Little white specs in sling's water dish?

[Christina Petraki]

I've had my C. Versicolor sling for a couple months now and this is the first time I see this. I use this bottle cap as a water dish, changed the water yesterday and today I noticed all those little white specs floating at the top.



What could it be? I was worried it was mites or something but they don't seem to be alive/moving. I also take out and clean the cap every couple of weeks. Should I replace it just in case?

 

[NMTs]

What you're seeing is likely dust particles, I wouldn't worry about it. The water in that dish is at least as clean as any water they would drink in the wild.

 

[viper69]

Mites to me

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

If they're white, they could be springtails. I had some volunteer ones show up in my genic's water dish. They love moisture and are a fortuitous, free surprise. Great clean-up crew that won't harm, your T.

 

[Christina Petraki]

Mites to me

Again, weren't moving and appeared overnight. I can't see any other white specs in the enclosure either so I doubt it. Surely mites wouldn't show up just in the water, no?

 

[NMTs]

The enclosure substrate doesn't look like it's got enough moisture to support mites or springtails.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I've had my C. Versicolor sling for a couple months now and this is the first time I see this. I use this bottle cap as a water dish, changed the water yesterday and today I noticed all those little white specs floating at the top.

View attachment 448743

What could it be? I was worried it was mites or something but they don't seem to be alive/moving. I also take out and clean the cap every couple of weeks. Should I replace it just in case?

If it’s not moving maybe it’s dust or something? Weird … I see this often , not sure what it is stagnant Water or safe I dono ? . I usually just dump it out & replace with fresh water /new dish , and clean the water dish later.

 

[viper69]

Again, weren't moving and appeared overnight. I can't see any other white specs in the enclosure either so I doubt it. Surely mites wouldn't show up just in the water, no?

I can’t see what you see
I’ve had mites
They are attracted to moisture, t poop, and light
They will go right into water.
Again, mites- who the hell knows

 

[Christina Petraki]

If it’s not moving maybe it’s dust or something? Weird … I see this often , not sure what it is stagnant Water or safe I dono ? . I usually just dump it out & replace with fresh water /new dish , and clean the water dish later.

I use tap water. Guess it could be leftover minerals?? I've heard of it being the case lol. I actually dumped it out and replaced it and the specs didn't return so idk

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I've had my C. Versicolor sling for a couple months now and this is the first time I see this. I use this bottle cap as a water dish, changed the water yesterday and today I noticed all those little white specs floating at the top.

View attachment 448743

What could it be? I was worried it was mites or something but they don't seem to be alive/moving. I also take out and clean the cap every couple of weeks. Should I replace it just in case?

What @viper69 said they are mites.

It's common and I can tell by your photos the substrate is slightly dryer. So mites will go into the water dish for moisture. They are not moving because they're dead. I've had these off and on and that's what I see.

Rinse the water dish and refill. These are harmless and as long as you don't over saturate the substrate with water they can be contained.

 

[Pedipalpable]

If they are mites as others suggest they may be, this thread will tell you everything you need to know, assuming you have not already read it. I have never had mites and this I cannot give much in the way of advice, so I’ll let our lady of the mites inform you on the subject.

 

[Sir Aculeus]

I've had my C. Versicolor sling for a couple months now and this is the first time I see this. I use this bottle cap as a water dish, changed the water yesterday and today I noticed all those little white specs floating at the top.

View attachment 448743

What could it be? I was worried it was mites or something but they don't seem to be alive/moving. I also take out and clean the cap every couple of weeks. Should I replace it just in case?

Γεια σου Χριστίνα!

I have the same opinion as Arachnophobphil and Viper. Leaning towards mites since your substrate and enclosure overall does not look damp (just in case, make sure to have good ventilation with c. versicolors). Although also possible springtails???Your photo shows the white specs to be a uniform size and lack of color.This scenario happened to me as well although not with my versicolors, but rather with two of my scorpion enclosures which were low humidity species. After many years of keeping scorpions and now Ts I bought an inexpensive 50x jeweler's loop to make sure which are dust particles and which are mites.