Reptile & Amphibian Forums

should i be worried? i've had an outbreak of gnat or small flies in my naturalistic crested tank. meathods of treating it? all i can think of is ripping apart the tank and re-doing it. i'm thinking they'll go away with time. but can it hurt the cresties?

they wont hurt your geckos, but i think theres a possibility they could hurt eggs if they're left exposed. all they need is moisture, so as long as youre watering/misting, theyll stick around, and move to other tanks if you have more. changing out the cage and accessories completely should help for now. try keeping it dry a few days too that way they cant survive/reproduce. also be sure to remove feces ASAP.

It really depends on the type of gnat/fly. Fungus gnats are relatively harmless and usually don't mess with eggs. I see a few fungus gnats here and there in moist substrate. I don't even worry about it at all. Now, phorid flies are an entirely different story. Phorid or humpback flies look similar to fruit flies, but they don't have red eyes and tend to "run" around before taking flight. Most gnats and flies immediately fly away when disturbed. Phorid flies are attracted to rotting organic matter (dead crickets, feces, etc.), and they reproduce like CRAZY! They WILL go after bad or infertile eggs that are allowed to rot and decay. If you have these flies in your collection, find the nesting site(s). Keep your cricket bins super clean, and make sure that you remove poop and any decaying matter as soon as you discover it. Phorid flies can easily spread diseases since they like to frolic in poop.

Nathan

this is the exact reason i got rid of my naturalistic setups, after about a month they were loaded with gnats and I couldn't deal with it anymore.

the setups look nice, but after having them setup they just weren't practical for me and ended up taking a lot more time then I ever thought they would.
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1.1 Gargoyle geckos
1.1 leucistic leopard gecko
0.0.1 asian golden tree frog
1.0 oriental firebelly toad
0.1 european firebelly toad
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The sticky traps will help some. I have them around my cricket and roach bins. I haven't had an infestation of phorid flies since I switched cricket suppliers. Many of the flies never come in contact with the strip(s). Since phorid flies are used to combat fire ants, their numbers have increased in the states.