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#1663965
Albinoboy29
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Help! Urgent! 
Okay so I see this little tiny bugs on my alligator lizard and he keeps flicking his ears....soi gave him a reallly good bath and then I sterilized his tank and put in all fresh clean stuff and put in eptile carpet for the moment...what should I do about the bugs in his ear though?
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03/16/08 11:10pm
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#1664185
Aliceinwl
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Message To: Albinoboy29 In reference to Message Id: 1663965
Help! Urgent!
Sounds like mites. If you can, use a pair of fine forceps to remove the mites in his ears. I’d use paper towels in the cage for now and completely wash it daily. Dispose of all bedding etc. in the outside trash can daily (these can harbor mite eggs). If you have other herps, coat the top rim of the tank with Vaseline to prevent the mites from escaping. To treat them on your lizard, apply a thin coating of vegetable or olive oil, be careful to stay clear of the eyes and nose. Remove all the mites you can find by checking the vent, behind the legs and the corners of the mouth. Re-apply the oil every three days for the next two weeks and continue sterilizing the cage. You can clean the cage and water bowl with a 10% bleach solution. Until you get rid of the infestation, furnishings should consist of paper towels for substrate, a water bowl and some kind of plastic or similar type container for a hide that can be easily disinfected. Any wood or rock furnishings in your original set-up should be baked at 250 degrees for 15-30 minutes and any porous plastic materials should be boiled. These items should not be replaced until you’re sure the infestation has been eliminated. Since your lizard is small and recovering from metabolic bone disease, I’d recommend against chemical mite killers.
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03/17/08 01:39am
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#1664229
PrinceSushi
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Message To: Aliceinwl In reference to Message Id: 1664185
Help! Urgent!
Extremely good advice, exactly what I did when I got a mite infestation in all my tanks. It took 48 hours and lots of work but they were gone really fast.
The only think I would add is to toss out any crickets or feeder bugs you currently have. They can catch and harbor mites and they can redistribute them right back into the tank. Buy a fresh batch and keep them somewhere away from the tank and lizard and always wash your hands before fetching some out to feed.
Good luck. I hope you manage to get rid of all your mites. If things begin to look bad, call your local vet.
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03/17/08 02:37am
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