Mites

[Baners]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a Pair of Flying Geckos (Ptychozoon Kuhli) at the San Diego convention (I wont say who from) but they must've been WC animals because they came to me complete with mites. As soon as I found out, I started scouring the internet trying to find the best way to take care of this situation. I ran into something posted on a forum for general treatment of mites and followed directions. Unfortunately, one of the geckos was very lethargic (probably from all the mites covering it's body or maybe some kind of ailment a WC gecko might have) and didn't make it through the first treatment which was to soak in a warm water/betadine bath for a few minutes. She must've been too weak to hold her head out of the very shallow water because when I came back just a few minutes later she was floating I feel terrible. I am in the process of removing mites from the other gecko with a combination of Q-tips, Betadine, and Vitamin E (instead of another "bath"). As for the enclosure, I remove and soak EVERYTHING in a water/bleach/ammonia combo and before returning the gecko to it's enclosure everything is thoroughly rinsed and wiped down. My brother and I have done this just twice so far and the method seems to be working out pretty well but I was wondering if anyone has any pointers?

Thanks in advance for any and all advise.

 

[Smidget88]

The only pointers i have is, in future purchases be sure to ask if it is WC or CB, if they had mites they may have had parasites/worms and you may need to get panacur. Be sure to get a fecal done on them. even if you dont have a herp vet near by any vet can check for parasites in poop. remember, if it isnt advertised as CB or WC never assume anythign sorry for your loss~!

 

[acpart]

You can get more info here:
--Gecko Time has an article about flying geckos that discusses mite removal
--the Sept. issue of Reptiles Magazine has an article about mites. It just came out
--on 7/13 Gecko Time will publish "Readers' Questions answered" which includes a question about mites and answers from 2 "experts" --Dan Martindale (who wrote the Gecko Time article mentioned above) and Harold Chapman.

Aliza

 

[Palor]

Read the article by me

You can always be certain that any flyers at a show will be WC, nobody really works with and CBB flyers are few and far between.

Another collector and myself hypothesize that flying geckos may be dying of renal failure due to dehydration from shipping and poor conditions. This could be why so many of they die even after it seems like they are recovering.

Good luck with your new gecko

 

[Stl_Greaser]

My only advise is to never, never, never mix bleach and ammonia! The results can be very toxic and possible fatal. It produces chlorine gas, which was used as chemical weapons in both World Wars! Do not do this any more!

 

[Baners]

Yep, sounds like, what I've been reading.. I'll get a fecal done right away and keep her quarantined. I definitely learned my lesson and will never purchase another herp without confirmation that it is a CB animal. On the bright side, she seems to be doing pretty well and removal of the mites is looking promising. Such a cool animal, I really hope she doesn't have parasites.

As for the chlorine gas I was making, thanks for the heads up! Lol, I must've missed that part in history. Luckily all was mixed and left outside, but rest assured that mistake will not happen again.

Thanks again for all the help!