I was gong to guess springtails as well glad thats the problem. I am very used to these little guys as they are quite common if you keep tropical tarantulas and scorpions. People are always posting about them on tarantula forums thinking they have mites as well. The best way to tell if something may be a harmful mite is to see if they are on the animal and not just the dirt.

I have never had any mites on my monitors. I actually had a terrible mite infestation with my snakes a few years ago, with several monitors in cages right beside them. They spread all around the room through the snakes like wildfire. I never saw one on any of the monitors (or the heavily keeled snakes for that matter.)

Springtails are actually great in an enclosure if they dont get out of control. They help to break down any leftover insect parts and fecal matter. I have actually added them to tarantula enclosures to help with cleanup.

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