going to help because they will just climb ontop of the lid. Hmmm. i would give him like a 20 min luke warm shower then do a thorough visual inspection with a magnifying glass to be sure none are on him. the mites tend to hang out around the eyes, nose and neck. (best places to get blood)

Hmmm now to figure out how to give her a shower She is very jumpy so i'm not sure how it'll work if she's freaking out the whole time.

Should I wait till tomorrow morning to clean things? She usually gets up for the night in about 2 hours and the only other thing I have to keep her in is my chams vet carrier (it's like a large critter container). I feel like she'll just be miserable and scared all night if she has to stay in there without her usual surroundings. Plus her tank could fit at least 4 of those carriers inside it so she's used to a lot more room.

 

[Lamour]

There was only substrate in her lay box, the tank only has paper towel on the bottom already. But I don't think I'll be putting the lay box back in there, she didn't use it anyways. I had put it in just in case cause she is unsexed but I've been unable to see any pores.

 

[sulfurboy1o3]

Please don't confuse these small white decomposers with common snake mites. Snake mites gave all other tiny bugs a bad name. These bugs you're seeing only occur in moist parts that has regular waste or food. They are in your soil and not attacking your lizards eyes and soft part, I'd remove all soil or let them be. If you use live plants, they will always be around. Your enclosure must keep pretty good humid conditions if bugs wanna live in them. Wait til more Isopods and springtails come.

In all my enclosures, these exist where I need them to. In my desert cages they live deep down where my soil is moist. The break down waste you miss. Culture enough and you can sell cultures to people breeding dart frogs.

 

[cigdoll]

How do mites come to be? Are they born within the enclosure where the wet areas are? Do they enter from outside of the enclosure to seek moisture?