Little bugs in Coconut Fiber for Russian Tortoise!

[Hamburger15]

Hey there.
So recently I discovered little tiny black bugs in my tortoises enclosure. It's mostly around his water bowl area or if we spray it and we don't lift up the rocks enough, they'll come around. They don't seem to be on the dryer end of the enclosure; just the water area. Should I be worried? My little guy seems to be fine. He doesn't have any problems like stuff in his eyes or nose and he's in great health and eats good. I'm just worried they might be mites but I can't tell. They just seem to run through the fiber and on the rocks underneath.
Should I consider a different substrate? I don't want my little guy being hurt, that's all. I've read some things on here but I'm not sure what to think because these things aren't flying around. They're just crawling through the fiber... Please help!

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Can you please post a pic of the bugs? I had tiny flies in a bag of cypress mulch I once ordered in summer. Now I order all substrate in the winter and keep it in my garage because it is typically freezing or below in there. Then once I am ready to use the substrate, if there were bugs they would not survive the freezing temps. I don't know if you live where it is cold, just thought this might help you in the future.

 

[Hamburger15]

I've tried taking a picture but they're so small it's impossible to see them... they're like the size of a tip of a pen, honestly. I just buy the coco fiber from Petco. Should I try maybe something else? He just loves to dig and get dirty though haha I'm scared changing something will make him be weird and not like it. He snuggles into it just so nicely.

 

[Thalatte]

More than likely they are wood mites and won't harm the tort at all they are just annoying to use keepers. Freezing or baking the substrate is the best option.

 

[mainey34]

I usually put a knew bag of substrate in the freezer for a day or two before putting into enclosure. Defrosting first

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

I don't think the bugs will hurt the tort. If you figure out what they are you can figure out why they are there. Or you can just shop vac all the coir out and replace it with new coir that you froze for a few days.

 

[cruiser12]

I had the same thing and everyone said they were fungas gnats and wouldn't hurt my redfoot.

 

[theelectraco]

Are they springtails? Little white dots. I get them in my tortoise and gecko cages occasionally.