Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got home today and noticed several tiny bugs crawling in the substrate. Will this affect my monitor? Is this an indication on the cleanliness of the terrarium? Will I need to change the substrate?

hey there,

what do the bugs look like? Are they baby crickets by any chance? I was not able to successfully breed crickets if my life depended on it, but every now and then I notice tiny little bugs in the enclosures. At first I thought they were those stupid gnats that are very difficult to get rid of, but upon closer inspection, they were tiny pinheads.

Monitors in the wild are constantly in contact with many different kinds of organisms in the soil, which don't seem to affect their well being. However your monitor is not in the wild, so if this was in my collection, I would change the substrate out, or cook it(this would take me days to cook all of the substrate I use). I would rather be safe than sorry. Besides, I sure wouldn't want any termites from outside sneaking a way into my house for an open buffet...

So, that is what I would do, hopefully,others will also reply, so we can hear some other opinions on this. Take care, have a great day..

bob
The Odatriad

I'm not sure if they're pinheads. These are really tiny, they don't look like crickets though I could be wrong. How the hell did they get there? Thanks for the advice. I hope I don't have to change out the soil, but if its necessary for the little guys health, I'll do it.

If i notice any bugs or mites in the soil i take the lot out of the tank seperate it in to small metal trays and use one of those little steam handguns what you use for cleaning carpets curtains e.t.c to blast all of it and then i do inside the tank
i have found it kills everything including mites and there eggs they are also very usefull for raising humidity as the steam is only really hot within about a 2 inch range so if you spray it in the tank it will raise the humidity for hours and it only takes a few seconds to do.
cheers mat mchugh

I just had a close look at the bugs, they're pinheads. I can just leave them there without any harm coming to my monitor right?

It's good to hear they're pinheads...that saves you hours that you would have spent overhauling the enclosure...I wouldn't worry about them too much.. I just let mine be, they either die off, or get eaten if they have a chance to increase in size.. it's your call, but I don't see it a s being a problem.. take care,

bob

After reading this string, I checked my main enclosure (no one lives in there right now), and found that a small colony of ants got in from a plant that I recently plcaed in there. Good thing I found thenm before moving a monitor in there.

Gotta watch those plants . . !

Yes, I maintain several plants in the tank, but I don't see any ants around. They were bought from a shop, so there shouldn't be any. I'll just let the pinheads be, who know they might provide an extra source of nutrition for my monitor.