uscpsycho
Member
I have a baby tortoise and today discovered microscopic white bugs have cropped up in its enclosure. I immediately thought the worst and assumed they were mites. But then I read that springtails are often confused for mites, and that springtails are common in humid enclosures and not harmful to torts.
So are there any easy ways to tell if they are mites or springtails? My camera isn't good enough to get clear photos of them but to the naked eye they are tiny white dots in the substrate, with heavier concentrations under the food dish. The magnified photos I have seen of springtails make them look oblong rather than round dots. How do I identify them?
They remind me of the tiny white mites that live on Madagascar hissing roaches. Those are common on hissers and pose no harm to the roaches.
The enclosure substrate is Zoo Med Repti Bark (fine grade orchid bark) and it is very humid at 80% humidity and very warm at 90 degrees. There are two shallow terra cotta plant dishes in the enclosure, I did not notice a cluster of these insects under the water dish as I did the food dish. Could the bugs have come from the bark? The dishes? The food?
I've had the tortoise for about a month, is it possible the tortoise had these when I brought it home?
The enclosure is not new to me, I bought it used but gave it a good cleaning including disinfecting it. The enclosure had housed a snake but hadn't been used in awhile. Could they have come with the cage?
Any guidance would be appreciated. Specifically, identifying these as mites/springtails and then how to handle the situation if they are mites (assuming I have nothing to worry about if they are springtails).
Thanks!
So are there any easy ways to tell if they are mites or springtails? My camera isn't good enough to get clear photos of them but to the naked eye they are tiny white dots in the substrate, with heavier concentrations under the food dish. The magnified photos I have seen of springtails make them look oblong rather than round dots. How do I identify them?
They remind me of the tiny white mites that live on Madagascar hissing roaches. Those are common on hissers and pose no harm to the roaches.
The enclosure substrate is Zoo Med Repti Bark (fine grade orchid bark) and it is very humid at 80% humidity and very warm at 90 degrees. There are two shallow terra cotta plant dishes in the enclosure, I did not notice a cluster of these insects under the water dish as I did the food dish. Could the bugs have come from the bark? The dishes? The food?
I've had the tortoise for about a month, is it possible the tortoise had these when I brought it home?
The enclosure is not new to me, I bought it used but gave it a good cleaning including disinfecting it. The enclosure had housed a snake but hadn't been used in awhile. Could they have come with the cage?
Any guidance would be appreciated. Specifically, identifying these as mites/springtails and then how to handle the situation if they are mites (assuming I have nothing to worry about if they are springtails).
Thanks!