Are these good mites or bad mites...

pureabsolutevoid

Arachnosquire
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Oct 19, 2005
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Today I saw tiny white dust sized white guys moving all around the front 2 doors of my exoterra. I probably saw like 3 and killed them, then saw some more and killed them also...

I have done some reading about mites in tarantula cages and it seems to me like these are the white small ones that just tend to roam around... And I guess these are predatory?

Do I need to worry, I havent ever had this problem before. I am upset of course and cleaned the tank and am letting it dry right now over night with my P. Irminia in an ICU.

I dont see any in any other of my tarantula enclosures and I haven't changed anything about her cage in quite awhile. There was a live plant in there that had started to wilt slightly due to lack of sun I am wondering if this could be a cause...

I am considering buying some predatory mites or isopods (just in case), i tend to freak out about this kind of stufff. Worrrrrry wart!

I couldnt spot these mites anywhere else in the cage, just basically climbing out of the two front doors... STRANGE to me!

Opinions on this are welcome, please let me know how bad I should worry.
 
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gumby

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just to be on the safe side id throw all the stuff in the cage out or was it very well. and I wouldnt put other mites in the cage with your T even if the are suposed to be some kind of nice mite also make sure u are taking dead remains of T food out of cage as this can attract mites
 

pureabsolutevoid

Arachnosquire
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I took out the substrate and the one peice of corkbark i had in the enclosure and washed both the enclosure and the cork bark in very hot water and nuked the corkbark in the microwave for like 4 minutes...

I now have my space heater blowing on the enclosure and the peice of cork bark and plan on keeping in like this over night and putting new peat down tommorow.

I try to remove all the left over cricket parts but sometimes it is difficult and i miss one... I found one left over cricket remain in the cage when i cleaned it :p

You recommend against predatory mites... Why?

Also what is your opinion on pillbugs?

Thank you for your quick reply.
 

necroscope

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Nov 23, 2005
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I think we all get these from time to time.I believe they are quite harmless.If your drying the bark etc then i would put the peat in now and sit it on a heat mat for a day without the lid to get rid of any excess moisture.
Once this is doone return the T.It should be fine but don't worry about them,I've had them a few times without any harm to the T.
Also when you put in the peat squeeze a handful first if it doesn't drip but still keeps its shape then that is ideal.
Hope this helps Mike{D
 

Wikkids_Wench

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Feb 23, 2005
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They may not have been mites at all, but insects such as springtails or booklice. If you want to make sure you don't end up with a mite infestation, they're actually quite helpful in ensuring that waste such as cricket remains gets cleaned up, but I can understand getting everything clean and sterilised if you're not confident about recognising them.

Pillbugs (woodlice) are helpful in keeping tanks clean, but need fairly good humidity. Predatory mites are likewise helpful - species such as the Hypoaspis Miles. we use pillbugs in our tropical scorpion enclosures, ignore the springtails, and use H. Miles in all our tanks and they work wonders :)
 

Cirith Ungol

Ministry of Fluffy Bunnies
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davidkappelt said:
You recommend against predatory mites... Why?
I would think because he or she has no idea what they really do (no offense intended gumby).

Predatory mites only pick off other mites or tiny insects and their eggs. Yes and they do work wonders!

If the mites you had there were good or bad is hard to say but one thing is certain, unless they congretate in large numbers on certain spots on your T then they arn't that bad. They might not be good either, but at least they're not after the T. Drying up the tank does most often take care of it.
 

LukeC

Arachnosquire
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Sep 29, 2005
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woodlice are ace, I never once had a mite promble after I put these little dues in, I also got springtails in my Ts tanks, I have seen them eat T poo (ugh), which cuts down on the cleaning for me :D . Put these dues in and you will have less things to worry about, plus it looks nice to have little woodlice runing around with the Ts (well I think its nice that the T dosnt eat them, I love watching the T and his little friends hang out together).{D {D {D
 

billopelma

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Sep 20, 2005
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we use pillbugs in our tropical scorpion enclosures, ignore the springtails, and use H. Miles in all our tanks and they work wonders
Wikkids_Wench, I'm curious how you keep the H. miles when not actually 'in use' in a critter enclosure. Do they have a shelf life or are they sustainable? When you buy a culture do you just do a one time dispersal to all the enclosures? I've seen this question asked before but never saw any real answers...

Bill
 

Wikkids_Wench

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They have a shelf life but do survive fairly well in enclosures where there is a population of springtails, booklice or similar. Usually those will be found in the damper tanks (tropical scorpions and a few of the T's who prefer moist substrate) and thus the mites survive better in the environments where they are most needed.

Generally we re-culture about once every three months just to ensure that the population is sustained. Any mites not immediately placed in an enclosure will die off, but fortunately they can also be released outdoors without doing harm to vegetation or insect populations.
 
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