Hi all,
I found quick, tiny grayish bugs in the bottom of my snakes tank...mainly around an old dried out branch. These bugs are also in the soil of my plants which are on the other side of my apt. The bugs are not on my snakes nor in their water dishes. I do not think they are snake mites, but perhaps another kind? My substrate is cypress mulch.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Katie
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Tiny bugs
NyMyDi
Jun 29, 2012 04:18 PM
Replies (3)
HerpZillA
Jun 29, 2012 07:43 PM
My thought is wood mites. when i use to do a lot of lizards and made my own mulches I got in the practice of baking my mulch or if damp microwave it. Although not a parasite to the snakes they can pester them and cause stress. I wold try a more sterile setup with paper towels and see if you still see any.
Over the years of using store bought mulch I never saw wood mites. I presume they have some system to kill them. I just wish i knew what that was. It's when I or others used landscaping mulch in one form or another.
Hope that helps a bit.
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Thanks for reading.
Tom
Gregg_M_Madden
Jul 01, 2012 02:46 PM
Actually Tom, I see no reason to ever bake or nuke substrates. The substrate mites do not affect snakes in any way shape or form. They do not pester them or cause any stress.
In fact, they are a welcome addition to my cages and bins. I have been using a bioactive substrate for my hog and it has a few different species of insect in it. Keeps thing clean and far less smelly.
My opinion is, do not worry about them. They can actually be of benefit to your animals.
HerpZillA
Jul 01, 2012 05:43 PM
I have never really seen them in my snake cages. But I have in lizard cages, and at times i would see them on the lizards eyes. I presume for moisture. Pester might be to strong a word, maybe annoy?
But I would like to hear more about the benefit? I enjoy new information, and if there is a health benefit that's pretty cool in itself.
Also as far as a pest, part of my experience is from helping others as for a short time I helped a friend at his pet shop. In most cases you can not make things to complicated. People saw BUGS and freaked lol. So, some easy and safe means that were at hand were explained to kill the bugs. There my game plan was KISS! 
Serious what benefit. I want to male one large cage for a few lizards to be named later. I even want to try to setup regions ideal for egg laying to see if the lizards lay in the proper spot and they hatch.
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Thanks for reading.
Tom
