BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi guys,
My blue tongue is three months old. He had mites about a month ago which I managed to eradicate. He was doing fine for a while but I have just noticed, you guessed it- miles. The first time I thought that they came from where I got him but this Time I don’t know because o thought I got rid of that wave completely. I’ve seen in places that improper husbandry can cause mites, is this true? If so, I am going to put my husbandry below, if you see something I am doing wrong pleases inform me kindly:
He is an eastern blue tongue.
He is in a 3ft tank
He has a cypress mulch bedding
He is fed every second day
He has fresh water at all times
He has a basking spot at 30 degrees Celsius
He has a cool end in the low 20s
His food is supplemented with a calcium supplement 2 out of 3 times that I feed him.

Please help. If there is anything you would like to know please ask me.

Thankyou,


Hamish

There is another thread you should refer to .

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=30991

Improper husbandry does not cause mites. Mites cause mites.
Either you did not eradicate them the first time around, or more came in. It is very common for people to buy bedding and other supplies at pet stores that is infested with mites, and bring them into their own collection, sometimes repeatedly.

Exactly. Female mites often travel to lay their eggs, and down the road here come the mites again. It is imperative to thoroughly disinfect absolutely everything in and around your skink's enclosure. If you keep other reptiles check them also. The amount of travelling these little things can do to find a suitable egg-laying place is astounding.

Ok thankyou for your replies everyone

I don’t see anything you are doing wrong however if the mites suddenly reappeared I can only think that they weren’t completely gone the first round or that they had somehow came in the substrate. It is not uncommon for different substrates to carry mites already but is still a possibility. Sorry I couldn’t be more help

Hi Montana,

I baked the substrate before I put it in. Does this rule out the possibility of the mites coming in the substrate?