Will Thrips Hurt my Skink?

[EvenMoreStress]

Just today I discovered that there may be thrips in my skink's enclosure. I'm 100% certain I didn't boil his moss long enough and the little buggers were probably in it. Now I'm worried though since it took me awhile to even find out what they were and my googling tells me nothing about if they're with a lizard. Everything is related to gardening only.

Do I need to rapidly change out his substrate to be sure my skink will be safe or do you think he will be alright?

The thrips likely won't be able to survive I imagine since the only closest thing to real plantlife in there is his logs but if they bite or could harm him I don't want them in there period.

In case they're not thrips:
They looked like little black beetles- that was how I first noticed them. I saw the shine off one's shell before it escaped me into the substrate. They also had wings and a little protrusion on their back end/pointy at the end. Like how a centipede has little spikes off their back? Sorry, it's had to describe. They're about as long as my pinkie nail, definitely not tiny.

I've only seen two so far and killed one of them. I'm also reboiling my moss to be extra sure there are no more coming.

[splashy07]

Try and post a picture of the insect. They are definitely not thrips if they look like beetles. Thrips are flying insects that resemble gnats.

[EvenMoreStress]

Try and post a picture of the insect. They are definitely not thrips if they look like beetles. Thrips are flying insects that resemble gnats.

I've been trying to find the first one without much success, sadly. It was a wily little thing to escape me actively looking for it. Luckily I've only seen the two (now one since I got the other one) and didn't spot any others while I was turning over his substrate to look for it and add humidity.

I also discovered they may be earwigs. Great, right? They have the same kind of body structure and pointy end that it looked like I saw. They also seem like they could be in the right size range. As far as I know they aren't harmful, especially to a skink who has pretty sturdy scales, but I would still like to be sure. Should I do a rapid substrate change?

I don't necessarily MIND them in there if they'll just be natural decomposers but if they cold harm my skink that's where I'm not ok with it.

[splashy07]

I've never seen or heard of earwigs in an enclosure unless possibly you brought in wood from outside. I'd have to see a picture of the insect to identify it. Earwigs are not tiny bugs, either. They are about 3/4 to an inch long.

[EvenMoreStress]

Turns out it's an earwig. I thought maybe the one I smashed was intact and turned out he flat out just wasn't as smashed as I assumed. He was just chilling in the napkin. He's frickin' RESILIENT I'll give him that!

gross..png

(a very zoomed in photo and I'll admit, he was bigger than my brain remembered but also not as big as 3/4 inch, maybe closer to half an inch or so)
My very experienced reptile friend said it's probably fine, though. She gets them all the time in her pigeon cages outside and they're harmless. She said if anything having him in there may protect the cage from mites. I'm a bit more reassured with her saying its ok since she's been keeping a lot of reptiles for the entire 10+ years I've known her.
Either case she said she would bring me some neem oil to try and use to get rid of it.

[splashy07]

Yep, that's an earwig. I wouldn't want them in my cage or my house for that matter.

[Manny]

I'm with Splashy on this one. Earwigs give me the creeps!

I don't think they will be harmful to your skink. There are a couple of things that might make them unpleasant to have in there though. If scared or crushed they excrete a substance that is quite foul smelling. Some sub species fly, some don't. They are good climbers. So if they get out of the enclosure and find the right enviroment you may just end up having earwigs in your house.

They prefer cool, damp enviroments and are usual active at night.

[splashy07]

Forgot to mention the disgusting smell when captured or disturbed. I have no idea if this could be toxic to a reptile, but again, wouldn't want these things anywhere near my animals. The one you showed in the picture is a female. More possible bad news.