Wondering if my BTS has Mites

[Iamsnowy]

Hey Everyone. New to the page, and a new owner of a BTS. My parents got him from a pet store as a christmas gift for me. I noticed one of the scales on his head is a little raised. Is it just shedding? Or is it more serious. I saw a little black bug on his head once a couple days ago but not since. I just want to know what i should do? Thank you. His name is drogon and hes a few months old

[mb606587]

The scale on the head is just shedding skin. If you haven't seen anything on him for a few days, he's probably fine but pet stores are rife with mites so just give him a thorough looking over. Check the ears and arm pits. Anytime you suspect mites, temporarily lining the bottom of the tank in paper towels rather than substrate will help you determine if your skink is truly infested. Also, seeing as you purchased from a pet shop and they rarely know or get it right, do you know the subspecies of Blue Tongue Skink you have?

[splashy07]

A good way to check for mites (very common with imports) is to wipe him down with a warm damp plain white paper towel (easiest to see them). You can also use a bit of mineral oil. You'll see the tiny black bugs on the towel if he indeed has them, which I suspect if you saw one. There is never just one.
Good luck, and send more pictures so we know what species you have.

[mb606587]

It is also possible that the lone mite you saw was a harmless variety such as a wood mite, which are sometimes found in new bags of substrate, especially those that aren't heat treated. You will typically find wood mites living in the substrate or cleaning out the food bowl rather than actually feeding on your skink, however sometimes they will consume the dead skin your skink is trying to shed. They also will not survive very long unless the humidity is kept high. I'm hoping that's what you saw, however, being that your skink is very likely imported, and has been in close proximity to other reptiles during exportation and at the pet store, I would be cautious, and if you see even one more on your skink while inspecting and wiping it down, assume they are reptile mites. If you have your skink in a room with any other reptiles, remove it to another room immediately until you are certain it does not have mites OR any other diseases that can be quickly spread. If this is the case, also check your other reptiles as one animal with mites can quickly infest an entire room.