White bugs???

[DeadlyDesires]

OK so i was looking at Demon today and i noticed that he has several little white bugs crawling on him??? this confuses me because im sure mites are black (the ones i've seen) and he doesn't sit in his water or anything?? they are itty bitty like the size of a needle tip and they are white? is it possible that they are just the bio-active bugs that are in the soil? or should i start to worry?

i do have wood in there as well possibly wood mites?

[DiscoPat]

Look really close, they may be baby crickets.

I had a ton of baby crickets in my old cage that were so tiny you could barely see them.

[DeadlyDesires]

Look really close, they may be baby crickets.

I had a ton of baby crickets in my old cage that were so tiny you could barely see them.


lol let me explain how tiny they are..... if i get any closer to try and see them better, i may lose my nose lmfao :P.... i dont know how tiny baby crix are though :-/ these guys almost look microscopic though so i dont know what they look like that small really. but he hasn't had crix in his enclosure for months so is it still possible?

the sarcastic comment was just a joke by the way wasn't trying to be rude just thought it was funny :P ...

[mykee]

They're wood mites.

[DeadlyDesires]

They're wood mites.


thats what i was thinking too, just wanted to ask and make sure i dont want anything that could potentially harm him :-/

[Pirarucu]

Gonna go with wood mites, it's nothing to worry about.

[mykee]

"Gonna go with wood mites, it's nothing to worry about. "
Unless your snakes are wood.

[Trollbie]

Look really close, they may be baby crickets.

I had a ton of baby crickets in my old cage that were so tiny you could barely see them.

How did you know they were crickets?

[Starbuck]

crickets dont metamorphose; the babies look like very tiny versions of the adults, minus the wings and ovipositors. Baby (just hatched) crix are about the size of a mechanical pencil tip, 0.1cm x 0.05cm, and have very clear antennae and dark eyes, and easy to see legs, though not as adapted to hopping as the adults.

Wood lice will have a flabbier appearing body, less prominant antennae and eyes, and the legs will be very very small and grouped toward the front of the animal. They are about half the size of a baby crix.

As a diagnostic tool, you could take a piece of scotch 'magic' tape and trap a few on the sticky side (i think 'magic' tape is less sticky than the clear, shiny kind), then look at them under a microscope/magnifying glass to confirm.

[Trollbie]

crickets dont metamorphose; the babies look like very tiny versions of the adults, minus the wings and ovipositors. Baby (just hatched) crix are about the size of a mechanical pencil tip, 0.1cm x 0.05cm, and have very clear antennae and dark eyes, and easy to see legs, though not as adapted to hopping as the adults.

Wood lice will have a flabbier appearing body, less prominant antennae and eyes, and the legs will be very very small and grouped toward the front of the animal. They are about half the size of a baby crix.

As a diagnostic tool, you could take a piece of scotch 'magic' tape and trap a few on the sticky side (i think 'magic' tape is less sticky than the clear, shiny kind), then look at them under a microscope/magnifying glass to confirm.

Well, that explains the mystery bugs in my tarantula's cage. Thanks lol

[Toothless]

Are you sure their not just springtails? Look a photo of them up on google and see if they look like what you have.
I noticed a ton of white bugs in my enclosure a while back, and after thinking I had mights, realized they were actually springtails. They keep my enclosure nice and clean as they're nature's little decomposers.

[Trollbie]

Are you sure their not just springtails? Look a photo of them up on google and see if they look like what you have.
I noticed a ton of white bugs in my enclosure a while back, and after thinking I had mights, realized they were actually springtails. They keep my enclosure nice and clean as they're nature's little decomposers.

I don't know :( l changed the substrate and cleaned the cage so no bugs anymore.

[jhinton6932]

yep have them also. i just let em be. they dont ever escape and they make the big piles of lizard crap disapear, they are quite useful

[Toothless]

I have springtails, darkling beetles, baby crickets, and superworm beetles in my soil. My enclosure smells like outside and never stinks. Its also really interesting to sit there and watch all the little buggies going about their business :).

[lady_bug87]

yep have them also. i just let em be. they dont ever escape and they make the big piles of lizard crap disapear, they are quite useful

No..
They don't. Pretty sure wood mites eat wood.

And by pretty sure I mean that I have researched this out the bum (haha) and have found no evidence of Coprophagia among mites of any variety

[Aaron_S]

No..
They don't. Pretty sure wood mites eat wood.

