Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have just bought another bearded dragon and on inspection when i got home it has really really small black dots that are alive under flaps of its skin.they are beahind the skin at the back of her head and also are getting in the gap right above her eye, in the crease. i think they could be mites but it doesnt seem likley as the person i bought her from is quite experienced. any ideas??

sounds like it may well be mites. make sure you keep the new bd well away from the old one, wash your hands thoroughly after handling each one, and do not share tanks, feeding bowls etc... you do not want to infect you're old bd too. there were a couple of good posts on www.bearded-dragons.com forum recently regarding mites.
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Ross

0.1 Bearded Dragon (Fuego, spent the last 10 months thinking she was a he!)
2.1 Roommates (require more cleaning up after than the dragon)

here's a useful link wiht lots of info

http://www.anapsid.org/mites.html
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Ross

0.1 Bearded Dragon (Fuego, spent the last 10 months thinking she was a he!)
2.1 Roommates (require more cleaning up after than the dragon)

cant do that. i introduced her to my others a couple of days ago and only just noticed that she had the problem. i need an idea of how to get rid of them . i have completely gutted the tank and sterilised everything but it hasnt seemed to get rid of them. someone has to know some way of getting rid of them. please help!!!! also, will it harm them at all or are they just annoying to them??

mites can be very annoying to the beardie, and over time will have adverse effects on health. you must treat this now. go to the link below to get more info on treating this. good luck on this - its looks like it takes a lot of effort.

and if future - quarantine your new animals for 3 months before you add them to existing collections. if you had done this you would not have infected your existing animals

http://www.anapsid.org/mites.html
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Ross

0.1 Bearded Dragon (Fuego, spent the last 10 months thinking she was a he!)
2.1 Roommates (require more cleaning up after than the dragon)

also, make sure you tell the person who gave it to you, maybe they dont know about the mites and are infecting all of their others! i have also heard to put something like fly tape, called and insect strip or something, and you put that around the cage, you might get an idea of where they are comming from, not to mention catch a few
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*~*Erin*~*
0.1 Jazmin -leopard gecko- April 17, 2004
1.0 Blaze -bearded dragon- March 20, 2004

it's been a few years since I had a mite problem but here are some things to keep in mind:
Mites can only move in a straight line
they move at 30' per hour so they can spread far and fast
they have a 30 day life cycle so treatments must be for 90 days to ensure you get eggs and babies too.
using a chemical barrier to prevent mites from entering or leaving an area is essential.
if you feed live prey (crix...) extreme caution must be taken not to contaminate that food source.
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Bennett

Home Of The Florida Orange
www.beardiedragon.com