Several months ago, a good friend took a call for me from a woman who wanted to surrender her blue tongue skink. I passed the call to my friend because she was looking for one for the county supported education program that she was managing. Well, right around Christmas or so, the county decided to go all indigenous, so she asked me to take the skink. I said yes, of course, and never gave health a second thought because I know this person and she is very phobic about mites, especially snake mites because they house many snakes at their facility. All has been well and the skink has been eating well and just beautiful until a few days ago.

When I looked in on the skink this morning, the reason for her recent lethargy became quite obvious. She was COATED in snake mites! So I immediately went to work on her, her enclosure and started checking all of the vivs around her. ALL had mites! So I pulled all substrate and tossed it, sprayed, cleaned and I sprayed and I bathed, and I oiled, and I continue to bake and microwave rocks, hides, cement stones, etc. The infestation reached all 5 vivs around that skink, and one viv across the room, but I am thankful and hopeful that it does not appear to have invaded the chucks, collareds, blue spinys, or my little alligator lizard. Still, I have a long few weeks of constant vigilance and treatment to get through before I can rest!

So, please QUARANTINE everything living that comes into your home! Do not assume that if you know the source, you are safe! I never saw a mite on that skink before this morning, and look how fast the little buggers spread!

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