im new and need help with my BTS

[Chrizzle924]

My name is Christian and i recently got my 1st BTS back in March from a petland Discounts, his name is Chrizzle. When i picked him up they said he was a male and no idea of the type of BTS he was this my 1st time caring for a reptile and i have noticed a few things that are making me concerned.

1st concern is i noticed that Chrizzle has very dry looking scales on his right rear side that seemed to have gotten a little bigger over time, as opposed to the smooth looking scales of his left side.

2nd concern is that while Chrizzle was eating i noticed a very small black bug moving on Chrizzle's body, i only seen one bug last night and this afternoon but it went under his scales and i haven't seen it since. the color seemed black and it was about the size of a (.) period. i nevere noticed any bugs until i recently changed his substrate T-Rex jungle mix and another brand type of jungle mix with small repti bark with dark dirt mix in it.

Other concerns are -
-When i go to pick him up he runs/hides and hisses his eyes are wide open when i hold him.
-Noticed once 3 little connecting bubbles around the top of his left eye.
-His nails feel really sharp as compared to when i first got him home and i don't know if i should cut them on my own.
-He is more active at night than during the day.

Here are some pics of him




that's all i can think of for now thank you in advance for any help i can get.

[Bird_Brain]

Well sorry to be the one to tell you the bad news, but it sounds like your little guy has mites. Do a forum search and you will find MANY ways to treat them and yes, they do need to be treated.

For the scales, Id need to see a clear picture of what you are referring to as I am not understanding the issue.

The bubbles could be an indication of an Upper Respiratory Infection. Would need a vet visit for diagnosis and treatment.

Trimming nails is also a highly discussed issue. The caresheet talks about this as well as many threads on the forum. Do a forum search.

In regards to him having more nocturnal behavior, tell us what your temps are in the cage and how you are measuring them.

Having his eyes open is a normal thing. Same with the running hissing. He is not used to you. With time, he may get over his fear of you.

[Chrizzle924]

from when i got him until this week i've never seen any bugs on him until i recently changed his substrate is it possible the mites came from that?

For some reason i always get a pic of his left side as if he thinks its more photogenic, will try to get my woman to take a pic with the D80 for a clear shot of the scales.

I'm going to take him to the vet today as it's 68 degrees out which is the warmest all week with the sun out

the nails aren't to big of a deal compared to everything else that needs to be addressed.

'In regards to him having more nocturnal behavior, tell us what your temps are in the cage and how you are measuring them"

I have a Fluker's digital Thermo-Hygrometer to measure the temp which stays around 94 degrees and roughly 30% humidity. I'm using a zoo med's hood combo with 2 incandescent sockets (1 exo terra sun glo 60w day bulb and 1 exo terra night glo 75w bulb) and one 18" fluorescent socket with a reptiun 5.0 UVB.

[Bird_Brain]

IMO, very unlikely that the mites came from the substrate. More than likely what happened was he had mites at petstore and they treated him, but did not repeat the treatment couple weeks later to kill the mites that recently hatched from eggs. So you are probably dealing with the eggs that are hatching right now.

Being that you are heating the cage at night, you really arent allowing him to "feel" the difference between day and night. Most owners and breeders recommend a nightly temperature drop to around room temperature (this can depend on the species). So I would stop heating the cage at night, which should (theoretically) force him to move around during the day.

[SapphireTigress1]

Sorry to hear you have mites! Good news: Provent - A - Mite works wonders! I've used PAM on my enclosures, and it cleared my snakes right up. Just make sure you follow the instructions, and also DONT SPRAY IT ON YOUR ANIMALS! Also make sure you do it for about 45 days, which is the entire life cycle time for mites.

Good luck!

[Chrizzle924]

just got back from the vet now & sure enough it was mites the dry skin was a byproduct of the mites said the vet. the vet also suggested rubbing him down with alcohol but didnt give an answer as to what to use when the scales dry out from the alcohol.

also in the house we are a bunch of puerto ricans, where 1 likes to pump the heat up as if we are living in florida during summer time so in the room where he is and where i sleep the ac is on which is why the heat stays on. The temp gun says its about 73 degrees in there when i check the following morning before shutting off the ac, I'm just afraid that it will get too cold for him.

thanks for the suggestion on the Provent-A-Mite i'm going to see if i can find it today

[SapphireTigress1]

They dont usually sell PAM in the pet stores, you usually have to get it online. Beanfarm.com is where I get mine from.

[Coomassie]

If you are looking for something good and in pet stores, I had success with Reptile Relief spray. Coomassie (my Northern) had mites and we treated him with the Reptile Relief. It worked wonders. The only thing about it is that you have to treat for at least 45 days. The spray DOES NOT kill the eggs so you have to treat for the entire life cycle of the mites (hence the 45 days). Also, soaking Chrizzle regularly will help get rid of the mites. Mites cannot swim so a good soaking will drown many of them.

[JoshChimera]

Best of luck with the mite killing. Your little skink appears to be an Irian Jaya, if I am not mistaken. You got some good answers by the other members.

[Edward]

Yep, 100% Irian Jaya.
Good luck getting rid of the mites.

[Zach]

Reptile Relief. We received a bluey infested with mites one time, and this is water-based, non-toxic, and it worked great. You can also rub it on the animal, and clean the cage out with it. Good luck!

[Chrizzle924]

after someone mentioned the curious mite somewhere I've been nagged to find out if mites can travel outside the enclosure and spread into the room, if this is the case how would i treat a room with a carpet?

[Coomassie]

You can spray Reptile relief or Nix on the carpet to kill anything crawling around but I don't think they can get out of the enclosure on their own. If your little guy was running around on the carpet, then they could have gotten out.

[Chrizzle924]

and yet another question, i bought Mite-Off as temp means to help with the mite problem but i don't think it's working as I'm still seeing some mites here and there, when i read the reptile relief the bottle says it can be sprayed directly on the reptile but can it really be sprayed on the head, mouth or eyes?

[Bird_Brain]

I use the Provent-a-mite (I think walmart has an equate version called Lice Bedding spray or something to that nature) and reptile relief. I use PAM on the cage and RR on the animal. I usually spray body and then take my hand and rub it all over including the face. I have never actually sprayed the face but I have wiped it on its face.

[El Lobo]

The life cycle and breeding patterns of Ophionyssus natricis (snake mite) is well explained in this link. Interesting point that commonly mites are arachnids.

http://www.vpi.com/publications/the_lif ... nake_mites

[Coomassie]

That is a great article! I borrowed the link and reposted it on my other reptile forum.