Colors of Mites?

[Almostinsane]

Hi everyone. Charlies been doing great, shes pretty much hand tamed now, she just doesn't always like to be picked up at first lol. But shes gotten mites.
AGAIN. this is getting very frustrating. her substrate is good, her temperature and humidity is fine, everythings optimum. but I just can't keep the mites away. Theres not food in the cage(not sure if that matters?) and I have now sprayed down her basking rock, her house (which is plastic so I don't think it really matters) and the corner of her tank.. I plan on removing all the substrate when I can. I have wiped her down several times and removed the mites several times already, but I'm wondering if there actually mites.

The other times that she has had mites It took awhile to catch on - now I keep a VERY close eye on it all - so there were nice big fat juicy ones waddling around on her. But this time there very VERY small and white. are baby mites white? I don't mind treating her for mites, but I don't get why they keep coming back. :\ its been at least 4 months since the last time I saw mites on her. Were trying to keep her as isolated from the other skink as we can, but its difficult when Charlie is in the main area of the house. She is a store bought skink, is there any chance these could be the same mites? I find it highly unlikely that it is.. but you never know.

Thanks in advance. :\ I don't know whats going on and I'd really like to do what it is!

[Toxique]

I just had the same exact problem with my morti, and boy was I freaked. However as I was told the small white bugs are not the vicious blood-sucking mites, and could be a number of small insects. (Though I'm no expert, check back a few topics for my 'tiny white bugs in skink cage' topic for other people's take on it)

However I seemed to have taken them out by freezing -EVERYTHING- in his cage, for a solid weekend straight. Everything that I could, sans the tank itself, light, and substrate, was frozen. I mean everything, his hides, the plants, his bowl, everything was frozen for 48 hours, everything that was firm enough was then ran through the soapless-dish washer (easy peasy disinfection go!), and then scrubbed by hand, laid out to dry, scrubbed again, then dried once more.

I did have him on cypress mulch (where I think they originated from) but now I've pitched that and put him on 12x12in kitchen tiles. He has not shown any sort of negative reaction to the tiles, and frankly seems a bit happier on them, as I've seen him out basking more on them than I did with the mulch.

Either way, good luck! I'd try the freezing thing and completely getting rid of whatever substrate you have and replacing it!

[Susann]

I just can't keep the mites away. Theres not food in the cage(not sure if that matters?) and I have now sprayed down her basking rock, her house (which is plastic so I don't think it really matters) and the corner of her tank.. I plan on removing all the substrate when I can. I have wiped her down several times and removed the mites several times already, but I'm wondering if there actually mites. this time there very VERY small and white. are baby mites white?

Like Toxique says, there was recently a post about some other pest that was white, not mites, look that up.

You list a bunch of things, including parts of the cage, that you sprayed down; with pests like these, you have to spray down, or treat in some other way, EVERYTHING.
You say you'll remove the substrate when you can, that would be the first thing that goes in any infestation. You can spray down everything, but if you put in the same substrate, the spraying will be good for nothing.

I haven't dealt with mites, but I have to think it is the same thing as any other infestation; if you treat, you have to treat EVERYTHING at the same time.
You can wipe or dip the skink, and her hide, but if you then put it back on the same substrate, you might as well not have treated anything at all.

Mites and other pests lay eggs, and some eggs aren't killed with the same stuff that kills the buggs, or vice versa. So you may have to use two, or more, different treatments depending on the buggs.

If it were me, here's what I would do:
Find out what the buggs are.
Get the solution that will kill the buggs and the eggs.
Get a bucket; one that is either too tall for your skink to possibly get out, or one with breathing-holes and a lid.
Get a way to heat the bucket to the correct temperature.
Get a roll of papertowels.
Put down papertowels on the bottom of the bucket.
Shred some papertowels for substrate to burrow in.
Treat your skink.
Put her in the bucket.
Now either treat or get rid of the stuff in the cage that can't be treated. And the best treatment may not be a liquid to spray on, it may be freezing or baking. Find out.
Treat her cage.
Anything that has been treated can NOT touch anything that has not been treated, or you may have to start all over again.
I would keep her in the bucket until a period of time has gone by that you can safely assume every bug and every egg is DEAD.

[Fatal_S]

I've treated mites 2x. The first time I used a Nix Solution (used in humans for head lice) and the second I used a No-Pest-Strip. Both of these carry more risk than mite-solutions like Reptile Relief, but IMO they're more effective.

The easiest way to kill bugs is the no-pest strip. Remove food and water, and hang a no-pest strip nearby. It emits a chemical that coats everything around in a layer of bug-killing-film. If food or water is left, they get coated in it and the skink could get hurt, so offer the water daily but don't leave it in. With this method you don't remove the substrate or branches or anything, you just let the chemical coat everything. This will kill any invertebrate in the area (killed the mites but also my pet tarantula). I hung the strip for a few hours at a time, once a day for 2 weeks. When not in use it was in a plastic bag, in a ziploc bag, in another plastic bag and out in my back shed. This was a cheap and easy solution to my mite problem (I didn't want to risk the Nix if my PTS was preggo).

A Nix solution is nice because it kills the mites and the eggs, and leaves a film-chemical that will stop re-infestations for a while. Here's a how-to on using it:
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general- ... mites.html
I cleared out the enclosures, leaving only the skink and a piece of paper towel on the bottom. Sprayed everything with the Nix-solution (mixed into a 4L jug of water), even sprayed the outside of the bin and the walls nearby. Never saw another mite from that infestation, but sprayed again 2 weeks later and kept it sterile for another 2 weeks after that. Worked amazingly well to eliminate a very bad mite infestation (I'd refused to believe I could have mites until it was way out of hand).

Both of these are extremely effective, but in some ways are overkill for a simple infestation or non-dangerous mites. The reptile-specific products are probably safer (they just didn't work for my first infestation, thus the Nix). And if they're not dangerous mites, I'd probably leave them.