Mites!
By Paym Bergson
Im still not sure how he was so clued in, but my son Justin started checking all our lizards for mites. No one was really scratching, no one was really irritated, and although we do a cursory check on a regular basis, he was going at it as if he was the vet and getting paid to find these creeps.
Good thing, too. A couple of weeks after checking this we found out we had them those tiny, blood sucking parasites the scourge of any reptile owner. The culprit was our latest addition Draco whom we purchased from our local supplier wed watched him grow at that store, and brought him home to help our ladies .well, get laid. (Unfortunately, they were used to a man in Angel and this adolescent was just a joke to them). We also realized he was much younger than originally thought and had mites.
So, taking out our handy bible our Reptile guide -The Bearded Dragon Manual by Philippe De Vosjoli we found out the prescribed medication No pests strips which cannot and should not be used with juveniles. Sigh. No good we had one juvie in with our ladies, and we were pretty sure that Draco still had some growing up to do. Also, everyone is supposed to be separated/isolated. Hmm got any extra tanks around like five???
So, onto the internet. In the meantime, their tank was bleached and all materials disinfected, new sand, and clean lizards. But I was totally disgusted all the information was either a direct steal from the book, or just paraphrased. Some sites suggested some other chemical, which, coincidentally, you could conveniently buy from them. All did mention though that it would take about 4-6 weeks of strenuous disinfecting to get rid of these nasties.
Finally, some independent sites gave us hope they stated there was no difference if you used chemicals or not in the treatment what the most important thing was compliance a big word for continuing on the treatment which was daily inspections, baths, and removing the mites on each dragon. In their humble opinion the problem was not the med or chemical, but perseverance you HAD to keep this regiment up for at least 4-6 weeks whether the mites seemed clear or not.
Well, in the meantime our ladies and gent were isolated from the others, had a tank that smelled faintly like bleach, no special pillow (a favourite of theirs to lie on top of and under), and boy, they waited for their special attention with their bath!! They loved the attention, the removal of the mite(s), and their daily bath.
As soon as Justin takes one out for this now ritual routine they all start clamouring to be next it is soooo funny to watch.
We are almost there today three lizards were mite free and one had a dead mite on her. But we will keep up this regime for at least 6 weeks or more right Justin?
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About the Author:
As a professional writer and trainer, I find the hardest thing to write about is myself. Suite 101 has given me many opportunites and I have read with interest the various articles penned by Contributing Editors. Now it's payback time. Reading their personal submissions and sharing of information has given me the courage to be a Contributing Editor as well.
After 5 years of raising Bearded Dragons we (family) finally had a successful clutch (two in fact). The lack of proper information given us by retail reptile stores as well as the lack of substantial information on the Internet (with a few excellent exceptions) has prompted me to try and help others in all areas of reptiles. Our menagerie at the moment consists of 5 adult dragons, 4 juveniles, one bird, one hamster, 2 turtles, one fish - and a whole bunch of critters that make their home and nests in our woodpile, trees, and house (I just saw the baby bunnies having a chew on our garden).
Paym may be contacted by email at careeradvice@suite101.com.
Copyright Paym Bergson September 2003 All rights reserved.
Article courtesy of Suite101.com.
