My new skink has mites :(

[Bumblebat]

Last night I saw a very small black bug crawling on my skink and it disappeared in a crevice. I saw another one today and it crawled back in to her mouth area. I won't be able to make it to the store for mite spray until Saturday. Is there something I can do until then? I've heard mixed opinions on vegetable oil, and I'm not sure if it's safe or not. I'm soaking her now. Is it possible that something like diluted apple cider vinegar may help? Or would that hurt her?
I know I'll need to scourge her enclosure and everything in it and have her on paper towels for awhile. I'm just wondering what else I can do. I've only had her for a few days.

[Scotts1au]

I'm not saying that you don't have mites, however, do you have some other evidence? I.e raised scales, white powdery residue that might indicate mite faeces?

[Bumblebat]

No raised scales, and I've been looking for white powder but I haven't been able to find any. The aspen bedding is a bit dusty, though, so it's hard to tell. They're little black bugs that burrow down in to the creases of her face. Is there something else that they could be?

[Kcjames]

Ticks maybe? I know when I spend time in the woods I get plenty, even super tiny ones.
Got a magnifying glass? Macro setting maybe?

[Scotts1au]

I noticed that we don't have a FAQ on mites. I might have to do something about that. In the meantime.
Have a read of this.
http://www.karingalvet.com.au/Pet-Care/ ... -Mites.asp

[hurricanejen]

To chime in on the mite thing, here's an article on the treatment process: http://lllreptile.com/info/library/care-and-husbandry-articles/-/dealing-with-snake-mites/

In my experience it does tend to take a couple treatments to ensure you've completely rid yourself of them.

Also, have a video on using the stuff too: http://youtu.be/4CX0Dki0yAA

The only difference in treating skinks vs. snakes is that you'll have to be super careful about spraying the skink down with the spray so that it doesn't get in their eyes. Everything else should be done the same.

Hope that helps!

-Jen

[Fatal_S]

Do not use vegetable oil.

The mites are a pain, but they can wait until you have a safe product to go after them with. At most, a bath can help a little bit in the meantime.

I personally use a Nix-solution to eliminate mites (I just had my 3rd outbreak -.-' I was stupid and too trusting). I am not careful about not getting in the eyes/mouth at all. I basically spray them all over, and spray down their tanks. Normally I'd totally strip the tanks and sterilize everything too, but because I have so many big tanks I'm using a vapona strip (it's a toxin released into the air). Haven't seen a mite in weeks (since first Nix spray), but I'm still using the vapona strip and watching carefully.

I've heard fantastic things about PAM (Provent-a-Mite) so consider that too. It's meant for reptiles and is apparently top-notch in killing mites.

[Spindown]

I've used PAM with all of my QT animals, including skinks, and have never had a bad reaction. I have only had to use it once, with my very very first reptile. It is AMAZING but you must never use it around inverts, frogs, or a few species of snake (mainly BRB's and Hoggies, it will kill them). You also MUST treat for the entire life cycle of the mite, which is 45 days. If you do not treat appropriately following directions and for the entire life cycle, you will NOT eradicate the infestation and/or you will harm or kill your animal. The Nix solution uses the same main ingredient as PAM.

ETA: If you see one (and they are in fact mites and not ticks etc), there are tons of them. Only full-grown adults are visible to the naked eye. They will hitch a ride on your clothes, they will spread out in the room and are easily transferred to any other reptiles you have. If you have one reptile that has visible mites you MUST treat all of your other reptiles. They do not infest mammals (thankfully).

[hurricanejen]

[quote="SapphireTigress"]It is AMAZING but you must never use it around inverts, frogs, or a few species of snake (mainly BRB's and Hoggies, it will kill them).[ /quote]

Agreed 100% on the frogs and inverts, but actually BRBs and Hoggies are fine with PAM and Reptile Relief.

Source: I use it on them regularly with 0 deaths.

Many smaller snakes are more susceptible to overdosing on mite treatments, simply because they are small and it saturates them faster. If you are cautious with your use, it shouldn't be an issue.

-Jen

[CDolan]

I've heard fantastic things about PAM (Provent-a-Mite) so consider that too. It's meant for reptiles and is apparently top-notch in killing mites

PAM is amazing! Now, I'm not a bluey expert, but I've grown up around other species as well as working alongside a breeder. We've had a mite breakout recently with one of our Retics, sure enough- PAM did the trick along with soaking and keeping on the dosage.

Much like what Jen had said, keep PAM away from amphibians and inverts.

[sarah]

Just fyi but if u breed roaches to feed your bts and keep them in the same room as your reptiles.You must remove the whole colony before treating for mites and i recomend keeping them out for 24hours.

[Spindown]

Agreed 100% on the frogs and inverts, but actually BRBs and Hoggies are fine with PAM and Reptile Relief.

