Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok with the coming of fall weather here, I seem to have acquired some fruit fly like bugs in my snake cages that contain Cypress Mulch. These bugs fly like fruit flies but when a snake takes a #2 these small mealy looking bugs will be crawling all over it if I let it sit for a small length of time. When I clean out the poop, I can't find the bugs until they either fly or the snake does #2 again. My snakes have no bugs on them as I have checked and rechecked all of them. Do you think these bugs are a problem? What bugs are they? If they are wasting eaters and not snake harming insects, would it be bad to let them go?

I think, i have seen what you are describing in my turtles tank, but I dont have any idea what they are.

I see them too sometimes. What I do when I see them is clean the whole tank and spray Provent-a-Mite. That stuff kills EVERYTHING for quite a while, and yep, I clean up feces asap and remove dead rats that they don't consume overnight.

BTW I don't usually leave overnight, but am switching from live to F/T so trying a few things. So far, two have eaten f/t..hope the others switch soon, but am not worried..just wanted to explain why I have left overnight sometimes.
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if they live in the cage and not the snakes, do they go away when you take the snakes out and disinfect the cage? have you tried this?

i have also seen fruitfly like things in my igs enclosures and a community tank i have, maybe if we can get them out now they wont come back since its so cold out.i would also be interested in finding out what they are.
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"it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
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This them?
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Cheryl Marchek
AKA JM
Check out my website at:
The Red Dragons Den

I have them too I bet.....

I thought they were wasps that were huntung fly eggs to lay their eggs on/in......hmmm.......maybe I got both...

I think these people are all actually seeing fruit flies.......yes...fruit flies eat more than fruit.........they will eat dead mice,pinks,defecates,rotten fruit,meats,regurged stuff, the slime in your drains,the slime in any plumbing(clean under toilet rim well)........

........there are multiple fly species and sub-species........but fruit flies are my worst....

YES they can harm snakes.........How?......by walking around in dead pinks and defecates and then walking around on a healthy snakes' mouth or even in water bowl where germs will be transfered........

can snakes get sick..yeppers......

can you lose snakes from this?........yeppers......

been there done that........

I use fly no pest strips and fly sticky strips and kill thousands and thousands of them year here.......and they can still get in any open window / screen.......

...kill them.....

be clean...very clean...any dead pinks / mice and all defecates must be cleaned out as fast as possible to kill a whole generation of them and yes winter will help keep them out......

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there are also black little flies that I call scuttle flies?.maybe they are clalled this ? maybe not but they do all the same stuff as fruit flies.....

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whole corn (rodent food) will bring in at least 2 species of moths too as well as 3 species of beetles and weevils........

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good luck............and I forogt the 4 species of house flies that will enter rooms too
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