Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My BTS are shedding and the other day I helped one of them pick a dried scale off of it's head. To my surprise an explosion of little tiny insects came from underneath the scale once I removed it. I discovered more as I removed more scales. After about three scales removed I sat down and am typing this post now. I think they are probably mites. Can anyone give me any tips on getting rid of these little parasites and keeping them away from my cool blue tongues. Thanks to everyone in advance.

Snake mites (Ophionyssus natricis) have to be one of the most common problems that reptile keepers experience today. These tiny blood-sucking bead-like creatures can be seen crawling around on infested skinks. They also leave very small, white, dust-like droppings on the back of their victims. Mites are very contagious, and the best cure is prevention through proper quarantine procedures. If you have a mite free collection, you will want to avoid mites as if they were the plague. If you take short cuts with the quarantine procedure, when acquiring new animals, you will get burned. Consider yourself warned. There are three things to remember that will make the eradication process easier.

1. You must also assume that the enclosure, along with all of its accessories, is infected, and treat it as such.

2. Consider the fact that mites spread easily, and that you may need to treat all of the reptiles in your collection at once in order to successfully rid yourself of these relentless pests.

3. During the process you will need to be compulsively clean, diligent, and persistent (one treatment will not do the job). You must assume that eggs have been laid in the enclosure (eggs take about 9 days to hatch, and are resistant to most methods of treatment).

There are a number of treatments for mites on the market today, and I have found that a combination of treatments is more effective against these tiny little ectoparasites than any one treatment alone. At the first sign of mites, the skink should be washed and soaked for at least one hour, after which the skink should be dried with a paper towel. When finished the towel should be disposed of (preferably burned or flushed). The skink can also be wiped down with a cloth that has been dampened with a Pyrethrin-based flea spray, or one of the newer reptile mite spray products. Care should be taken to not get the chemical into the skinks eyes, nostrils, or mouth. The skink will need to be thoroughly rewashed in 15 minutes after the application. If you choose not to use the spray, a very light coat of vegetable oil can be applied to the skink, taking care to keep the oil out of the eyes and nostrils. The oil will get on the remaining mites and smother them. The treated skink should be placed in a new treatment enclosure (a 20-gallon tank or rubber maid container will do). The new cage should be lined with newspaper, and it should be replaced on a daily basis. Aside from a water bowl, no other cage furnishings will be necessary. Some people also use Seven Dust, or Hartz 2 in 1 Flea and Tick Powder for Cats. These products can be lightly dusted over the skink, and sprinkled on the newspaper of the treatment tank. After 12 hours the skink can be washed thoroughly, and the dusted newspaper replaced with fresh newspaper. The water bowl must be removed during the exposure to these powders. Whichever method you use, you must remember to repeat it every week for 2-3 weeks, with occasional fresh water soaks in-between treatments being very beneficial to the eradication process.

While the skink is being treated, the skink's enclosure should be washed thoroughly, using a bleach water solution (1 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water) and sterilized inside and out. Mite or flee spray can be applied to corners, seams, cracks, and edges in the cage. The hide log should be cleaned and treated in the same fashion as the cage. The water bowl should also be washed in a mild bleach water solution followed by another washing in soap and water. A No Pest Strip or other similar product containing 2/2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate should be placed in the cage along with the hide log, after which the cage should be completely sealed. Leave the cage with the pest strip in it for the next 2-3 weeks while the fumes kill any remaining mites or mites that may hatch from eggs that were laid in the cage (Most products kill only the mites, not the eggs). During this period you may want to wipe down the outside of the cage with a mite spray on a weekly basis to eliminate any mites that may have hatched from eggs that may have been laid on the outside of the cage. It is only after the successful separate treatment of both the skink and the enclosure that the two can be reunited as they were before the infestation.