Vadababy12
New Member
I was cleaning out my tortoise’s habitat and found this super tiny bugs. They are super fast that’s the only reason I saw them. Why are they there and what is the effect on my babies. I feel like a terrible mother! Plz help
Little itty bitty bugs
- Thread starter Vadababy12
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2017
- Messages
- 5,750
- Location (City and/or State)
- Low desert 50 mi SE of Palm Springs CA
The bugs come from your substrate. I don't know what they're called, but it's normal to have them.
Some keepers keep a colony of rolly pollies (?sp), AKA pillbugs, in their enclosures. They are nature's cleanup crew, and help keep the substrate clean.
You're not a bad mama!
I'm sure someone will come by who knows more than I do, and will enlighten us both!
Some keepers keep a colony of rolly pollies (?sp), AKA pillbugs, in their enclosures. They are nature's cleanup crew, and help keep the substrate clean.
You're not a bad mama!
I'm sure someone will come by who knows more than I do, and will enlighten us both!
They are probably Springtails. Everyone‘s enclosure probably has these, just that some ppl see small lil bugs better. Don’t let them bother you. They won’t bother or harm your tort.
Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouthparts, they do not appear to be any more closely related to one another than they are to all insects, which have external mouthparts.
Collembolans are omnivorous, free-living organisms that prefer moist conditions. They do not directly engage in the decomposition of organic matter, but contribute to it indirectly through the fragmentation of organic matter and the control of soil microbial communities. The word "Collembola" is from the ancient Greek κόλλα kólla "glue" and ἔμβολος émbolos "peg"; this name was given due to the existence of the collophore, which was previously thought to stick to surfaces to stabilize the creature. /Wiki/
Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouthparts, they do not appear to be any more closely related to one another than they are to all insects, which have external mouthparts.
Collembolans are omnivorous, free-living organisms that prefer moist conditions. They do not directly engage in the decomposition of organic matter, but contribute to it indirectly through the fragmentation of organic matter and the control of soil microbial communities. The word "Collembola" is from the ancient Greek κόλλα kólla "glue" and ἔμβολος émbolos "peg"; this name was given due to the existence of the collophore, which was previously thought to stick to surfaces to stabilize the creature. /Wiki/
They're most likely springtails and they're harmless.
