Flying bugs in Dumpy Tree Frog enclosure.

[ezwider]

Hey everyone, this is my first post and I am happy to have found this lovely forum where I am sure to learn many new things about frogs.

I bought 2 Dumpy White Tree Frogs a little over a year ago, and they have been nice and happy ever since. But lately (probably in the last month), I've noticed that there are some gnats of some sort flying around in my apartment. Not a lot of them hopefully, for I only see one fly past my head once every few hours. But I've been waking up with small bites that are barely visible but itch like crazy. I've checked for bed bugs and I have none, the bites dont fit the description either so I started thinking maybe it might be the flying gnats?

I'm not sure if they are gnats, but was wondering if there was a list of common bugs you would find as a result to having a terrarium in your home?

In the terrarium I use Coir as my substrate bedding, I also have a wooden stick that I got from petsmart that is real wood, but have noticed mold growth on it from time to time, I just wash it off until it looks fresh again. I feed my frogs 20-40 crickets once every 1-2 weeks. I spray the tank frequently, and make sure their water dish is fresh and scoop out all of the poo.

It seems realistic to think that wet coir would surface some form of insect life but, I've only just started seeing them.... hmm...

Could it be the wood getting wet? The wet coir? Fecal matter not being cleaned in time?

Thanks a lot guys, I'm itching!!!

-ezwider

[killerecho]

Welcome to the forum. It's rather hard to judge your situation without knowing more about your setup.

How wet do you keep the substrate? Does the tank smell foul? I've never used coir exclusively as a bedding, but I have seen some suggest that, if kept by itself in a really humid environment, coir should be changed every few months. Do you have a drainage layer underneath the coir? Something like sand, gravel or a hydroton in a false bottom setup could really extend the life of your substrate.

It sounds like you've been pretty diligent with the cleanup, so I wouldn't worry too much about bugs. If the substrate is producing so many gnats that they're getting out and causing problems in your room, then they should be obviously present in the tank as well.
That said, I've had some pretty interesting things show up in my setup uninvited: moths, beetles, fruit flies, mites - and that's just the stuff I noticed. None of them caused any problems. As long as there's no population explosion, I'm actually pleased that there's an ecosystem going on in my vivarium.

Don't worry about the mold, as it tends to come and go on its own. Most humid vivariums see mold at some point. Consider seeding your enclosure with detritivores like springtails or woodlice. They feed on rotting organic material and fungi; and help keep things tidy.