Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I went to change the apple and carrot slices I put in the bin with my superweorms and when I looked at some apple slices that were dark red I noticed a white powdery substance on it that I thought was mold starting to form. I also noticed it on a couple of superworms that had died. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the white powdery specks were moving. They are actually some kind of little bug or mites. Does anyone know what they are. Can they harm my reptiles. Are they reptile mites or some other type of mite. Do I have to throw away that whole batch of supereworms or is there somthing else I can do. There is about 1000 superworms in that container.
Also I have a parrot can they somehow harm him?

can you get a picture?
It's probably not mites..Mites would need some blood to sustain them.. My guess is that it some sort of garden viriety parasite. Probablt more interested in the fruity treat that you have in with your superworms. I would scrap the substrate and food, and wash the superworms in the sink/strainer.. Then just put them in a new container / new substrate / new food.

Probably nothing to worry about..but I would take precaution.

They are so tiny that I don't know if the macro on my digital cam is capable of photographing them. I mean smaller than a grain of sugar. Now that you said garden variety it is starting to make sense. I had to move all my outdoor plants into my townhome last week because the complex was painting the building. I had my plants sitting right next to my bin of superworms.
Thanks I'll try rinsing them.

Most mite species are, in fact, not parasites of animals, but fungal and detritivores. A change of substrate is correct, however washing the superworms in a strainer may actually kill them as they seem to be extremely sensitive to water. Dusting them with flour may also work, especially if you remove all of the excess flour.

Would those mites harm my animals or do I mainly have to worry about the ones that eat their blood.

These mites are completely harmless to your lizards, but they may kill your worms.

Take drastic steps to eliminate them immediately. Discard all old bedding, disinfect the bin, and vaccuum the area very thoroughly. seperate out your worms and actually clean them off before returning them to the bin with fresh bedding.

If the mites return, you'll have to feed off or discard the entire colony of worms and completely clean the entire room they were in. Wait several weeks, then try again from scratch. Don't let these mites get into any of your other insect colonies, if you have more than one. Quarantine the others well away from the problem, and don't procrastinate in dealing with it.

In the absence of a method of determining the exact species of mites involved, assume they are insect mites which are feeding on your feeder insects.

Thanks, I will get rid of the worms I have. It may be too late though they were right next to my cricket bin.