This is my tank. It’s been set up for five months and going smoothly.
Two weeks ago I noticed mites on the water. My BP is the only pet I have, and I feed her f/t so no snake mites.
These mites are all very round, very tiny, and look like moss mites if you google that.
Alongside the appearance of these dudes I came to notice that my springtail population crashed. Isopods are up and running but there are almost no springtails left.
Edit: added photo of the mites (the best my phone can take)
These are the little suckers. Some were crawling on my fingertip.
Since most mites are also deitritivores, is it harmful just to leave it as it is and let the terrarium balance itself? I’m buying more springtails next month to replenish… with the mites in the terrarium, would this be an exercise in futility?
Any help is appreciated
I am interested in this post because I have never heard of this so I want to see what kind of response you get. I am so sorry that I cannot help you though!
My first guess was that they are the ones behind the springtail disappearance, but there might be other reasons. Eager to see if someone has useful info.
I believe snakes can still get snake mites whether or not they eat live or F/T. What I would do is very closely observe your snake, look under the jaw in that little crevice, in their eyes and heat pits, between their scales in the skin and on/near the vent. Maybe even soak them in very diluted soapy water and see if any come off- speaking of which have you noticed your snake soaking in its bowl a lot or shedding more frequently than normal? That could be a sign…
I would suspect wood mites or some other type since its bioactive but those are typically not that dark. Have you gotten any new snakes recently?
Snake mites do NOT come from feeders. While the most common source of origin is on other snakes, they are very frequently transported in/on decor/soil media. Going to guess you picked up those cork pieces and possibly the plants and leaf litter at an expo? If so, that is your most likely vector. And of course, you yourself could be the vector by visiting expos and then not practicing good biosecurity before handling your animal
Those mites in your picture do not appear to be any of the predatory species you commonly see, the majority of which are white and all of which are very speed little devils:
Bark mites, as previously mentioned, look very similar and if you harvested anything from outside (sticks, leaves, rocks, etc.) that then would be your vector
She’s an ivory so any mites would be super easy to see. I’ve checked her a thousand times and nope, not a single one. She doesn’t soak either.
She’s my only reptile.
I’ve never been to expos or anything to do with reptiles, nor have friends with reptiles. I got her three months ago and the setup was all DIY from random stuff I bought off construction shops and the like. I live in Portugal so cork is a good you can find anywhere if you ask, I bought the cork from a dude who has trees in his yard. So that rules out any cross-contamination…
Almost everything has come from either outside (boiled or passed through boiling water) or my the shops I previously said.
… So… if they’re just bark mites maybe they don’t have anything to do with my springtail crash… Who knows then… nature’s a mistery, ain’t it? XD
I’ll buy some more in November and see if they repopulate.
