BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi, new Northern Blue Tongue Skink owner here. We just got him last week and noticed little bugs crawling around on him. I took some video and showed it to the reptile store staff and they said "wood mites". We cleaned the terrarium and all accessories appropriately and replaced his cypress substrate with shredded paper towel. Bathed the little fella in warm water also.

Today we noticed a few little bugs in the paper towel shreddings so I pulled it out put it on a kitchen paper towel and recorded it. Is this a wood mite or reptile mite? https://imgur.com/a/fSVmigm

Thanks for reading!

Unfortunately I could not download your image. 'Wood mites" or whatever they are called scientifically normally do not crawl around on your reptile. They live in many types of substrates and are harmless. They are light colored rather than the dark (black as adults) snake mite.

Thanks for the reply. I uploaded the video to YouTube now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSoliwU3QMU

I'd hazard a guess that these aren't wood mites, I am presuming that wood mites are similar to springtails from what splashy has said (tiny and light in colour)
Ventress had Snake mites and they looked very similar to this (but i can't 100% confirm as I didn't see them quite so close up as your video I dont think)
A quick google of snake mites will show you some images to compare.


Does your bluey have any raised scales or white dusty looking deposits on them? if so this could further indicate mites.
hopefully someone who is more in the know than me will get back to you soon but if from looking at the google search results you think that they are likely to be mites there are plenty of posts on here on how people have dealt with them so maybe read through for some pointers.

All the best and hope you get it all sorted soon whatever the outcome of the bug ID'ing

I was since able to download. The bug you show does not appear to be a mite at all. Suzle's image depicts a reptile or what is often referred to as a snake mite. Whatever it is, I wouldn't want it crawling on my lizard, even if it was harmless.
Most substrate-type insect inhabitants will stay in the substrate, if they're crawling all over your reptile I'd think there were way too many of them in there. Springtails, isopods and wood mites live in damp habitats, and your bug doesn't look like any of them.

I was since able to download. The bug you show does not appear to be a mite at all. Suzle's image depicts a reptile or what is often referred to as a snake mite. Whatever it is, I wouldn't want it crawling on my lizard, even if it was harmless.
Most substrate-type insect inhabitants will stay in the substrate, if they're crawling all over your reptile I'd think there were way too many of them in there. Springtails, isopods and wood mites live in damp habitats, and your bug doesn't look like any of them.

Sorry having computer issues here....

Yes, that pic Suzle87 posted is what they exactly look like! I was able to get some photos of dead ones (but blurry) up close and that is what they look like.

Gave the little guy a warm bath and about 5-6 were dead in the container. Gave him a Nix-mix spray and rub down and another bath, another 4-5 came off. Another Nix spray and bath and only 1 came off. I'll check again tomorrow.

No raised scales, there was some dust on him when we first started watching for it a few days ago. No dust now, but he's had a few baths.

Thanks for the help!

jasperj wrote:No raised scales, there was some dust on him when we first started watching for it a few days ago. No dust now, but he's had a few baths.

Thanks for the help!

No Problem, let us know how you get on with getting rid of them. I used Callington spray and it did the job really well. (also sprayed around the vivarium daily to kill any surrounding eggs etc)
All the best!

Quick update. All week, we've been bathing him and giving him a Nix-mix treatment.

Each day I would put him in his Rubbermaid tub, spray him down with warm water and let him soak in it. We'd always see about a dozen or so mites floating around. After about 10 minutes, I'd take him out, drain the water, spray him with some Nix-mix and let it sit for a minute or two. Then again with the spray and soak treatment and a bit more Nix-mix after draining the tub. Would keep doing this process until I didn't see any mites in the bath water. Usually about 3 rounds of this would produce no mites in the water. His terrarium would also be cleaned daily with a bleach spray, which we would remove with warm water after sitting and then a spray of Nix-mix. New paper towel substrate daily also.

We did this every day all week but we kept seeing the mites coming back. Until today, in his bath, didn't see any mites floating around. Good news but I know we are not "out of the woods" yet. I got some Prevent A Mite spray and sprayed his tank, substrate and hide rock. Going to give him another bath in a few days to see if any have come back. Will update again next week.

A complete tear down and cleaning of the cage needs to be done. New substrate, clean all 'furniture' and leave for a few days while keeping your lizard in a temporary tub. If you have other reptiles check them also. You'd be amazed how far those things can travel.

Yeah, we've been doing that during this whole process. Complete cleaning/disinfecting everything and new paper towel substrate daily.

Today, I gave him another bath in his tub and did not see any mites. More good news. Another few days and will check again. By mid-next week any surviving eggs would have hatched by then right?

He did have a nice shed after all this.

Another update, gave him another bath yesterday and no mites.