What are these bugs????!

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shelloise

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I picked up shelloise a few minutes ago and saw 2 tiny little white dots run onto her head. What would that be and how do I get rid of them?????????????
 

luvpetz27

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Hi there
My enclosure get's these bugs too!! I know they like the mosture and water. I just cleaned out my enclosure and stopped misting as much. That is the only way I can get rid of them. If you have the same as mine, I know they will not hurt the tort. They are just very annoying!!!!! I looked it up on the internet cuz it freeked me out!!... think they are called spring tails. Look that up and see if they look like that.
I hope this helps you!! Good luck :)
 

shelloise

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I was looking at the substrate and did not see anything that moved, then I picked up shelloise and she had at least 10 on her. How do we know they don't bother a tortoise? The whole thing really bothers me.
:(
She has had a layer of coir and sphagnum moss since I got her, with no problem. Then I put in cyprus multch last week ., so maybe it started with that? Some of the mulch was really large and some small like it should be. In the other enclosures I have bark and coir and no problems so far. How do you think you got them too?
 

luvpetz27

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I looked on the internet and described what they looked like and it said they were spring tails. It said they would not harm anything. Itvjust said they like moisture and thrive on it. Can you look it up on your internet? Then you will be able to see if they look like spring tails. It really bothered me too!! I freeked out too and cleaned everything out. They probably came from the mulch. I had mulch too. Are they real tiny?? I also have a tree frog that I mist a lot and they popped up there too!! I cleaned and put in new soil and I dont keep it as wet. I think you will feel much better if you look up spring tails on internet and see if your bugs look like those.
 

Yvonne G

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They won't harm your tortoise. They live off all the detritus in the habitat.
 

Tom

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There are several species of substrate flies. These are present in the environment in and around all of our houses. If you somehow were to eliminate them, they will eventually come back. They thrive on moisture and warmth and they are detrivores, as Yvonne said. They don't hurt living animals in any way. It is possible that they came in with the mulch, but it is more likely that they were already there and you hadn't noticed yet.
 

shelloise

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I looked up springtails but found they aren't what the bugs are, these guys are snow white and round
 

Edna

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Living soil contains a host of tiny organisms. They assist in the process of decomposition of organic material and are as necessary to life on this planet as any other life form. If you really want to get rid of them, you have to create an environment that is hostile to them. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) doing so will also place your tortoise in a hostile environment.
 

Baoh

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shelloise said:
I looked up springtails but found they aren't what the bugs are, these guys are snow white and round

There are several types of innocuous mites which can be described in this way.
 
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