Mites and humidity

Skits · 01-21-14, 09:51 PM

I'll be getting a BRB very soon if all works out as planned, I know the humidity must be kept very high which is no problem, but I was wondering about mites. How do I keep it humid without getting them?

EDIT: And worms. I had some little white worms found in my tarantula enclosures once from being too humid.

poison123 · 01-21-14, 09:53 PM

What kind of ites are you talking about.

Brylee1233 · 01-21-14, 10:04 PM

mites? how are mites related to humidity? (I just got a BRB so I want to know/be prepared)

poison123 · 01-21-14, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brylee1233

mites? how are mites related to humidity? (I just got a BRB so I want to know/be prepared)

Some mite species do prefer a more moist and humid environments but the harmful "snakemite" (Ophionyssus natricis) is common in both humid and desert environments.

Skits · 01-21-14, 10:13 PM

I remember their being little mite/bugs in my snakes bin a long time ago. They weren't on the snake, though and I cleaned the substrate and he's been fine since. Had to air out his bin a lot.

I've also had small worms in my tarantulas enclosures which happened because of humidity.

CosmicOwl · 01-21-14, 10:15 PM

Snake mites don't just appear because it's humid.

Brylee1233 · 01-21-14, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poison123

Some mite species do prefer a more moist and humid environments but the harmful "snakemite" (Ophionyssus natricis) is common in both humid and desert environments.

Oh phew okay

Skits · 01-21-14, 10:23 PM

Maybe I was mistaken about the mites it's been a while since I had problems with bugs in my snake tank, maybe I got confused sorry.

But I know I had white worms in an enclosure before because of humidity.

poison123 · 01-21-14, 10:24 PM

The white worms were probably g-nat larvae.

Brylee1233 · 01-21-14, 10:26 PM

I am not an expert on this but I would just think throwing out the substrate and baking your new substrate and cleaning out your enclosure (and everything in it) would be fine for getting the enclosure clean, right?

Skits · 01-21-14, 10:34 PM

When I had the worms in my tanks, they were easy to clean. I got them in my tarantula sling vials so cleaning them out and getting rid of the worms weren't a problem but thought it might happen with a snake? But maybe having an enclosure larger than a pill container would avoid that.

Snakesitter · 01-22-14, 02:57 PM

^^ Spot on ^^

My best advice would be to worry about a breeder's disease risk management more than humidity.... For example, we've never had mites, partly due to strict pre-treatment of all vivs with Provent a Mite, required initial vet exams, and a strict six-month quarantine. Few vendors, however, are that cautious.

And always, *always* quarantine.

Good luck!

Skits · 01-23-14, 03:10 AM

Alright, will do. Definitely was planning on making sure I'm not bringing anything other than the snake into the home lol

formica · 01-23-14, 04:41 AM

the only mites you need to worry about, are snake mites, and they need to be introduced, so as long as you are careful with quarantine, you dont have to worry about it

you will always have mites in an enclosure, low or high humidity, it doent matter, they are everywhere, they are mostly harmless, many of them feeding off waste in the enclosure, and others are predatory, eating other mites and inverts

so, dont worry about it