# Black mites around bearded dragons eyes :(



## aquarius.3

Hi I recently bought my first bearded dragon 3 days ago, he's a one year old red male, he settled in really well, eating all his food and defecating regularly. The day after we got him home we noticed he had bits in his eyes, it looked like dead skin for a previous shed around the crest of his eye or sand or something? We know he had recently been sold to somebody else but had been put in with another male, mine ended up biting the other ones toes off oops.

On his second day I gave him a bath in the evening to try and unlodge the dead skin plus I've read they enjoy their baths, he swam around and seemed to flick water in his eyes with his feet so all seemed well. I've since given him 3 baths in total to try and get it out of his eyes but tonight I saw black things moving around, I managed to get a couple of then out and they look like black mites? They are only around his eyes on the top. They look quite big now so not sure if he has had them since we got him but we didn't see them because the were small or if he has caught them in our care? I really don't know what to do, he keeps closing one eye every now and then and then closing the other  any advice would be much appreciated thankyou.


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## dubs

Pictures of the eye and any of mites would be helpful in working out what they are


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## vgorst

Black bugs are usually mites. You need to soak the beardy and use cotton buds to get them off (focusing on the eyes, armpits and folds of the beard). You can get mite-off or I hear a diluted betadine bath is also good for getting rid of mites. 

As well as bathing you need to tackle the enclosure otherwise they'll keep coming back. They hide on decor, substrate and any nooks and crannies in the tank. You can soak all of this in a betadine bath too or a diluted bleach solution. You may have to do this a number of times before you're all clear of them - in this time it's best to use a disposable substrate such as newspaper or kitchen roll


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## aquarius.3

Thankyou very much for the replies, I will try and get a photo of it, it's hard tho because the mites are hiding in his eyelid so you can only see bits of them  I've ears betadine is good but I can't seem to find it anywhere? Ive been to pet stores and drug stores and no where seems to do it any ideas? Could I buy anything for humans to treat it, might be easier to come by? We are bathing him regularly and trying to get the mites off with a damp cotton bud but it isn't easy around his eyes, he is being so patient with us aswell he really has a great temperament.


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## vgorst

I'm sure you can betadine in pharmacies, that's the only human product that I think would be safe to use. Unfortunately mites can take a fair time to get rid of so you have to be patient but persistent. 

In the meantime just use warm water to remove the mites and maybe have a look at buying betadine or mite-off online.


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## aquarius.3

Thankyou I managed to find some at Asda pharmacy  I have given him a bath in the solution and tried to get the mites from around his eyes with a cotton bid soaked in the solution, really struggling to get the ones around his eyes as they are buried under the skin fold on the top of his eyes, it looks really painful as he tries to old still for as long as he can but then he flinches and bats my hand away  any top tips to get the solution around his eye because the mites seem quite well protected where they are  any replies much appreciated thankyou


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## Baldpoodle

Callingtons!!


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## jamesb1011

sorry to jump in on your topic but i think i might have a similar problem.. basically my beardie will only sit there with one eye open, even when i get her attention, she can open it and keep it open but its as though it flinches so she closes it again..

i have had a close look at her eye with a magnyfying glass and cant seem to see anything.. i have bathed her eyes with cotton bud for first time tonight..

what was your beardies symptoms?


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## vgorst

Baldpoodle said:


> Callingtons!!


Weird thing is I've never heard of Callingtons being used for lizards so wasn't sure if they experienced similar problems as hoggies do?



jamesb1011 said:


> sorry to jump in on your topic but i think i might have a similar problem.. basically my beardie will only sit there with one eye open, even when i get her attention, she can open it and keep it open but its as though it flinches so she closes it again..
> 
> i have had a close look at her eye with a magnyfying glass and cant seem to see anything.. i have bathed her eyes with cotton bud for first time tonight..
> 
> what was your beardies symptoms?


Usually you can see mites, they are particularly found around the eyes, armpits and folds (such as the beard). Have a look in these areas and see if you can find any mites. If you can't see any then I doubt this is the problem.


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## aquarius.3

Hey when I bought Phoenix a few days ago he had bits of dead skin left in the crest of his eyes from his last shed I think so I bathed him to try and help get it out, during his second bath a noticed something black crawl out of his eyelid and upon closer inspection saw that it was a mite  then I noticed there when more buried deep in the crest, it's really hard to get them out and Phoenix must be in quite abit of pain because he won't even let me go near his eyes anymore, he just starts flinching  I've booked him into the vets on Tuesday morning so hopefully they can get rid of the horrible things, thankyou to everyone for you replies and advice  I just hope he's ok in the end.


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## aquarius.3

Hey just thought I would give you all an update  took Phoenix to the vets today, he managed to get all the mites out of his eyes yey and gave me some frontline spray to spray on him twice a week, luckily the infestation wasn't too bad, just around the eyes, he is in a hospital viv at the moment which I'm cleaning out with soapy water. The vet said mites drown in water and the soap is just to help clean the viv, I spray it with a water bottle  Phoenix senna so much happier now they are out of his eyes  I'm so glad! I've been told to spray him twice a week with the frontline spray and I going to spray his viv with soapy water twice a week too and give Phoenix regular baths just to be sure for the next 6 weeks and ten hopefully the mites will be gone for good  thankyou everyone for your help and advice and I hope this helps anyone else who has had a similar problem with their beardy, turns out they were snake mites too! Thanks x


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