Wood mites - Page 4

Pirarucu · 01-03-13, 10:45 AM

I don't see a bad thread, I see a bunch of bad comments. The OP saw mites eating his snake's poop, and guessed that they were wood mites. Do wood mites normally eat poop? Nope. Are there other mites that do? You bet. The right thing to do would be to correct him on the species, then politely and informatively discuss the subject. Instead, everyone instantly piled on to bash the OP, even using personal attacks and insinuations.
And we wonder why this forum is going downhill....

Pirarucu · 01-03-13, 11:04 AM

If I had to guess, I'd say they are mold mites. Mold eats poop, mites eat mold. It's as simple as that. I'd just leave them there, they won't bother the snake.

mykee · 01-03-13, 11:13 AM

Just clean the damn poop out of the enclosure rather than post pics on here. Easier and cleaner.
EWWW!

Corey209 · 01-03-13, 11:35 AM

From what I've been reading from other sources, wood mites didn't really do anything for others besides stop their springtails from thriving.

Why not just stop wasting your time and go get some isopods/springtails?
Isopod, Pillbug, Sow Bug Information

**lady_bug87** · 01-03-13, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

I don't see a bad thread, I see a bunch of bad comments. The OP saw mites eating his snake's poop, and guessed that they were wood mites. Do wood mites normally eat poop? Nope. Are there other mites that do? You bet. The right thing to do would be to correct him on the species, then politely and informatively discuss the subject. Instead, everyone instantly piled on to bash the OP, even using personal attacks and insinuations.
And we wonder why this forum is going downhill....

Which eat poop? I tried looking all over the web and i cannot find any evidence that there are *any* coprophagous mites.

And if they are mold mites it doesn't make sense to make poop mold so you don't have to pick it up besides that's not how coprophagia works.

Insects that are coprophagic eat left over nutrients in the feces of large animals. Herbivore digestive systems are inefficient and therefore a lot of nutrients are found in the feces. They don't eat just any old poop.

Besides there would be no reason for a coprophagic mite to eat snake feces since their digestive systems are extremely efficient, there wouldn't be enough nutrients left to sustain them.

Just a quick source:Coprophagia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Aaron_S** · 01-03-13, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lady_bug87

Which eat poop? I tried looking all over the web and i cannot find any evidence that there are *any* coprophagous mites.

And if they are mold mites it doesn't make sense to make poop mold so you don't have to pick it up besides that's not how coprophagia works.

Insects that are coprophagic eat left over nutrients in the feces of large animals. Herbivore digestive systems are inefficient and therefore a lot of nutrients are found in the feces. They don't eat just any old poop.

Besides there would be no reason for a coprophagic mite to eat snake feces since their digestive systems are extremely efficient, there wouldn't be enough nutrients left to sustain them.

Just a quick source:Coprophagia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think someone just got served....

Also, so is this to believe that without a proper set-up that a snake bio enclosure can't be done? I believe it's laziness of keepers who go for this situation.

I also believe that it worked really well in dart frogs and some gecko enclosures because they can eat the insects to keep the numbers down. It's a better ecosystem.

Pirarucu · 01-03-13, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lady_bug87

Which eat poop? I tried looking all over the web and i cannot find any evidence that there are *any* coprophagous mites.

And if they are mold mites it doesn't make sense to make poop mold so you don't have to pick it up besides that's not how coprophagia works.

Insects that are coprophagic eat left over nutrients in the feces of large animals. Herbivore digestive systems are inefficient and therefore a lot of nutrients are found in the feces. They don't eat just any old poop.

Besides there would be no reason for a coprophagic mite to eat snake feces since their digestive systems are extremely efficient, there wouldn't be enough nutrients left to sustain them.

Just a quick source:Coprophagia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have seen myself small red mites (or at least, that's certainly what I took them to be.) eating poop on a cattle farm. They were absolutely swarming it.. I agree there is not much of a reason to go after snake feces, for the exact reasons you said. You'll notice I did not specify snake feces though, did I?

