Mites and bioactive substrate

Status
Not open for further replies.

Jessamy

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
16
I am using a bioactive substrate and the animals (RF tort, hermit crabs) love it for exploring(worms, organic soil, plants from seed) but my little tort got blood mites(I did use outdoor leaves, sticks etc.) . Any advice to prevent a recurrence? The soil was too wet because humidity was a struggle and I am adding Pillbugs and a fogger so I can water less. Also, will Pillbugs or worms eat a buried Hermit crab?
 

janevicki

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
323
Location (City and/or State)
Near Disneyland
Hello, Jessamy,
I would like to help, but need some information on your setup. Maybe even some pictures.
You may want to gently wash off all mites from the RF Tort and hermit crabs, get off all trace of the mites from them.
Thoroughly clean their "home" to get rid of all mites.
Strongly urge you to start fresh with new substrate or you may be right back where you started with new mites hatching in the old substrate.
I would forgo anymore leaf litter if that is where the mites are coming from and use a fresh bag of spag moss as the top substrate for the turtles and hermit crabs to hide in.

Here is a good article on bio active substrate with water at bottom for humidity: www.herpfamily.com/docs/BioActive%20Substrate%20System.doc
I have success with the bio active substrate with the water at the bottom layer; keeps my torts and turts in warm humid heaven.
Let me know if you have any questions on the setting up a humid bioactive substrate.

Best wishes in mite eradication!
 

Edna

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
1,536
Location (City and/or State)
Rawlins, Wyoming
Mites are species-specific, so it is unlikely that your tort picked them up from your substrate unless you live in an area where your tortoise species lives in the wild. Do you have independent confirmation that what you are seeing is blood mites?
I use a bioactive substrate, with leaves, plants and twigs from my own yard. There are lots of little creepy crawlies in there, and some of them are on my torts, but they are not parasitizing my torts.
 

nhaislip

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
17
You can also bake any and all items that you are going to add to your substrate to kill any unwanted parasites. Specifically I bake my leaf litter prior to adding it to any enclosure. Most more for my amphibs than my tortoises
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top