Lucky Discovery (mites)

[Lee Jenks]

I accidentaly over moistened my T's tank, and a small amount of fine condensation appeared on the glass sides. After an hour i noticed odd patterns had appeared in the condensation, after a closer look i noticed that each pattern had a tiny white dot at the end. After a close look i could see they were mites.

I know that people deal with mites in different ways, and I have read many opinions on what to do. I have made a mite catcher (small plastic tub with holes drilled, inside coated with vaseline and a dead cricket inside). I'll be removing the mites from my t with a fine paint brush and some vaseline.

Just wondering, does any one have any other quick and easy tips.

Cheers

[Richard Gallon]

Mites

Don't get too worried about mites in your tarantula tank. There are several species of mite which inhabit tarantula tanks - most do not cause problems for spiders. If it's a mobile white mite, chances are they are simply eating leftover crickets or organic substrates.

The mites you should be concerned about are those small brown ones which cluster around your spider's chelicerae. These are parasitic and can be harmful - particularly to spiderlings.

Heat steralizing substrates is the best way to control mites (particularly the parasitic kind).

That "mite trap" sounds more like a "mite breeding unit" to me And in any case would be useless in attracting parasitic mites (who like the living).

If you do have an explosion of mobile white mites it might suggest there's a dead cricket hiding in the tank somewhere. Replace your substrate with fresh nuked stuff and keep an eye out for dead crickets - tarantulas are sneaky and often bury them

[Lee Jenks]

Thanks for the advice. My thas been burrowing alot recently, so there could be several crickets burried in the tank. I'll replace the substrate as well.