mites on scorp?

[stu]

Was feeding my emp today and noticed 2 small white things run over her body. Im assuming that these are some kind of mite

Ok, anyone help me out - how do I get rid of these things in a humid tank like the one my emp is in?

Ive kept it clean, removing all the dead/leftover dinners.

Any ideas?

cheers,

Stu.

 

[stu]

come on - someone must know how to get rid of these mites.

Ive searched this site and the net and cant find anything which tells me how to lose the mites in a humid tank

Are these things harmful for my scorp? I would like get rid of them as soon as possible.

Cheers,

Stu.

 

[Mechanical-Mind]

substrate

i don't know if there are any products you can purchase for the mites. i know they make some for reptiles... but that's like comparing apples and oranges.... or maybe apples and jelly fish.

remove the imperator to a very clean tank with a small plastic water dish, paper towel for substrate. use a lid to trap humidity. check periodically on your scorp and the paper-towel for dead mites. once you stop seeing them return the scorpion to the cage. but before you do that make sure you disinfect all crevices in your plastic accessories. toss out all your cork bark if you feel like mites may have had time to lay eggs. you should do this anyway simply because there may still be some lurking behind. make sure you BAKE your organic substrate before hand. this would be the primary source of the mites.

i hope i helped. try PM'ing skinheaddave or kuellegar as they seem to have expansive amounts of experience.

-matt

 

[skinheaddave]

Two things to cover here. First, the core problem.

I have not had first-hand experience with mites. I am fairly conscientious with keeping things clean and tend towards pure peat for my humid enclosures, which seems to repel fungus* and may or may not have an effect on mites. That being said, luck probably has a lot to do with it, along with the fact that the vast majority of my species are not humid-loving.

Anyhow, there are a few options available to you. Predatory mites should take care of the problem. You can likely find ordering info by searching the Tarantula forum. The alternative is to count on your scorpion adjusting to dry conditions better than the mites. This is what Matt has just described. Basically, put it in a T-style ICU and wait a week, replacing the paper towel daily. During this time, empty out your enclosure, discard or bake the substrate, bake/bleach decorations, bleach the entire container, rinse thoroughly and reassemble. You could even keep this enclosure dry for another week or two just to be sure. An adult emp will survive well without high humidity for a while, whereas the mites will not. At least that's the theory -- never tested it myself.

Issue number two is the suggestion to PM Kugellager or myself. Generaly speaking, if we haven't answered in here it means that we either don't have anything to contribute or don't have the time/will to respond. Speaking for myself, PMing doesn't change that at all. We don't intentionaly keep info to ourselves or anything, so there is no point in responding to an individual when the whole group may benefit from the information. In other words, please don't PM me to point out a thread.

Now, that might sound a bit harsh, so I assure you that I'm not a hermit or anything. In fact, I'd welcome PMs from any member and would suggest that anyone who actualy wants to talk scorpions with me contact me through an instant messanger. My handles are:
ICQ: 21133794
AIM: skorpionskin
Yahoo: dhdesoer@yahoo.ca
MSN: skinheaddave@hotmail.com
and I would be happy to discuss in greater depth pretty much any topic.

Yeah, so in conclusion: don't know much about mites, no point in PMing if you post, but feel free to look me up for a chat.

Cheers,
Dave

* For those that are interested, I have more anecdotal evidence that peat counteracts fungus. I had been using small deli cups with vermiculite, placed in a larger enclosure along with a dish of water. By having restricted ventelation in the larger enclosure, high (90%+) humidity is maintained. I was finding that I had to swap out uneaten cricket bits every couple days to prevent fungus. I switched to peat recently and find that they are good for a week or more before some of them develop fungus. Others never seem to. Perhaps I should run a formal experiment of some sort when I have the time.

 

[Mechanical-Mind]

dave,

you may or may not have noticed that he said, "As soon as possible" a simple PM would more than likely speed things up. however, it does run the risk of ruining your delicate schedule and temper.

by the way, you should entertain the thought of doing documented research on peat [optional words "sphagnum" and "moss".] peat contains Tannic acid. thus having a beneficial lower pH it retards fungus and bacteria growth.

CHEEERS!!!!!
-matt

 

[Kugellager]

Do they move fast?...If the critters are moving fairly fast then I would say they are not mites...possibly newly hatched pinhead crickets or other critter...what kind of scorp and what is the humidity in the tank like?

Just PM me and I do respond but not always the same day...I do have a full time job in the real world and have my own house to keep up. If I don't know the answer I can usually point you in the right direction or will ask someone who does know the answer.

John
];')