Mites?! Help!

[Trohr]

Hey guys, I fear that I might have mights. Please watch the video~

YouTube - Mites in my terrarium?!

[John]

They could be mites but they move far too fast for any of the nasty species I'm aware of. Do you have plants in there? The could be from those. I love the quality of your video by the way. What camera are you using?

[Kurt]

A while back I had mites in one of my scorpion enclosures. They were very similar to yours. I just cleaned out the cage and used a moistened Q-tip to pick off any that were on the scorpion itself. Haven't seen them since.

[Trohr]

I have lots of plants in my terrarium- many of them have small spider webs in them so I have a feeling these are just a hatch of spiders. I gave both my frogs a going over, and none of them had any bugs of any sort sucking the life force from them.

I figured that if they get really bad i'll try the "dry ice" fix....

I recently bought a Cannon Powershot SD780 IS with a true 12.1mp sensor, 3X zoom, and HD video. It's about the size of a credit card.... Best purchase i've made all year.

[Trohr]

It's been awhile now since I noticed the tiny, red, spider-like bugs running around my vivarium. I was wondering, if these things are mites, shouldn't they be going after my frogs? I bought a magnifying glass, looked over my frogs a few times, and didn't notice any of the small bugs on them. I even checked under their arms. A couple days ago I tried the dry ice fix, and it sort of worked, but the bugs came back a few days afterward. I plan on trying it again in a few days, but I'm going to leave the dry ice in there all day long, and slowly leak a bottle of CO2 in as well. Maybe these are some other type of bug? I desperately want them to be some other type of bug, but they do look similar to these spider mites....



And some of my plants do have little holes in them like these....

[Trohr]

*EDIT!

Just sent a few photos, and video off to the big-bug-guy on my local university's campus. He says the odds are high that they are mites- most likely came in with the soil- but apparently not all mites are parasitic. I have yet to see any of them on my frogs, and he thinks this is because they're going after my plants~

[Kurt]

That is the most likely scenario.

[John]

Plant mites, there you go, told you so .

[Trohr]

Makes me feel soooooooooo much better that they're not going after my frogs- I'm sure you can imagine :]

[offroad537]

even plant mites are good for your frogs. If i were you i would redue your cage. spry your plants with a mite spry rise the plants with clean water very well. and then let them dry. and then check them and then redue the hole cage. thats what i would do

[John]

even plant mites are good for your frogs. If i were you i would redue your cage. spry your plants with a mite spry rise the plants with clean water very well. and then let them dry. and then check them and then redue the hole cage. thats what i would do

Mites are virtually impossible to exclude from frog enclosures in the long run. It's not something to worry about.

[offroad537]

i would worry about it. because frogs are post to be your pet or your friend and you should care alot about them. and keep them happy. If i have mites in my cage with my frogs. I dont care what kind of mites they are i well change my cage and ground change the plants and make sure theres not mites.

[John]

Nice sentiment. Tell that to the millions of dust mites that live in your bed with you at night. Non-parasitic mites are ubiquitous - the fact is that most people don't have the eyesight to spot them running around their frogs' enclosures.

[Kurt]

I had mites in my fruit fly cultures recently, still I fed the flies out to my frogs, no problem. Sure mites probably went with them, but no big deal as they are harmless to the frogs and die off because there is nothing for them to eat in the frog's enclosure.

[John]

Well the issue is that there are so many kinds of mites, and most of them can't be identified just by looking at them with the naked eye. Most of the ubiquitous mites are harmless and free-living. It's those that are parasitic that should concern us. However I don't recall ever seeing anyone post about finding parasitic mites on a frog. How about you Kurt?

I challenge anyone who has substrate a month or older in their frog terrarium to take a magnifying glass out and go over it very slowly and methodically, and not find a mite.

[Kurt]

I don't remember any mention of exo-parasites in this forum or elsewhere for that matter. The only parasitic mites I personally know of, attack reptiles, birds and mammals. Mange is caused by mites. Never heard of any attacking amphibians. Not to say they don't exist, I have just never heard of them. You would think I would've by now if they did indeed exist.

[Malduroque]

I challenge anyone who has substrate a month or older in their frog terrarium to take a magnifying glass out and go over it very slowly and methodically, and not find a mite.

So true. You just are going to find some little creatures if you look hard enough. As long as they are not a)harming your animals or b)over-running the setup or c)leaving the enclosure and setting up shop in your house in large numbers, it shouldn't be anything to fret over, especially in a peculiarly ungrammatical fashion.

Awhile back in my toad setup, I was seeing these little creatures scurrying across the enclosure. Once I focused in with a magnifier, I could see that they were tiny baby crickets. One of the feeders must have laid some eggs before being consumed. Since there really wasn't anything for them to eat, they eventually died off and I haven't seen their like since then. Nice thing was if they did thrive and continue to grow they would have become another meal for the toads.

[offroad537]

i guess i would worry because my snakes had mites and i didnt get to them in time so my snake died because of it. Now im a little more picky about mites.

[Kurt]

Snake mites are parasitical. They are also easily treated. If it happens again, assuming you still have snakes, soak the snake in tepid water for about twenty minutes, then add some betadine and let him soak for another twenty minutes. I use Rubbermaid boxes to soak snakes in. They have lids, so the snake can't wander off.
While the snake is soaking clean out the cage. Throw out all substrate. Then clean the cage with a bleach and water solution. Plastic and ceramic cage furniture can also be sterilized in this way. Rinse thoroughly, before setting the cage back up. Wooden items, like half-log hides, cannot be cleaned in this manner. So, scrub down any wooden items in the sink, than bake them in the oven at 200F for about an hour or so. Let cool before placing them back in your snake's cage.

[stompjrkz400]

sorry to bump and old post, but i just lost my chubby tree, he was alive yesterday, found him tonight, very very dryed up still standing up almost, he was covered in little white mite like things, tommrow im going to go get new soil beding to clean my cage, but could the mites have killed him? ive had him for about a year

other frogs in the tank inculde

cuban tree frog
2 American toads
yellow spotted salamander


i knew of the mites, but was told they cant harm frogs, i figure the toads and salamanders are fine with them, maybe not the cuban

does anyone have any ideas, the last few days the chubby has been acting werd
he hasnt been burrowed, he has been in the water ALOT! normally i never see him, hes been burrowed down all winter.