Thats not true at all. You may have had spectacularly good luck with having no readily identifiable illnesses or death but there are plenty of documented cases where PAM killed both hogs and BRBs. I would NEVER use a substance documented to cause death or extreme neurological issues around the species that were harmed...not worth the risk.

Also, if I remember correctly, you work at a petstore? (I'm not sure what to classify LLL as, I think thats where you work). Sometimes the neurological effects that PAM has on those species are not immediately seen, so if they were treated and then sold, its very possible the buyer could have gotten a snake that either died or had severe health problems from PAM.

Source: Friend who breeds BRB's, and many many many threads on Iherp (an international reptile tracking/forum).

[hurricanejen]

Do you mind linking me to these cases so I can read as well? If this is an actual issue I'd like to share it with my staff so we can ensure problems don't arise in the future.

However, 15 years of our company using the stuff on thousands of different reptiles leads me to believe that it is far more likely that the products were used incorrectly than there is an inherent defect in certain species. I've seen customers bring in 8 foot adult boas that had neurological issues from being placed in a cage too soon after the cage was sprayed with provent a mite; the same for baby ATBs, ball pythons, bearded dragons, pretty much any reptile that has ever had mites.

Dogs and cats die from improperly used flea medication; does that mean you'll never use flea medicine on your furred pets? The same can be said for de-worming medication in reptiles, horses, dogs, all of them - there is always the risk of the product being misused. I have a hefty dose of skepticism for the claims of a handful of people over the internet as compared to my personal experience over the last 5 years of working with hundreds of species and thousands of animals. Again, I would really love to see these reports - if they are scientific papers, all the better, because I do find and share that kind of information with the company I work for, and on a regular basis we re-evaluate and modify our techniques to ensure issues do not occur.

-Jen

[Spindown]

It wouldnt be a defect in the species, it would be a sensitivity. This is common in many animals. Certain dog breeds have sensitivities to medications that can be used almost universally except with those breeds. If you are actually interested, I invite you to ask around Iherp or other forums, as I'm not going to do research for you. I myself know some of those people in real life that have had these issues, and feel no need to go out of my way to convince you personally of what I know to be true cases. I did feel the need to bring it up here as some people own species other than blueys as well, and I thought I should make them aware that PAM can present problems for those few species.

[Scotts1au]

Hi guys, maybe if we keep the discussion focused on the topic it would be beneficial for everyone - that is about this person and their bluey. Thanks. Everyone's input is appreciated but remember the forum rules.

There are a lot of variables in chemical use and inherent difficulties in a site like this where there can be no quality assurance about how what could be construed as advice is used at the practical end.

[Spindown]

Sorry :/

[Midnightgallop]

I second the nix as a snake breeder myself and having rescued snakes. Ive als had to deal with someone elses colllection of 200 snakes and reptiles that were riddled with mites. I have never used pam but heard too many stories about it being unsafe. I guess its just personal preference.. I dont trust it. Where did you get your bluey from? Mites can come in on your clothes or bedding as well as the reptile and some people will do a quicl spam spray down or sok "just for show" to kill off only the adults. Forgive me if ive missed something ive got an awful migraine. Just trying to help!

[Bumblebat]

I second the nix as a snake breeder myself and having rescued snakes. Ive als had to deal with someone elses colllection of 200 snakes and reptiles that were riddled with mites. I have never used pam but heard too many stories about it being unsafe. I guess its just personal preference.. I dont trust it. Where did you get your bluey from? Mites can come in on your clothes or bedding as well as the reptile and some people will do a quicl spam spray down or sok "just for show" to kill off only the adults. Forgive me if ive missed something ive got an awful migraine. Just trying to help!

Thank you for the suggestion. I got her from a pet store/feed supply type place. She definitely had them at the store because I noticed the first one when I got home. I know what ticks looks like, and I'm fairly certain that's not what they are. She was kept in a room full of reptiles in close proximity with them. She was kept on walnut shell
She looks very healthy otherwise.

[Fatal_S]

Just fyi but if u breed roaches to feed your bts and keep them in the same room as your reptiles.You must remove the whole colony before treating for mites and i recomend keeping them out for 24hours.

Personally, I would keep inverts out for 1-2 months, not just 24 hours. Chances are the mites have gotten into your bug-colonies too, and bringing the colony back in might pose a risk or reinfection (since you can't treat the colony without killing everything). Now reptile mites can't survive long in bug-colonies, but I still prefer to keep my colonies far away for the entire period of treatment and then some. Just personal opinion, nothing to back it up.

OP, I'd say just get some nix and get her all fixed up. I find that all mites die on the very first treatment of Nix, though I do follow through until the very end. Nix is wonderful IMO.

[Spindown]

Diluted nix though. Nix has the same ingredient as PAM, pemethrin (sp?)