**lady_bug87** · 01-03-13, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

I don't see a bad thread, I see a bunch of bad comments. The OP saw mites eating his snake's poop, and guessed that they were wood mites. Do wood mites normally eat poop? Nope. Are there other mites that do? You bet. The right thing to do would be to correct him on the species, then politely and informatively discuss the subject. Instead, everyone instantly piled on to bash the OP, even using personal attacks and insinuations.
And we wonder why this forum is going downhill....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

I have seen myself small red mites (or at least, that's certainly what I took them to be.) eating poop on a cattle farm. They were absolutely swarming it.. I agree there is not much of a reason to go after snake feces, for the exact reasons you said. You'll notice I did not specify snake feces though, did I?

See the quote above this one.

Pirarucu · 01-03-13, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lady_bug87

See the quote above this one.

Perhaps you should too. I stated there are mites that eat feces. I did not specifically say there are mites adapted to eat snake feces.

That being said, I'd be willing to bet those mites would still go after snake poop if it was the only stuff around. Animals will live wherever they can possibly survive, not exclusively in ideal conditions. There will be higher concentrations in ideal conditions, but if they can survive in smaller numbers elsewhere, you had better believe they will do so.

**Aaron_S** · 01-03-13, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

Perhaps you should too. I stated there are mites that eat feces. I did not specifically say there are mites adapted to eat snake feces.

That being said, I'd be willing to bet those mites would still go after snake poop if it was the only stuff around. Animals will live wherever they can possibly survive, not exclusively in ideal conditions. There will be higher concentrations in ideal conditions, but if they can survive in smaller numbers elsewhere, you had better believe they will do so.

At the end of the day, I think the best thing to do is just to put some elbow grease into your collection and pick up the poop!

The OP has what? A few snakes. Nothing compared to what myself or other breeders have and I don't have bugs doing my job!

**lady_bug87** · 01-03-13, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

Perhaps you should too. I stated there are mites that eat feces. I did not specifically say there are mites adapted to eat snake feces.

That being said, I'd be willing to bet those mites would still go after snake poop if it was the only stuff around. Animals will live wherever they can possibly survive, not exclusively in ideal conditions. There will be higher concentrations in ideal conditions, but if they can survive in smaller numbers elsewhere, you had better believe they will do so.

O boy, you sure told me...

Pirarucu · 01-03-13, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

At the end of the day, I think the best thing to do is just to put some elbow grease into your collection and pick up the poop!

The OP has what? A few snakes. Nothing compared to what myself or other breeders have and I don't have bugs doing my job!

I personally just pick up my snake's poop as well. It also depends on your cage. If you have your snakes in a big, elaborate cage then you've bound to miss some of it, in which case it's nice to have a cleanup crew. If you have your snakes in small tubs then it's less practical.

**Aaron_S** · 01-03-13, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

I personally just pick up my snake's poop as well. It also depends on your cage. If you have your snakes in a big, elaborate cage then you've bound to miss some of it, in which case it's nice to have a cleanup crew. If you have your snakes in small tubs then it's less practical.

Dude, I've done it for years. Never once have I used a clean up crew. Not even in the days when I worked in a pet store with EVERYTHING in tanks and multiple animals. We got in trouble if we just "missed" some of it. It's ALL in a pile. You can't miss it. Stop making excuses for lazy keepers.

Corey209 · 01-03-13, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Dude, I've done it for years. Never once have I used a clean up crew. Not even in the days when I worked in a pet store with EVERYTHING in tanks and multiple animals. We got in trouble if we just "missed" some of it. It's ALL in a pile. You can't miss it. Stop making excuses for lazy keepers.

I agree completely, I normally scoop the poop and the substrate underneath it up so that I don't miss anything. It's not hard to put a little substrate back in the enclosure.

Pirarucu · 01-03-13, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Dude, I've done it for years. Never once have I used a clean up crew. Not even in the days when I worked in a pet store with EVERYTHING in tanks and multiple animals. We got in trouble if we just "missed" some of it. It's ALL in a pile. You can't miss it. Stop making excuses for lazy keepers.

By "large, elaborate cage" I did not mean like a Ball Python in a 75 or even 125 gallon tank with cypress and branches everywhere. That is still a simple tank to me. Large and elaborate means a cage larger than a room, piled high with stuff. I'm talking about a cage with spots you can't even see or get to. If a keeper is setting up cages like what I'm talking about, they would not be lazy, it would simply be impractical to not have it bioactive.