Question about mites!

MrsHaas

MrsHaas

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So a week ago I purchased a P. irminia AF w a large exoterra from a kid who was going away to college and no longer had room for any of his tarantulas. Well after I had purchased the T and the tank the kid told me she may have mites!! [emoji36][emoji36] I was horrified and threw away the tank and put her immediately in a Tupperware w air holes to try to quarantine her. I've been switching out her substrate and washing out the tupperwear thoroughly every 2-3 days. I intend to keep her in here another week before putting her in her pet many enclosure and introducing it to my collection.

So my question is, are all mites visible to the eye? I tried using a black light and saw nothing and I don't see any creepy crawlies in the mouth or joint areas but I'm still super worried!! Is two weeks a long enough time for quarantine? Ive never had mites before so I don't know what I'm up against.



--J.Haas
 
cold blood

cold blood

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Just re-house it and be done with it...you tossed the old, that's where the infestation was. If you're worried just keep her dry for a month, its really not that big of an issue any longer.
 
MrsHaas

MrsHaas

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Ok. Thanks cb... So no water dish for a month either? I am mostly upset bc the kid told me ab the possibility of mites after the deal was done. Plus he said "well everyone has mites so it no big deal." Umm, no. Wrong!! I guess AB has its share of uneducated noobs but that's what I get for buying off one. Next question is should I write a review?



--J.Haas
 
cold blood

cold blood

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Mites are indeed basically everywhere...if you feed crickets, they are introduced regularly...good husbandry prevents them from populating and most of us never notice them.


You had mites, not the plague...lol.
 
Chris LXXIX

Chris LXXIX

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cold blood is right. Don't worry. A rehouse and you are ok. I would add a water dish, also.
 
Ellenantula

Ellenantula

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The best advice is to toss old enclosure and start fresh and keep things dry a few weeks. My only concern would be if you actually saw mites on the T. If T appears mite-free, I shouldn't worry.
 
Angel Minkov

Angel Minkov

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No point in rehousing. Keep it dry for a bit and a lot of the mites will die off. They will ALWAYS be there, no matter how good of a husbandry you have. Natural substrate seems to have a lot less of them, though.
 
The Snark

The Snark

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You can always kill off unwanted critters in an unused tank by covering any air holes and filling with CO2 for a couple of weeks. (Full gestation period of the zorts) Baking soda and vinegar trick. Many manufacturers leave it or nitrogen in their empty tanks to do a kill and inhibit virtually all animal and many organism growth. As example, wineries. They always leave all their empty tanks filled with N.
Just don't forget the stuff is in the tank!!
 
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MrsHaas

MrsHaas

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Belle Fury said:
If they're someone on here or you have reason to suspect they're selling more, definitely. But otherwise there's not much point.
Click to expand...
Lol, yes they are on AB, leaving a review for someone who isn't would be silly for sure!



--J.Haas

---------- Post added 09-12-2015 at 07:51 PM ----------
Angel Minkov said:
No point in rehousing. Keep it dry for a bit and a lot of the mites will die off. They will ALWAYS be there, no matter how good of a husbandry you have. Natural substrate seems to have a lot less of them, though.
Click to expand...
I guess I meant I've never had a harmful infestation. I guess I'll be putting her in her new enclosure after all:

thx for making me feel better guys!! Appreciate the support and advice!



--J.Haas
 
lalberts9310

lalberts9310

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Agree, you'll always encounter mites no matter what. A little bit is okay, as long as they are not on the T itself and you don't have a huge infestation, they are not a problem, she'll be fine. If you see nothing around the mouth then I guess you have nothing to worry about :) like CB said, keep her dry for a month, and you should be good :). Just do regular maintenance and take out boluses and uneaten prey as soon as possible.

Congrats on your new girl! And that's a lovely enclosure you set up for her! Nice work bunny
 
viper69

viper69

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MrsHaas said:
Ok. Thanks cb... So no water dish for a month either? I am mostly upset bc the kid told me ab the possibility of mites after the deal was done. Plus he said "well everyone has mites so it no big deal." Umm, no. Wrong!! I guess AB has its share of uneducated noobs but that's what I get for buying off one. Next question is should I write a review?



--J.Haas
Click to expand...

Actually, if you keep a water dish in there, and they are grain mites, they will be attracted to the moisture and walk right into the water and drown after about 1-2 weeks. They will turn white to brown once dead. Also, if you can put a tupperware into a pan filled with water, you will find mites crawling out into the pan and floating on the top of the water too. I do this all the time to pull out grain mites. I HATE mites, and if you have a mite explosion, they will annoy the :poop: out of your T.
 
MrsHaas

MrsHaas

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lalberts9310 said:
Agree, you'll always encounter mites no matter what. A little bit is okay, as long as they are not on the T itself and you don't have a huge infestation, they are not a problem, she'll be fine. If you see nothing around the mouth then I guess you have nothing to worry about :) like CB said, keep her dry for a month, and you should be good :). Just do regular maintenance and take out boluses and uneaten prey as soon as possible.

Congrats on your new girl! And that's a lovely enclosure you set up for her! Nice work bunny
Click to expand...
Thanks mama [emoji8] only the best for my babies lol



--J.Haas
 
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