And by pretty sure I mean that I have researched this out the bum (haha) and have found no evidence of Coprophagia among mites of any variety

Are springtails considered mites? To my limited knowledge as I normally don't care for bio-active, is that dart frog keepers use them to feed the really small frogs and they sustain themselves when placed in a proper set up.

[lady_bug87]

Are springtails considered mites? To my limited knowledge as I normally don't care for bio-active, is that dart frog keepers use them to feed the really small frogs and they sustain themselves when placed in a proper set up.

That is a really good question. I actually don't have an answer to that. From what I understand, Coprophagia exists because there is leftover nutrients in the feces. So that's what they're technically eating.

If we follow the logic that reptilian digestion is incredibly advanced, snake poop isn't a real good food source. Usually these insects prefer herbivore feces since they arguably have the least effective digestive systems leaving a lot for the bugs.

I would imagine the springtails get most of their nutrients from dying plant matter.

[Aaron_S]

That is a really good question. I actually don't have an answer to that. From what I understand, Coprophagia exists because there is leftover nutrients in the feces. So that's what they're technically eating.

If we follow the logic that reptilian digestion is incredibly advanced, snake poop isn't a real good food source. Usually these insects prefer herbivore feces since they arguably have the least effective digestive systems leaving a lot for the bugs.

I would imagine the springtails get most of their nutrients from dying plant matter.

I would agree on the diet of springtails. I figured if someone was making a self sustaining enclosure then there would be live plants involved and it would create the necessary lifecycle.

Also, if there was any feces to eat it would be dart frog sized and that's mighty small to even notice.

[Pirarucu]

That is a really good question. I actually don't have an answer to that. From what I understand, Coprophagia exists because there is leftover nutrients in the feces. So that's what they're technically eating.

If we follow the logic that reptilian digestion is incredibly advanced, snake poop isn't a real good food source. Usually these insects prefer herbivore feces since they arguably have the least effective digestive systems leaving a lot for the bugs.

I would imagine the springtails get most of their nutrients from dying plant matter.Well, that just means that snake feces would not support as large a population as herbivore feces, not that the bugs would ignore the snake feces... Life will exist wherever it can possibly eke out a living, not exclusively in ideal places...

[Toothless]

From what I gather, springtails are hexapods and not related to mites. They are found mostly in leaf litter and decaying materials. Apparently having a good supply of springtails means your soil is healthy and not polluted. I know for a fact the ones in my cage can break down a big hunk of sav poo in under a day.

[Starbuck]

plus 5 points to toothless :)
springtails are not mites; mites are more closely related to ticks and spiders than to hexapods/other insects.
both mites and springtails are mainly detritivores... BUT there are SOME high-profile mite species which live as obligate parasites, and cause us all sorts of trouble.
I am unaware of any springtails/related bugs which are parasitic/detrimental to humans or animals.

[jhinton6932]

No..
They don't. Pretty sure wood mites eat wood.

And by pretty sure I mean that I have researched this out the bum (haha) and have found no evidence of Coprophagia among mites of any variety


i was referring to springtails. little white looking ant type things.

if its not them something breaks down the smaller piles of lizard crap. the sav's is a lot bigger so it doesnt just vanish i have to actually remove it

[lady_bug87]

i was referring to springtails. little white looking ant type things.

if its not them something breaks down the smaller piles of lizard crap. the sav's is a lot bigger so it doesnt just vanish i have to actually remove it

Fecal matter isn't part of the natural springtail diet. Though they will eat what's available, they need a food source separate to the poop in order to thrive. Chances are the springtails are more interested in the plant particulates in the soil. If the monitor ingests dirt when he eats, those particulates are present in the feces which is what the springtails are attracted to.

[Aaron_S]

Fecal matter isn't part of the natural springtail diet. Though they will eat what's available, they need a food source separate to the poop in order to thrive. Chances are the springtails are more interested in the plant particulates in the soil. If the monitor ingests dirt when he eats, those particulates are present in the feces which is what the springtails are attracted to.

I sure am glad we have our resident mite expert.

[lady_bug87]

From what I gather, springtails are hexapods and not related to mites. They are found mostly in leaf litter and decaying materials. Apparently having a good supply of springtails means your soil is healthy and not polluted. I know for a fact the ones in my cage can break down a big hunk of sav poo in under a day.

I sure am glad we have our resident mite expert.

Hey look I bolded the part where you were wrong. I also marked the date on the calendar.

And that's no way to talk to the boss. So sssshhhhh