Mites?

[Mandy Clinch]

I have noticed this last month that when i change Lolas water (adult female g.rosea) there is a little "raft" of tiny grey things floating on the surface. They are alive, because it's moving but they are too tiny to tell what they are, but they are all together. She appears to be mite free, but never having seem them before, i wouldn't know. She is on Eco Earth. Occasionally i see the odd fruit fly in her enclosure, which i always take out of course. Could all this be linked. Do i need to dry out the Eco Earth a bit? Any clue what these gross grey things are? Thanks everyone

[Christopher Smallman]

I have noticed this last month that when i change Lolas water (adult female g.rosea) there is a little "raft" of tiny grey things floating on the surface. They are alive, because it's moving but they are too tiny to tell what they are, but they are all together. She appears to be mite free, but never having seem them before, i wouldn't know. She is on Eco Earth. Occasionally i see the odd fruit fly in her enclosure, which i always take out of course. Could all this be linked. Do i need to dry out the Eco Earth a bit? Any clue what these gross grey things are? Thanks everyone

Them be Springtails natures own little clean-up crew and harmless to your spid.

If you want to control the numbers then yes drying out the substrate will do it

Chris.

[vincent winyard]

hi there mandy. first of all i should point out that i use potting soil with one 3rd vermisulite as substrate and i always zap the soil in a microwave for 5 minutes to be rid of anything laying dorment in it. im not to sure about eco earth as it's already sealed though i'd probably give it a blast to be on the safe side. im not sure what sort of mite you've got but if your substrate's constantly on the damp side it's like heaven to mites what with the warmth as well. another thing g rosa's much prefer it on the dry side. prehaps it might be a good idea to let the substrate dry out and she should get enough humidity from her water that you provide. if your enclosure's infested with these mites it might be a good idea to either take out the substrate and nuke it in the microwave to kill anything in there or change it altogether only as a last resort though. hope this helps prehaps someone else might be able to give you a bit more info.

[christopher furlong]

Hi mandy,
Just to confirm, do these grey things jump? If not then they are not spring tails.Most spring tails have an abdominal appendage for jumping,which funnily enough at the moment i "need" to control mites in my tanks. You could have a possible mite infestation, Which ain't good for your T. From what i know its hard to totally eradicate mites from enclosures as they can just keep re infesting. If it is mites, i would use fresh substrait/clean the tank and next time you see them in the water bowl take it out/wash and keep an eye on it.
Kind regards
Chris

[Mandy Clinch]

I have never noticed them jumping no....will check her water tomorrow and see. Can't get hold of any eco earth for a while but have some dry compost i can microwave for a bit, will see what happens after that. Thanks everyone x

[Christopher Smallman]

Hi Mandy.

I knew I had seen this before maybe having read this it will put your mind at ease even if what you have is mites.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/spiders-inverts/388524-guide-mites.html

Chris.

[Mandy Clinch]

Hi Mandy.

I knew I had seen this before maybe having read this it will put your mind at ease even if what you have is mites.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/spiders-inverts/388524-guide-mites.html

Chris.

Wow, great article, thanks!

Cleaned her water last night and they were back when i checked at 3pm today...bloody things!

Here they are in moving raft form..





Can just about see them on the surface

[Jamie Cooper]

They look very much like springtails to me. If so, no need to remove them, their beneficial. They eat mould/fungus. Mine tend to gather in a mass in the water bowl just like in your photo. I purposely place them in all of my enclosures.

Jamie

[Christopher Smallman]

Those look like springtails to me also
You might find when you lift the water container out there will be quite a few living under it in the substrate there as its alway damp.
But there is nothing to worry about as they wont hurt your spider and do a clean up job for you.

Chris.

[Chris Barnard]

Yep, springtails. Look just like the ones I get in my Ts water bowls. They are beneficial, just look a bit unsightly to us. People buy these as a 'clean-up crew' so getting them for free is a bonus! I picked some up in the garden along with some woodlice for my arboreal set up (just quarantine then for a couple of weeks).

Chris

[Christopher Smallman]

Here you go Mandy just so you know you are not alone with wee vistors.
Just done my water containers and most had springtails in them but the one in with my Grammostola pulchra had the most





Chris.

[Mandy Clinch]

Thanks guys, that's reassured me. You just think anything not purposefully introduced might be harmful, you know?

Thanks again