Mites????

[JFell95]

I just finished feeding all my slings and I noticed a bunch of tiny white things moving around in my B. vagans substrate. The sling is still very small around .5" and is housed in a pill vial. Are these mites? If they are what should I do? I also house all my slings in vials next to each other, but the substrate in all the others look fine. What should I do? And where do these mites come from? The vagans has been in the same vial for quite some time because it grows so slow.

Thanks for any help
Jaime

[le-thomas]

Seems to me that this is a very common problem. If you're extremely worried that they're mites, change the substrate. They could very well be springtails or some other type of harmless creature as well, so pictures would always help.

[Zman181]

Hopefully this clears it up for you somehow.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/show...over-enclosure.

[JFell95]

Hopefully this clears it up for you somehow.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/show...over-enclosure.

Thanks that helped a ton!

[njnolan1]

I thought B. vagans were the fastest growing Brachypelma?

[jayefbe]

I thought B. vagans were the fastest growing Brachypelma?

Fastest growing Brachypelma is still slow compared to most other tarantulas.

[Danielson]

I actually found tiny white mites in all my ts enclosures 1 week ago, so so so small i got a magnifying glass out on the ones that were in the water dish, i think/hope they're springtails then i seen 1 little orange/red one that worries me, so i'm going into cleaning mode this week. Here is a photo of the little critters i see in all of my waterdishes, maybe someone can identify what they are for me

[Pikaia]

I actually found tiny white mites in all my ts enclosures 1 week ago, so so so small i got a magnifying glass out on the ones that were in the water dish, i think/hope they're springtails then i seen 1 little orange/red one that worries me, so i'm going into cleaning mode this week. Here is a photo of the little critters i see in all of my waterdishes, maybe someone can identify what they are for me

We're at the limits of resolution of your camera and my computer screen. But, because of the profile of the center insect I'd say they're springtails. Do they seem to disappear unexpectedly? They have a weird mechanism (caudal furcula) at their rear end that catapults them some distance to avoid danger (hence, their name). When they jump like that the seem to vanish.

Here's a bunch of images of what they look like under magnification.

I've heard mixed stories about springtails. Some people like them because they're scavengers and help keep cages and baby bottles clean. But, I've also heard of cases where tarantulas were seen to walk around on their "tip toes" with their rear ends high in the air, obviously distressed by them. Watch your tarantulas carefully. If they show any signs of distress clean their enclosures.

Enjoy your little 8-legged trouble makers!

[njnolan1]

Fastest growing Brachypelma is still slow compared to most other tarantulas.

How long does it take them to get full grown? I though I read somewhere they can get full grown in under3 or 4 years.

[Pikaia]

I just finished feeding all my slings and I noticed a bunch of tiny white things moving around in my B. vagans substrate. The sling is still very small around .5" and is housed in a pill vial. Are these mites? If they are what should I do? I also house all my slings in vials next to each other, but the substrate in all the others look fine. What should I do? And where do these mites come from? The vagans has been in the same vial for quite some time because it grows so slow.

Thanks for any help
Jaime

When in any doubt, change the spiderling to a new vial or bottle and clean the old one. Those of us who've been at this gig for a few years have learned to always keep a number of empty bottles/containers/cages set up but dry and stored in a handy closet or drawer. Whenever we detect a potential crisis our first, knee jerk reaction is to dampen the substrate if necessary and switch the tarantula to the new container. The old, problematic one is then cleaned and set up again but left dry, and stored for the next crisis.

And, there will ALWAYS be a next crisis! Good tarantula husbandry isn't necessarily always knowing how to avoid issues. It also involves being able to handle little bumps in the road without endangering our spiders. Business as usual.

Also, read Mighty Mites.


Enjoy your little 8-legged wonders!