So Ive had the Blue Tongue Skink for a month and a half , well my mom was visiting lastnight and she wanted to see the skink so we brought him out and there was mites or some kind of tiny bugs on him. They were tiny and dark about the size of a pin could hardly see them! Well I only found one, but it creeped me out lol
I have no idea if this came from the substrate (aspen) or not. He just had a vet check up recently and the vet didnt find anything.
So do I get rid if the aspen?? his hides are plastic not wood so I can clean them. I have to clean the tank too.
I cant go to the pet store cause well its Easter lol
I can tomarrow so please give me some ideas.
Should I use paper towels? Reptile carpet?
I read about reptile relief should I use that??
Thanks
Gabrielle

__________________
Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

If you think its mites, you need to remove everything, put down papertowels and keep it simpl in the tank until you get rid of them. Put paper towels down and you will need to clean all the cage furniture.

__________________
MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Well after serving Easter dinner ...I put my skink into a bowl of water and lo and behold mites floating all over the place! Yuk poor guy he seemed happier just to get them off.
I called petsmart and petco and they are open. So my husband (such a nice person) is now driving to Manitowoc which is quite a drive to get some reptile relief.
We washed down the tank, the hides, and put in paper towels.
I didnt notice any raised scales just some bumpy ones by his head.
I hope this works...

__________________
Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

I would just through out any hides that you had in the enclosure and start over. Mites lay eggs in the smallest of places. You wouldn't want to have to start it all over again.

__________________
Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

I did the treatment as per the directions on the bottle of reptile relief.
I didnt throw away my hides cause they are plastic made to "look real" and I treated them along with the enclosure too.
So a question...where in the %&$# did he get them from?? The aspen??
When he had his checkup I only had him for 2-3 weeks. How long does an infestation take to show up??
I did notice upon closer inspection that he did have some raised scales.
poor boy...

__________________
Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

So after this mite thing is over what substrate do I use??

__________________
Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

Mites can come from anywhere. Outside or a petstore and they hitchiked in on your clothing. Or it may have been carrying some when you got it and you just noticed them.
Unless they came from the shop, riding in on the packaging I highly doubt that it was the aspen. Aspen shavings are kiln dried and no insect could survive that!
I have used aspen for many years and never had any problems with it.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I gave the skink a second treatment...grrr...this is driving me nuts. The 2 hides that I have were full of them (they are the plastic spendy ones from zoo med) I treated everything again and gave him a cereal box for a hide now lol I am thinking of putting the 2 hides in my huge upright freezer and cranking it up on the highest level .(theres no food in it at the time)
Would that kill these darn mites? Maybe 2 weeks in a freezer would do the trick!

__________________
Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

Just soak them over night in a strong bleach solution.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

okay here's the deal, I have been doing the mite treatment every 3 days since I first posted about this. They are deminishing but STILL arent totally gone. Is this normal to take this long??
Now this morning he is shedding, so I assume that I cannot do the treatments until the shed is completely done, right?? Or am I wrong?
He's having a tough time shedding with only paper towels and a cereal box to rub against.
Please let me know...thanks!

__________________
Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it