Mites!!

[Blueandbluer]

They are nearly harmless in small numbers and won't parasitize your spider unless they are in huge numbers

This is a little misleading because there are tons of different kinds of mites. Most of the ones you'd see crawling around the cage have little to no interest in parasitizing your T, but not because there aren't enough of them, it's because they're not parasitic species. Most of them will be scavengers, eating boluses, T poo, rotting plant matter, etc. This is why drying out helps -- they don't scavenge if it isn't rotting.

I think the confusion comes in when the infestation gets REALLY bad, the mites may go to moist spots of the tarantula (book lungs, mouthparts, etc) to hydrate, just because there's so much competition. But it's not really a parasitization, it's just a convenient place for some desperate mites.

On the other hand, there are some species that are truly parasitic, and for those, drying out the cage does nothing. However, an infestation of those is super rare. You are very unlikely to notice these guys just cruising around as they affix to spider's joints etc.

Anyway, all the advice still holds, I just wanted to clarify.

---------- Post added 03-31-2015 at 01:49 PM ----------

What about mites coming in on feeders? How do you quarantine them? You're going to have mites introduced. The best solution is to have cage conditions that they don't thrive in.

Agreed. They can also come in on substrate. Basically you can always expect to have some level of mites. As long as there don't seem to be masses of them, though, there's no need to panic. I think buying things like helper mites is overkill, personally. Get new substrate, keep it drier... you'll be fine.

 

[cold blood]

Step 1 - stay calm

Step 2 - use fan in the room for air movement

Step 3 - keep substrate drier and remove boluses promptly

Step 4 - increase cage ventilation

Step 5 - keep in mind mite populations normally stay low

This exactly.

Since its a GBB, it should be being kept with good ventilation and a bone dry enclosure anyway. Almost always when you see mites in a dry enclosure its due to it not being cleaned....hidden bolus here and there, a pile buried somewhere, maybe a poop over on the plant or 5 (if its say, an Avic). (see step 3 above)

This happened to me with my G. pulchripes this past fall. One day I see mites surrounding the dish and was surprised. I removed the dish for a week, and put it back. Within a few days I saw them again. Removed the dish again, and although at a glance the enclosure appeared to be pretty clean, I went on a bolus search and found nearly a dozen here and there, including a pile that had been buried...I also cleaned feces from an area I couldn't see. A week later I put the dish back in and never saw them again.

---------- Post added 03-31-2015 at 05:24 PM ----------

What about mites coming in on feeders? How do you quarantine them? You're going to have mites introduced. The best solution is to have cage conditions that they don't thrive in.

Agreed as well. I think crickets from the LPS are one of the biggest causes of random mite outbreaks. I had an outbreak I am amost certainly originated from a couple dozen crickets I bought from a big box LPS....shoulda known, as they were pre-packed and their enclosure was not available to the public.

 

[klawfran3]

Then that leads me to where I can get some of these little helpers? Do they sell them at exotic pet shops or online anywhere?

Ken the bug guy sells them from time to time too