Harmful mites? What can I do about them?

[Saramarov]

your tarantula is still small and young. I would not wait and get it in a tiny catch cup with holes. You can then attempt to remove them one by one.

there are a few links in this thread that will provide you with tips on how to do this.

the longer you wait, the longer they have to breed and spread.

personaly, id make a new enclosure, so once you have removed the mites, you tranfser it into something clean.

Then you clean and disinfect old enclosure, and make it new again. So if more mites still show up (because of eggs), youll have a new enclosure ready and the cycle will keep going.

I am going to do this along with taking a plastic container and drilling holes to fit qtips in so I can clean her and she bite. She's really spicy, so hopefully I don't stress her out too much!

 

[sparticus]

I am going to do this along with taking a plastic container and drilling holes to fit qtips in so I can clean her and she can't kick or bite. She's really spicy, so hopefully I don't stress her out too much!

I would start with trying to remove the mites while it is contained in the small cup and then resort to anesthesia if you fail. I had to anesthetize a P. victori sling that had a piece of its molt stuck on its fang. It did well, but the CO2 causes them to pass out from lack of oxygen, so it's not without risk. My sling would not have been able to eat with the molt blocking its mouth, so I felt it was worth the risk.

 

[Saramarov]

I would start with trying to remove the mites while it is contained in the small cup and then resort to anesthesia if you fail. I had to anesthetize a P. victori sling that had a piece of its molt stuck on its fang. It did well, but the CO2 causes them to pass out from lack of oxygen, so it's not without risk. My sling would not have been able to eat with the molt blocking its mouth, so I felt it was worth the risk.

That's good to know you were successful! I will update when I make some progress. Thank you!

 

[sparticus]

I kept it "anesthetized" very, very briefly. The quicker you can get it back up and breathing, the less likely you are to do harm to the animal. I had everything setup and ready to go and a plan in place before I exposed it to the co2, and I only exposed it for a very short time.

 

[TheraMygale]

I would start with trying to remove the mites while it is contained in the small cup and then resort to anesthesia if you fail. I had to anesthetize a P. victori sling that had a piece of its molt stuck on its fang. It did well, but the CO2 causes them to pass out from lack of oxygen, so it's not without risk. My sling would not have been able to eat with the molt blocking its mouth, so I felt it was worth the risk.

I agree. We arent vet techs.

a small enough catch cup with tons of holes should be enough for first removal attempts.

less dangerous to just pet a tarantula with a qtip then try chemicals on it.