My bearded dragon is going to die

snakesssssss · #1 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 07:19 PM

The only reason is mites. I've tried treatin em multiple times for months just puttin it in an empty cage and baths and spraying it and the tank with reptile mite-off or whatever.
The only thing is I cant get the ones in her eye sockets and the inside of her mouth. I cant spray poison in her eyes and mouth and I cant even reach all the way back there to try to scrape em off. Thats why they keep re-infesting, shes had em for months while I was trying to treat her but now the ones in her eyes and mouth are out of control it looks like she's slowly gonna die.
anyone else know how to get rid of mites in eye sockets and in the mouth?
I'm thinkin of givin her up to a reptile sanctuary or somethin cuz nothin I do does anything. I've tried pretty much every spray and soak her constantly to kill off some of em and they always come back pouring out of her eyes and mouth and I don't want her to die. Mites are so evil.

angrybananapeel · #2 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 07:50 PM

I'm just throwing this out there, and I haven't tried it, but I've read about using cut pieces of certain types of cat flea collars and hanging them in a cage to kill mites. Surprisingly my petco beardie didn't have mites, and I haven't ever had to deal with treating him. I keep him on that green cage carpet stuff so the Repel Permanone method woudn't really fly.... IDK. I'm sure someone here can help.

sachak · #3 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 09:17 PM

have you tried maybe putting a substrate down that has been sprayed down with something like frontline or what ever products you have there in the Us and taking the water bowl out and leaving him in there, often the fumes left over will kill the mites over a couple of days, and I dont mean fumigate him to death, I mean treat the substrate, leave it to air out and then put your beardie back and see what happens after a couple of days.

I am very confused as to how the mites are breeding and laying eggs inside your beardies mouth, maybe open his mouth and rins it out with water, like with a small pipe to shower his mouth out.

other than that I can't actually think of what else to do, I mean I have had mites a couple times on my snakes and I have never had them inside the snakes mouth, mites drown quite quickly in water.

snakesssssss · #4 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 10:26 PM

they're like in the corners. If you pull back em back you'll see a black ball of mites. =/

I spray it and the cage everyday and most of em die but the mites that nest in her eyes and mouth tend to be spared from the fumes and repopulate...
I can like...keep it under control kind of but I cant seem to kill them off they keep coming back.

AGActaeonia · #5 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snakesssssss

they're like in the corners. If you pull back em back you'll see a black ball of mites. =/

I spray it and the cage everyday and most of em die but the mites that nest in her eyes and mouth tend to be spared from the fumes and repopulate...
I can like...keep it under control kind of but I cant seem to kill them off they keep coming back.

I am unfamiliar with Bearded Dragons, but it seems most prudent - IMO - to consult a vet. There are medications which can be applied to rid her orifices of the live and pre-hatchling mites, I'm sure.

Handing it over to a sanctuary will help nothing, only rid you of a problem its your duty as a keeper to get under control.

Our pets rely on us to give them our all, and you've come this far, don't give up now.

Good luck.

snakesssssss · #6 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 01:20 AM

I love her, I've had her for 4 years now. =[
I dont wanna get rid of her but if it's either give her to somebody that can save her or keep her with me until all her blood gets sucked out I'd rather her be happy and healthy anywhere else than die with me.

I jus thought sanctuaries get a break on medical expenses from vets or would know how to treat her better so she'll finally get rid of em. It sucks cuz I feel bad she's stuck in her cage all day there's NO WAY I'm takin her out cuz I handle my other reptiles n I don't want em to catch it. I used to let her roam around in my room and let the others roam downstairs in a lizard proof room but when I started doin that I got covered in bites n had to wash my sheets and clothes and anythin she touched. =| She has a huge rabbit cage she lives in but I feel bad she's kinda the one with leprosy in the corner n she's stuck there.

But yeah. I'll go get a consultation from the vet n see if there's anything they can do. =/

sachak · #7 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 01:29 AM

dont worry something can always be done, I would be very surprised if your vet turned around and said nothing can be done.

mites are the biggest pain ever, I spray my cages every 2nd week with a diluted 50/50 frontline/water solution and so far its worked, I just take the snakes out of there cages, spray, close cage and leave for about an hour.

