View Full Version : fly infestation
Ok so I had typer out a big paragraph but my phone keeps crashing and losing it lol.
Long story short some sort of fly that looks like a smaller blue bottle except green flew into the savs cage a few days ago. I opened it up today and theres about 40 of the things buzzing about.
Could they cause any harm? Like maggots etc eating away at the monitor?
Also what would be the easiest way to get rid of them without harming the sav?
My dads goin ape**** saying they are some sort of tropical fly that just magically appeared somehow and has nothing to do with the council not emptying our bins for 3weeks. So if someone has some sort of reassurance it'd be much appreciated before my little guy has to be rehomed :(
Has this ever happened to anyone else before or am I the only dafty about here that wouldnt think anything of letting a fly get into the enclosure? :(
infernalis
10-04-13, 04:37 AM
Flies are no harm at all, they do not eat living things.
and have nothing to do with your Bosc.
most likely the bins that have not been emptied.
A liquid fly trap is harmless, it's a sugar water bottle that they drown in, or just let them die on their own, the life cycle of a fly is very short, so in a few days they are dead anyway.
Flies are no harm at all, they do not eat living things.
and have nothing to do with your Bosc.
most likely the bins that have not been emptied.
A liquid fly trap is harmless, it's a sugar water bottle that they drown in, or just let them die on their own, the life cycle of a fly is very short, so in a few days they are dead anyway.
Thanks for that ill show my dad this and put his mind to ease!
I was just thinking seen as they have been breeding like maggots could breed in the monitor or something. My gf is a vet nurse and was telling me about cases where small furrys have to be put down due to maggot infestations in their cages which has led to them eating away at the inside of the animal. Probably just over thibking things again lol.
Ill get one of those traps then!
formica
10-04-13, 04:50 AM
a single fly can lay allot of eggs, and in a hot humid enclosure they will develop in no time at all - the 40 flys, came from the enclosure or ? wasnt very clear from what you wrote, but yep could be the bins! we have blue and green bottles here in the UK, among others
maggots can infest a live animal, if it has a serious wound with dead tissue, have you given your Sav a good check over? although with 40 flies the wound would have to be pretty damn big, I doubt you would miss
What about left over food? regurgitated food? or perhaps your Sav is a she and theres some eggs lying undiscovered?
Is your enclosure bio-active? have you checked how stable the colonies of cleaners are? could be that they cannot keep up with your Savs mess, alongside springtails I recomend both grey and white tropical woodlice aswell
a single fly can lay allot of eggs, and in a hot humid enclosure they will develop in no time at all - the 40 flys, came from the enclosure or ? wasnt very clear from what you wrote, but yep could be the bins! we have blue and green bottles here in the UK, among others
maggots can infest a live animal, if it has a serious wound with dead tissue, have you given your Sav a good check over? although with 40 flies the wound would have to be pretty damn big, I doubt you would miss
What about left over food? regurgitated food? or perhaps your Sav is a she and theres some eggs lying undiscovered?
Is your enclosure bio-active? have you checked how stable the colonies of cleaners are? could be that they cannot keep up with your Savs mess, alongside springtails I recomend both grey and white tropical woodlice aswell
One fly flew in, about 40 appeared a few days later.
My sav has no wounds at all I seen him/her jumping about yesterday and no wounds.
Theres no leftover food or such in there. Feces normally lies for half a day- a day until its gone because I only have springtails, worms, some beetles and im assuming morio worms still in there.
I have no idea if there are eggs, I dont often poke about inside the enclosure.
I think they are green bottles, never heard of them before!
infernalis
10-04-13, 05:01 AM
Maggot only eat dead tissues, in fact medicine still recognize this as a treatment for gangrene.
Formica does raise a valid point? any decomposing material in the viv?
There could possibly be some part of feces left. Im now at worl so will need to check once im home. If so ill remive straight away!
In from work now and theres no decomposing material I can find. I have made one of those sugar water bottle catchers. Heres hoping! My gf has got me worried about maggots eating away at the monitor though. Shes saying the maggots will probably start eating away at his toes at first.
Chris72
10-04-13, 11:35 AM
In case you read it elsewhere or get advice from someone at home....
