Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,

I noticed recently one of my vivariums is crawling with tiny little bugs. Whenever I raise the water level it seems to raise them all out of the soil and the surface is covered with them. They look like tiny white slivers, larger than mites and more long than round. They may have come from some fruit I'd left in the tank to centralize the flies (I have two tanks and they're not in the other).

Any ideas what these are? and are they bad for the frogs and how do I get rid of them? I ask because this morning I noticed them crawling all over my frogs. The frogs are healthy, fat and active but it's got to be miserable having bugs on you all day.

Any thoughts/experiences would help. Just don't know if I should be too concerned. Thanks.

Ross

My guess is that they are springtails (assuming they're longish like you said) From what i've gleaned from others, they just feed on decaying matter. Could it be that you're raising the water level too high and saturating your soil?

Don't worry about them. They are good frog food, and really won't annoy the frogs that much in the meantime. As Andrew says, they are most probably springtails, always a good addition to a tank, although springtails don't usually crawl over frogs.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

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