KyleZ · #8 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 05:30 AM

I'm assuming you live in the US, so here goes...

"Mite-off" is junk, it's not going to do much of anything to help you. It's a false, garbage product. Go to Wal-Mart, Target, or what-have-you, and pick up either Repel Permanone in the camping section (it must be this exact formula of Repel, no other, comes in a blue can w/ orange lid), or Nix lice bedding-spray in the pharmacy section. Take the lizard out and put him in a plastic tub or something for the mean time, remove his water dish, and treat his cage and substrate thoroughly with the Repel or the Nix. Let it air out for at least 30 minutes or so, then return the lizard. Leave the water dish out for about 24 hours. The residual permethrin in the substrate should kill all the mites in the enclosure, and on the lizard rather quickly. Repeat this whole process after 2 weeks.

There is absolutely no reason a reptile should die in captivity due to mites, as long as there is an effective permethrin treatment available.

Stargazer · #9 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 06:11 PM

I would try what angrybananapeel suggests. I also read that suggestion on another thread. Treat the substrate with Provent-a-mite or something similar that has residual effects. Follow the directions and let it dry completely. Then put the reptile back in the enclosure. The P.A.M. should kill all the mites on the reptile too. It's worth a try. That's what I would do. That stuff has residual effects that can last up to several months. In fact the treatment of the substrate should kill every insect in your house for at least 2 weeks.

GiantEvil · #10 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 08:40 PM

Mineral oil. Also sold as castor oil. Soak your Beardy for about 45 minutes to an hour. Make sure the container forces her to submerge her body but she can keep her head out without having to swim. Poke her head under every few minutes. Leave her coated for a couple of hours. Clean her up with a water soak and gentle towling. Her environment must be STERILISED. Throw out all old substrate, replace with newspaper or repticarpet. NO WOOD EVER AGAIN. Plastic only or cardboard if regularly disposed of. This works for snakes too, but what a mess.

sachak · #11 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 11:36 PM

GiantEvil - I am not trying to disagree with you in an argumentitive way but you should never use oil on a reptile!!

I used it a few months back and it almost killed my snake, it dries the skin out terribly and the only reason it can sort of be used on snakes if put around the eyes with a piece of cotton is because a snake has no eye lids and the eyes are protected by transparent scale but it should never be applied to the whole snake!, if a beardie gets oil in its eyes I don't think it will go down very well. the problem with using oil is that you cant get it off properly, I took my snake in the shower and used a very diluted soapy water to try get the oil off and although it seemd like I had gotten the oil off it was still there under the scales, it caused my snakes skin to dry out terribly and it caused the belly scales to loosen and made the snake shed its belly scales prematurely and thus caused scale rot to form as the belly scales were raw and had no protective layer, along with a break down of the imune system which led to RI and a whole bunch of other problems, in the end the snake almost died.

oil can be used if applied in certain spots as a spot treatment, but not on a beardies eyes, you can use it around the nostrils, and the most important thing is to not use a petrolium based mineral oil, I would actually stay away from mineral oil, rather use olive oil.

but what Kylez said is probably your best bet, treat substrate with Repel Permanone etc.

Mites are not actually that hard to get rid of once you find the right stuff, most of these products have a residual effect like stargazer said, and it works well. I have had my fair share of mite problems, you can read my threads about them, but I have found a way that works you just need to find a way that works for yourself and stick to it, and dont stick new things in your cage without washing them with bleech.

Mite off is a hoax, there is no ingredients in that stuff that's harmful to a mite, maybe you could drown a mite in it, but you could do that with water too...

BlackLava · #12 (**permalink**) 07-08-2009, 03:30 AM

i believe vets can give your beardie an injection, i think the stuff is called ivermectin, but its supposed to kill off any mites or lice (i know they use those injections for other types of pets, not sure about reptiles, so just ask the vet about it). then i think you have to go back in 2 weeks to get the second injection, and after that they should all be gone from your animal. you would prob have to also treat inside and around your beardies cage to keep them from coming back later on.

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