MITES!

[gehtan]

My Halmahera-Indo Blue Tongue Skink has some small orange bugs around him. Are these mites?
What should I do? Bloo is near to shedding time. Are these two events related?

[Richard.C]

if its mites it could be related,but could just be due to shed,do u have access to a reptile mite spray over there from petshop or or online,might be an idea to invest in a can,if its red mites it maynot be harmful ones,some aussie reptiles get a small red mite on them but unlike snake mites they dont seem to seriosly affect them

but mites are mites so good to rid them,even if u dont know if its mites,some folk treat for mites any new animals even if no signs of mites are present to try and prevent later infestations

[Jeff]

The mites you need to worryabout are not orange. You may have a different kind of mite that is not dangerous to your skink, but most likely it is something else. I have no idea what kind of bugs you have where you live, but here I have spring tails from time to time. They are more less harmless to my skinks, but like Richard said, you still probably want to get rid of them if you can. I would recommend pre-treating some new substrate with a premetherin spray and letting it dry for a few days before switching it out. That will most lkely take care of the problem.

[gehtan]

My substrate is 75% aspen and near Bloo's hide I put Cypress Mulch about 25% of his substrate. Can you suggest a better substrate?
I spray his cage with water daily so it is humid and all.

[Alicia P]

The mites might be wood mites. Cypress tends to carry them in more than other types of substrate. Wood mites aren't interested in reptiles, but that's no reason to let them stay. If you have room, you can pop the rest of your bag of cypress in the freezer for a few days and it should kill off any mites that are in the bag. Take all the substrate in your tank out and pitch it, then wash your tank and all the decorations & put new substrate in. If your guy has any mites on him give him a good wipe down with a damp paper towel or napkin before putting him back in the tank.

[gehtan]

The mites might be wood mites. Cypress tends to carry them in more than other types of substrate. Wood mites aren't interested in reptiles, but that's no reason to let them stay. If you have room, you can pop the rest of your bag of cypress in the freezer for a few days and it should kill off any mites that are in the bag. Take all the substrate in your tank out and pitch it, then wash your tank and all the decorations & put new substrate in. If your guy has any mites on him give him a good wipe down with a damp paper towel or napkin before putting him back in the tank.

thank you

[Lea]

The mites might be wood mites. Cypress tends to carry them in more than other types of substrate. Wood mites aren't interested in reptiles, but that's no reason to let them stay. If you have room, you can pop the rest of your bag of cypress in the freezer for a few days and it should kill off any mites that are in the bag. Take all the substrate in your tank out and pitch it, then wash your tank and all the decorations & put new substrate in. If your guy has any mites on him give him a good wipe down with a damp paper towel or napkin before putting him back in the tank.

thank you

It would still be wise to spray with a product like Top of Descent, which will kill any mites or buggies escaping the "demiting" procedures. They can hide under the scales, too, so a simple wipe will not kill them, just remove the ones on the surface. They could be the reason your skink lost the keratin part of his scale, which you mentioned in another of your threads.

[Alicia P]

It would still be wise to spray with a product like Top of Descent, which will kill any mites or buggies escaping the "demiting" procedures. They can hide under the scales, too, so a simple wipe will not kill them, just remove the ones on the surface. They could be the reason your skink lost the keratin part of his scale, which you mentioned in another of your threads.

Oh good point! I wasn't thinking that wood mites would get under scales, a wipe down would only remove any that are on the surface. From what I've read wood mites don't tend to hang on like a reptile mite would and if visible will wipe off a smooth scaled reptile. What I described to do will only get rid of wood mites, if the mites you have are not wood mites then your course of action will be different.