Help toad tank in danger

[dizsmo]

hello I have had two american toads for two years so far and it has been fine.Recently I put a piece of moss into the tank and the next day I noticed some little white/light orange mites eating a dead cricket in the tank.I need to know what to do,I have neem oil I was thinking about taking the two toads out and spraying the **** out the tank.But I just am super squeamish to the idea of mites in a tank in my room because i already saw two in a container I had sitting on top of terrarium.I do not want mites walking around my house,me while im sleeping,or messing with my toads.So should I just spray down tank with neem oil?will it hurt toads?do I even got to take toads out of tank?also dont say change everything in tank because I would be more likely to get rid of tank entirely but I do enjoy looking at the toads so idk,I dont see the mites on the toads but I need to make sure they arent parasitic and wont spread to biting me and the other people in my house.Hopefully get some answers quick because in about 5 hours Im just gonna say **** it and nuke the tank.

[DanDrobates]

Odds are you have springtails but in the absence of a picture I cannot say with any certainty. Springtails are ultimately beneficial in breaking down vivarium waste and unwanted mold. They are an essential part of a bioactive vivarium. If they are springtails bear in mind that they are harmless to you and your toad.

As far as neem oil goes I’d discourage you from using it since it’s not water soluble and you’ll have extreme difficulty getting it out of the vivarium once it’s in. Also the neem oil is likely to kill any feeder insects you introduce and may be harmful to your toad.

If anything trash the whole enclosure and start over. Never introduce field collected wood, mosses, plants etc. and you should be good

[dizsmo]

idk if they are springtails i took pics but it literally looks like a white dot lol but some are darker shades then others i noticed and when i look up springtails they look more elongated these looked more round like a tick maybe but super small and they were on dead cricket in a swarm thats how i noticed but i usually can only find like a few walking around if i looked really close, but with that said i dont think i noticed any on the toads but i also have cannabis plants so im kinda like damn if they are spider mites thatll be terrrrrrible lol

[otofrog]

How simple is your tank? You'd be best taking everything out, taking the tank outside, spraying it with a hose and wiping everything down with vinegar a bunch of times and then spraying it again. Toss the old dirt and put in new dirt. The toads will be fine in a container for a day or two provided there's enough air circulation and it's in a spot that isn't too bright. If you have any plants but don't want to get rid of them you would have to dip them in bleach to kill any mites. I don't know how to do it but there's a ton of tutorials.

In the future don't take any plants from the wild and stick it in with the toads. If you want to collect wood and rocks for them you'd have to wash them and either bake or boil them (rocks just need to be washed and scrubbed to get dirt off). You can collect moss and bleach dip it and then grow it and put it in with the toads though.

[dizsmo]

its kinda simple i guess i just dont got the money to buy new clean dirt its just kinda big tank so might not be easy to dump out could i just put something besides dirt that i might have around house

[Larry Wardog]

its kinda simple i guess i just dont got the money to buy new clean dirt its just kinda big tank so might not be easy to dump out could i just put something besides dirt that i might have around house

Can you be a little more specific on how many gallons or dimensions?

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[Larry Wardog]

I have a 75 gallon as well. It could take you a couple of hours to get all of the soil out but it probably would be best within the next few days. Toads require at least 3 to 4 inches of soil. if it's temporary in your planning on getting rid of the dirt tomorrow then yeah that would work.

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[Laclair]

Do the toads not mind being disturbed every day for a few days straight like that? It doesn't stress them out?