Possible mites?

[LeopardGeckoBreederFan]

I have a male that has been scratching himself quite a bit, especially around the head. I picked him up and looked for them but didn't see any sign of them. I have him on paper towels and I don't see anything there. Could they be too small to see?? There's no sign that he's about to shed. I haven't noticed any changes behaviorally or physically except for him scratching his head with his back foot and against roughrougher surfaces.

 

[acpart]

I haven't heard of leopard geckos with mites. Any chance he has some stuck shed or is in the early stages of shedding?

Aliza

 

[LeopardGeckoBreederFan]

I see no sign of stuck shed, but there is a possibility of early shed. I don't know his shed schedule, I hardly ever see them shed lol. I'm mainly worried because I went to a pet shop and held a beardie with mites (I didn't know he had mites when I picked him up). I came home and immediately took a shower and put my clothes away from them but it would be my luck that one got past my precautions. So that's why I'm immediately suspecting mites.

 

[Completeleopard]

Hello,

Sometimes Leo's do just itch!

The best thing to do is check under the front arms, Leo's have little 'holes' there that are usually moist so that ticks and mites are always attracted there.

 

[cricket4u]

I have a male that has been scratching himself quite a bit, especially around the head. I picked him up and looked for them but didn't see any sign of them. I have him on paper towels and I don't see anything there. Could they be too small to see?? There's no sign that he's about to shed. I haven't noticed any changes behaviorally or physically except for him scratching his head with his back foot and against roughrougher surfaces.

There are many reasons such as shedding, toxicity/poisoning, chemical or plant irritants, fungal infection, etc. I'm sure your leo is CB so it's very unlikely to have tics or mites. Unless, he/she is housed on bug infested substrate or you transferred items from another reptiles enclosure.

Changes of the skin, intense continuous itching and/or very abnormal behavior (not related to shedding, normal growth pattern color)should be evaluated by a vet. Make sure to research all materials used in the cage including cleaning chemicals.

 

[cricket4u]

Just to inform you, I did read what you wrote. I wrote everything in a more informative manner so that if anyone has a similar concern (just itching, no other reptiles), they can access it by using the search option.

 

[LeopardGeckoBreederFan]

I don't have any plants in there, I haven't changed the humidity or anything in the cage, and I only use hot water to clean the tanks. But I will soon be using vinegar water, I just found out about that so the next cage cleaning will be with that. And he is cb, he's a mack snow albino and I doubt those occur naturally in the wild lol. But from everyone's info I'll assume its a temporary thing and just watch for any other symptoms. Thank you everyone!

 

[AlaskanBlizzard907]

Not to sure about the cross transfer being a real issue...i know down south from me (up here in Alaska) some folks have to worry about tick's, chiggers, an other creepiness.... I don't have that issue that goodness all that stuff hates the cold...I've have also had several issues with friends who had mites on their plants in their house...nasty pain's in the arse... but generally not an issue for animals...Plants yes..I've got some live plants in my tank an what i notice more then anything is sometimes you can get little "no see-em's" (is what we call'em here) like fruit fly size an they love moist soil, they can easily be treated but I've noticed if i didn't keep up on changing the dirt in my gecko's moist hide they would try an sneak in there....hope for the best....also on side note didn't know there was a shed schedule ??? sometimes mines sheds once in a while but other times it's been one after another..?(odd) thanks

 

[LeopardGeckoBreederFan]

I say shed schedule loosely, its not really a term that's used lol I pretty much just made it up. I say that because my snake sheds on a pretty regular basis so I just think of my leos in the same way. It really just depends on how often you feed them.

 

[Completeleopard]

Is he still itching?