Does my skink have mites?

[AjlaRas]

Hi,
I bought the skink 3 months ago now and noticed early on that He had bugs crawling on him. Took him back to the petshop to check if it was mites, and the guy told me it was probably just woodmites that are not dangerous to the skink and to just clean out the cage if I don't want them there.

I have called and messaged him with updates on the bugs since then but every time he sais one thing and the next time he sais something else, for instance, first time I went, he told me that reptilemites pop when you squeeze them and blood comes out, as I have popped a few now with that happening I called again, this time he told me all mites do that and it's nothing.

He also first told me Peppa(the skink) was captive bread, but he changed this as well to Peppa being wildcaught all of the sudden. So just a lot of contradictory statements.. the petshop is supposed to be very good with it's animals and focuses on reptiles and exotic pets.

Now Peppa is riddled in these round black bugs crawling all over his face, tale, and around his armpits. He has some raised scales and is very temperamental. I'm gonna try to attach a picture of him so you can see the bugs and hopefully someone will be able to tell me if these are reptile mites..

Hoping for some help as I want my reptile to be comfortable and have it nice

[splashy07]

He's got them and has got them BAD. If you have any other reptiles get them far away from his enclosure. It will have to be totally broken down and disinfected. The level of his infestation requires veterinary assistance. If it were me I'd follow up with the pet shop and request a full refund. You have obviously been sold a seriously infested animal, and that has put your other herps (if any) at risk. Don't wait on this, it's serious.

[mb606587]

Yep definitely reptile mites. Wood mites will not feast on your skink and be full of blood. As Splashy said get it to a different room if you have other reptiles near. If you do have other reptiles, check those while being mindful that you yourself can spread the mites if not careful. Take your tank outside and dump all the substrate in a garbage bag. Disinfect thoroughly. He'll need to be on paper towels that are changed daily for awhile. Any cage furnishing needs to either be thrown away or disinfected AND put into the oven if possible. A few hours at 250 will kill them. And do not put them back into the enclosure until your skink is mite free. I also advise seeing a vet, not only for the mites, but for other potential issues that a wild caught skink may have. In the mean time, lathering your skink in olive oil should help kill some of the mites embedded in the scales.

[AjlaRas]

Thank you so much for your feedback. We have taken him to the vet and gotten a spray. Don't know what to do with the petshop since they are not very responsive. But hopefully with the spray at least Peppa will be better and the mites will be gone from him.

[splashy07]

Good luck with his treatment. And have no further dealings with that pet shop and tell your friends the same.
Many imported reptiles come in with parasites, but the shop should be treating them before offering for sale. Unfortunately live animals are treated as "merchandise".
And again, if you have any other reptile pets check them too. It is surprising how far those little mites can travel.

[AllTimeBubble]

Good luck with the treatment, if the spray is ineffective there are some alternatives you can use. When my Halmahera had mites, my vet recommended that I order Taurrus mites, they're predatory mites that eat the snake mites but don't harm your skink. They got rid of my skink's mites after the first day!