DO NOT put a "no-pet-strip" in the enclosure. (Vapona makes them here) Those work by out gassing huge amounts of permethrin. They will turn water and anything that can be ingested into poison.
The sticky roll types should be OK so long as your animal can not reach it.
.
Starbuck
10-04-13, 11:40 AM
Maggots will not/should not harm your monitor at all unless he has existing wounds/necrosis on the toes etc. A healthy individual with proper husbandry, good sheds, who is properly hydrated well have no issues whatsoever with the maggots/flies.
In case you read it elsewhere or get advice from someone at home....
DO NOT put a "no-pet-strip" in the enclosure. (Vapona makes them here) Those work by out gassing huge amounts of permethrin. They will turn water and anything that can be ingested into poison.
The sticky roll types should be OK so long as your animal can not reach it.
.
I would never put anything sticky in a reptile cage-ever. Too many bad scenarios are opened this way.
I once bought a few anoles for this reason and they cleaned the mess right up.
I would never put anything sticky in a reptile cage-ever. Too many bad scenarios are opened this way.
I once bought a few anoles for this reason and they cleaned the mess right up.
if the sav doesn't eat the anoles first haha
Chris72
10-04-13, 12:39 PM
I would never put anything sticky in a reptile cage-ever. Too many bad scenarios are opened this way.
I once bought a few anoles for this reason and they cleaned the mess right up.
Yeah.
It would only be a consideration if it was 2ft or more out of reach of the animal. (Not many people have that kind of space)
Best is to do what Wayne said and make a sugar-water trap.
if the sav doesn't eat the anoles first haha
They work pretty well. I buy them very small, and for the most part the survive my monitor. When they grow up a little, they get hunted and caught. Adds an interesting component to my bio-active environment, and gives my Savannah Monitor some good exercise.
formica
10-04-13, 01:43 PM
yeah dont worry about the maggots hurting your sav, they wont, they dont eat live tissues, only dead and rotting tissues, as said above
I dont know if green bottles are attracted to sugar to be honest, i may be wrong, but I think they only seek out protein, ie meat for laying and producing eggs - worth a try tho - if it doesnt work, a bit of meat will do it, although ur Sav might try and get at it too lol
Thanks for the replys guys. The sugar water trap I made didnt work so this morning I ended up hanging inside the enclosure with a rolled up newspaper lol. They are actually quite clumsy and eady to swat, think I got them all but ive got a feeling they will be back. Ill try the anoles if so, dont think they'll last too long but awell it'll keep him busy haha! Ill try the fly paper aswell. Thats good to know that thr maggots wont touch him, ibwas really getting into a panic about that :(
Just checked it agan there and theres even more now! Seems like theres no getting rid if them, think ill just have to change all the dirt :(
formica
10-05-13, 06:32 AM
Just checked it agan there and theres even more now! Seems like theres no getting rid if them, think ill just have to change all the dirt :(
are they inside the enclosure? or in the room with the enclosure?
try putting some meat in your trap, instead of sugar, only a tiny piece is needed, they'll pick it up
If they are definitly inside the enclosure, I think there must be a large amount of protien for them to be laying eggs on, check for eggs, and regurgitated food before trying to remove all the dirt, might save yourself some work!
If its eggs....be prepared for a serious stink (have a damp cloth ready to put over your mouth and nose, so you dont vomit in the enclosure...no joke lol)
are they inside the enclosure? or in the room with the enclosure?
try putting some meat in your trap, instead of sugar, only a tiny piece is needed, they'll pick it up
If they are definitly inside the enclosure, I think there must be a large amount of protien for them to be laying eggs on, check for eggs, and regurgitated food before trying to remove all the dirt, might save yourself some work!
If its eggs....be prepared for a serious stink (have a damp cloth ready to put over your mouth and nose, so you dont vomit in the enclosure...no joke lol)
Theyre in the enclosure. Im gonna get some fly paper today n hang it high enough so he cant reach it.
Ive checked the full enclosure but cant see any food or eggs. Ill dump out all the dirt from the spot he normally goes to the toilet on and hopefully that will help. If not then the only option is to replace all the substrate I thibk
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.