{"id":1584,"date":"2020-04-28T15:23:28","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T15:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reptilefollower.com\/?p=1584"},"modified":"2020-05-06T15:59:27","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T15:59:27","slug":"how-to-get-rid-of-bearded-dragon-mites-the-easy-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reptilefollower.com\/how-to-get-rid-of-bearded-dragon-mites-the-easy-way\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Rid of Bearded Dragon Mites (The easy way)"},"content":{"rendered":"
If you have notices mites on your Bearded Dragon (Click here to learn, from this guide, how to avoid costly mistakes with your Beardie)<\/a><\/strong>, you may be wondering how they got there, but, more importantly, how to get rid of them, let me explain.<\/p>\n How do you get rid of mites? You need a two-phased approach.\u00a0 Cleaning your Beardie first, then also cleaning his environment. And, that is not just his enclosure, it includes the area around the enclosure as well<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Now that you know how, at a high level, let me explain in more detail exactly how you can get rid of mites on your Beardie<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n Before I can explain how to get rid of mites, in my opinion, I feel its worth having at least a high-level understanding of what they are. So, in this section, I will explain exactly that.<\/p>\n According to Wikipedia<\/a>, mites are small arthropods, that belong to the class Arachnida. If you are like me, that won’t mean much. To put it into plain English, they are eight-legged bloodsuckers that can drive your Bearded Dragon crazy (more on this later).<\/p>\n Now that you understand what they are, at a high level, let me explain what damage they can cause and why so many owners are freaked out when they see them on their reptilian-baby.<\/p>\n Firstly, not only are they a pest, they are notorious for carrying and transmitting diseases. They are quite tricky to deal with because they are not always that easy to see. Yes, some of them are in plain sight, such as crawling around his body.<\/p>\n But, there are other eggs, larvae, morphs, and even females that are laying eggs that are not always easy to see. And, to make matters worse, they are growing their population rapidly, while you cannot see them.<\/p>\n The reality is if you see these mites crawling on your Beardie, or on your hand, after picking him up, you have a real problem. The problem is, it means there are many more that you are not seeing, are you with me?<\/p>\n You may be wondering, If the mites are left to roam, what will happen? Well, you will notice that these mites will cause him to lose energy and bodily fluids.<\/p>\n In turn, you will be responsible for replenishing this, in the form of extra fluids or supplementation. Obviously, your vet will advise further on this. But, it’s not worth waiting till it gets that bad, are you with me?<\/p>\n If you get a good understanding of what causes these mites to appear it will help you to understand what you need to do to stop them coming in the first place, right?<\/p>\n Also, as discussed earlier, waiting for them to appear all over your hand is too late. So, if you can look out for some early symptoms (red flags), it may warn you earlier on in the process.<\/p>\n Mites appear because of poor living conditions. Obviously, this is quite broad, but you should be cleaning out your enclosure regularly. If you are not, then these mites may take this as an invite to join your Beardie, are you with me?<\/p>\n Apart from the enclosure, there is general hygiene of your actual Beardie. You need to make sure he is kept clean and tidy to keep the mites away.<\/p>\n Now that you know what causes it, let me explain what some of the symptoms are. This may include one of the following:<\/p>\n These dusty white marks are where the mite has defecated on your beardie. Not nice, I know, but it happens. The good thing is, it is a warning sign.<\/p>\n When the mite bites your Beardie, which it will, it irritates him. In turn, he will start to scratch the affected area. It will then start to get red ad inflamed, which causes this.<\/p>\n You may notice that his behavior changes. This could be simple things like, not wanting to bask, gone off his food, refusing to be picked up, etc. All of these behaviors point to the discomfort that the bites have caused.<\/p>\n In this section, I will explain some of the challenges of getting rid of mites. I will explain why the chemicals required can be dangerous to your beardie, how ineffective some products on the market are, and why simple disinfecting is not enough.<\/p>\n Using certain chemicals for mites is effective, however, it is also dangerous to your Beardie. So, you can’t just spray the enclosure with these chemicals and hope for the best, are you with me?<\/p>\n Also, you can use heat to get rid of mites, but the required heat levels are also dangerous to your Beardie. So you can’t just crank up the heat and hope for the best either.<\/p>\n Yes, there are products available on the market, that claim to get rid of mites. But, the reality is, they usually do not work that well.<\/p>\n The problem is, just spraying the mites with chemicals is not the answer. Even trying to disinfect them will not completely get rid of them. The problem is, you may get rid of the visible mites. But, the larvae, morphs, and eggs may remain.<\/p>\n Now that you have some background on these mites, let me explain what you need to do to get rid of them. I will explain why some products in pet stores are a waste of time, why you need a two-phased approach to deal with it, and more.<\/p>\n The best approach to deal with your Beardies mites is using a two-phased approach. This means you need to get rid of the mites on his body, but also eradicating all of the mites, larvae, morphs, and larvae in his enclosure, are you with me?<\/p>\n In the first phase, you will focus on getting your Beardie clean. This will mean removing him and using a special solution to get rid of the visible mites.<\/p>\n You need to start by moving him to a safe location while you clean the enclosure (more on this later). And, this allows you to clean him off.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Click here for the price on Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWhat are mites?<\/h2>\n
Why are mites dangerous to your Beardie?<\/h2>\n
Carry and transmit diseases<\/h3>\n
When you should be worried<\/h3>\n
What will happen to him?<\/h3>\n
What causes them to appear (and symptoms)?<\/h2>\n
Why they appear<\/h3>\n
The symptoms of a mite infected Bearded Dragon<\/h3>\n
\n
Dusty white marks<\/h4>\n
Redness on your beardies body, or around his eyes<\/h4>\n
His behavior changes<\/h4>\n
Why getting rid of mites is difficult<\/h2>\n
The dangers of chemicals & heat<\/h3>\n
Ineffective Products available<\/h3>\n
What you need to do, to get rid of the Mites<\/h2>\n
The best approach<\/h3>\n
Phase 1: Removing the mites from your Beardie<\/h3>\n
01. Remove him from the enclosure<\/h4>\n
02. Prepare his bath<\/h4>\n