Ticks

[trevorthetorty]

hello! id like to ask 1) how often do you clean/wash the zoomed reptibark? 2) how do you prevent them from getting ticks? 3) also, as seen in the pic, there’s a red bump on the head of my tort where the tick was previously removed (like a wk ago)

my sulcatas have been getting one or two ticks lately.. they stay outdoors at our garden during daytime and stay in their enclosure at night so i haven’t really deep cleaned/washed the susbtrate. i got their reptibark just last June 8 but i noticed earlier that there are tiny insects under the reptibark, im not rlly sure if it’s baby ticks… but they move/jump fast!

btw, i live in the Philippines and a first time owner of reptiles

 

[trevorthetorty]

hello! id like to ask 1) how often do you clean/wash the zoomed reptibark? 2) how do you prevent them from getting ticks? 3) also, as seen in the pic, there’s a red bump on the head of my tort where the tick was previously removed (like a wk ago)

my sulcatas have been getting one or two ticks lately.. they stay outdoors at our garden during daytime and stay in their enclosure at night so i haven’t really deep cleaned/washed the susbtrate. i got their reptibark just last June 8 but i noticed earlier that there are tiny insects under the reptibark, im not rlly sure if it’s baby ticks… but they move/jump fast!

btw, i live in the Philippines and a first time owner of reptiles

hello! id like to ask 1) how often do you clean/wash the zoomed reptibark? 2) how do you prevent them from getting ticks? 3) also, as seen in the pic, there’s a red bump on the head of my tort where the tick was previously removed (like a wk ago)

my sulcatas have been getting one or two ticks lately.. they stay outdoors at our garden during daytime and stay in their enclosure at night so i haven’t really deep cleaned/washed the susbtrate. i got their reptibark just last June 8 but i noticed earlier that there are tiny insects under the reptibark, im not rlly sure if it’s baby ticks… but they move/jump fast!

btw, i live in the Philippines and a first time owner of reptiles

i searched and the tiny insects are most probably springtails. are these harmful to them? how do you guys clean the reptibark?

 

[COmtnLady]

I don't clean my substrate, other than picking up spilled food and any poop that happens. The springtails are there because there is something for them to eat. So do better "spot cleaning" They are actually a helpful thing because they get rid of the missed food scraps. You shouldn't need to change your substrate very often (meaning a year or two of use or more). It shouldn't smell badly if you're doing the spot cleaning well enough.

If the bugs really bother you, lay the bark out in thin layers on a big flat tarp/sheet of plastic and let it dry out completely in the sun. (You can rinse the bark first if you want to, but it is probably enough to just allow it to bake in the sun for a day or so.) If you want to do something more labor-intensive, bake it in an oven, at about 200-250F/93-121C for a couple hours, on cookie sheets to dry it out completely and kill any bugs. Personally, I'd opt for the sun method.



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The place where the tick was is probably getting rubbed on the edge of the shell, so is irritated. Do you have an antibiotic cream or ointment that you use on human's fingers when they get a cut or splinter? Here it is called Neosporin, but I don't know what it would be called where you are. Anyway, put a tiny dab of it on the red spot every day until the red goes away. I'd soak my tortoise for a half hour or longer in 95F/35C water (to keep it warm the whole time replace it as it goes a couple degrees cooler) , then put the antibiotic ointment/cream on the spot.






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[zovick]

i searched and the tiny insects are most probably springtails. are these harmful to them? how do you guys clean the reptibark?

Springtails are harmless and help keep the substrate clean. Also just FYI, ticks cannot jump. They crawl, and not very quickly.