Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone know what the little bugs are that are flying around my chams cage are? I have a ficus and a hibiscus in the cage and lately I am finding myself swatting at these little guys! They seem to be concentrating in the plants. What are they and how do I get rid of them? Thanks.

I used to have the same problem, and another cham owner said they were gnats. As long as you keep the cage floor and leaves super-clean of dead bugs and poop, then they should go away. Mine did.

they are harmless but annoying. They thrive in moist soil so let at least the top inch of your soil to dry out and keep it moderately moist instead of saturated (this is bad for your plant anyway). Be sure to mop up any standing water from the floor of your cage. If your dripper drips into your plant put a cup or something there to catch the water. I have a catch basin in the bottom that I remove every night and the paper towels, too. So - the long and short of it is keep things dry.

lele
fungus gnats

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Hey you guys, what about this? I'be been toying with the idea of adding some sort of sow bug into the plant area. I hear that they will consume some fungus and keep that stuff down-better for the cage enviroment. If there is little fungus, will there be less gnats as well? Also, they can serve as an additional source of food for the Cham with added Calcium too. What d'you guys think?

Maggie

every time they show up on the surface(which is often) your cham will sprint to them and eat them.

chameleons seem to love them just they aren't any thing but shell so they aren't fed a whole lot. i heard the shell is full of tons of calcium so they are good for the chams.

they are used to bring the most stubborn chams into eating.

now for eating fungus you need alot of them to see any decrease quickly. if you add just a few it will take a pretty long time before they eat enough. also you need to add some rotting wood to soil becuase they either eat that or the fungus that causes it to rot im not sure yet. They are a reletive of the crab and acually breath will gill type stuctures so your soil must be damp at all times.

i think thats every thing...

Thanks for the info. Perhaps I will add some then! Maggie

maggie - as chamsrcool pointed out they need a lot of moisture and decaying organic matter to survive so you may just be defeating the purpose of trying to use them to lessen your gnat population...
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

hmmm..well I guess I will use them for my Dart vivs as originally planned only. Thanks for entertaining my curiosities! Maggie