BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi Everyone,

In the last 2 or 3 days, my Bluey called Squiggle has developed a small lump beneath one of the scales on his back (see pictures).

I can't find any sign at all of mites - Iv'e given him a bath and no dead or living ones appeared. There's also no sign of mites or mite faeces on him (the reddish-brown specks in the pics are just orchid bark dust).

The lump itself feels bigger to the touch than it actually looks on the pictures and is quite hard. It doesn't seem to be causing him any discomfort and I can put pressure on it with no reaction. It has lifted the scale slightly and the underside looks like a pinky-white lump (although I can't see underneath the scale very much).

He's not very close to shedding so I don't really want to wait and see if it disappears with his next shed.

Can anyone think what it might be? Should I be worried?

Thanks,
John

I don't really have any advice for you, but this post viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21201&p=406406&hilit=lump#p406406 might be a similar issue.

If it seems as though there is nothing visibly wrong on the outside apart from the lump, it could possibly be a worm cyst maybe? I always take my skinks to the vet with the first sign of something unfamiliar. better safe than sorry.

Thanks Guys, I've found a local herp vet so I'm going to take him and see what he thinks.

please let us know what it turns out to be, could always come in handy in the future, good luck hope its nothing major, if anything to worry bout at all!

He's got an appointment with the vet tomorrow. I'll post how he gets on

It doesn't seem to have got any worse so fingers crossed

Thanks again

Hi Everyone,

Just posting an update from the vets this morning.

There was no definitive idea as to what the lump is but an infection seemed the most likely. Squiggle has been prescribed Flamazine (1% Silver Sulfadiazine) to apply once daily to the affected area to clear up the infection.

The vet also suggested Frontline in case the lump has been caused by mites. Having read the caresheet a few times, I don't know whether this is a good idea. Can anyone advise whether Frontline is ok to use for one or two applications or whether it should absolutely not be used on BTS under any circumstances?

Squiggle has another appointment on Friday to check his progress