> Where do these mites usually come from? I have been
> battling these pests for three-four months now...They
> are nearly driving me and my babies crazy. Thankfully
> they are only isolated to the room in which the
> gerbils are. But it also looks like I have two
> different kind of mites. One is very small, light
> brown...The other is red, like a wood mite. Could I
> have gotten them from a bad batch of litter? Or did
> they come with the gerbils I bought at the pet store
> in Dec. which is when this all started. Help!! I
> usually do not have these kind of problems, until
> lately...
>
> Kanayla
I had a particularly awful experience with mites about a month ago, here's a
repost of my final comments
Here's what I got from both the list, my own experience, and the vet during
my own recent attack of mites. They're mostly too small to see, so here's
some indicators-
She'll have little, raised welts which itch like mad, particularly after
playing with the gerbils. If they're real bad, as they were with us, the
bites will generally be where the clothes make contact with skin, the waist,
elbows, etc. Have her run her fingers backwards through the fur, if she
gets a kind of white dander, or sees a mite (they look like little moving
dots, and would be easier to see if one got on her hand) she might have them
as well.
At any rate, here's what I did about it. Mites are rare in gerbils, and
can't get out of the aquarium, so I bought some mite medicine from the pet
store. It was a spray bottle which was good for fleas, ticks, mites, etc.
Only the K&M brand specifically said it worked on mites, but most of those
formula are the same. I used the K&M stuff, and it worked. I treated the
gerbils, cleaned and treated the cage, and then handled the gerbils as
little as possible (only to feed, change water, oil the wheel, etc.) for
about 2 wks. (Remember, my whole house was infested, as was my cat. He
went to the vet.) They can't live on you for long (and the vet had rendered
my cat poisonous to them) so they'll die off. Endure the bites and itching
as best you can. A doctor can give you a shot, or you can just use
Calladryl lotion and oatmeal baths to tolerate the itching. After 2 wks., I
treated the gerbils again, and gave them another 2 wks. quarentine. This
was probably overkill, but it worked.
The vet sent the mite (which she was surprised to find) she got off the cat
to her old parasitology prof, who didn't believe she had found what she
found, which was (she thought) a poutry mite. The PhD confirmed it,
however. So Othello nee Miranda came in with chicken mites, and gave them
to us and the cat. Sheesh. Anecdote aside, I hope this helps.
