Urgent help wanted- Centipede Mite Problem

RezonantVoid

Hollow Knight
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Hey guys. From Australia here and I recently caught myself an Ethmostigmus Rubripes since they are very common and quite large. I kinda should have expected this but today I checked it's container but there has been a serious parasitic Mite outbreak, they aren't quite covering the centipede but nonetheless there are large numbers of the mites on it and in the substrate. I will post a photo I took of them. I have heard that letting things dry out is a good idea to kill the mites for other inverts but from experience Ethmostigmus Rubripes don't do very well in dry setups. Is there anything I can do to save my centi or is it too late???
 

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NYAN

Arachnoking
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I imagine changing the substrate might be a good idea to help reduce the population. I’ve also heard of people knocking the centipedes out to clean them. I don’t have much experience dealing with mites though.
 

RezonantVoid

Hollow Knight
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I imagine changing the substrate might be a good idea to help reduce the population. I’ve also heard of people knocking the centipedes out to clean them. I don’t have much experience dealing with mites though.
I am gonna do a full substrate change and zap the infested stuff before I through it away because I don't even want them in my yard. But how can I knock the centipede out? Could you refer me to a guide or tut if possible
 

NYAN

Arachnoking
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But how can I knock the centipede out? Could you refer me to a guide or tut if possible
I would wait for input of other members before doing that. The way it is done is by drowning or using co2, drowning can possibly cause more harm than good though.
 

NYAN

Arachnoking
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How is the centipede acting though? how longer have you noticed there have been mites for? Also are you certain the mites are parasitic?
 

RezonantVoid

Hollow Knight
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How is the centipede acting though? how longer have you noticed there have been mites for? Also are you certain the mites are parasitic?
I rarely get to observe it since it only ventures out of its tunnels at 2am, but from what i have seen it is eating and moving fine. I didn't really know it had any up till now, just saw one on the side of its container yesterday so thought I'd check today. I'm pretty sure they are parasitic because they are large (1-2mm), orange and red and seem to sit along the centipedes tail and soft sides with the front end pressed towards the centi's body.
 

NYAN

Arachnoking
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If it’s acting fine, I don’t think it’s ‘too late’ yet. Maybe you could use something like a q tip to get them off of the pede, change the substrate and sterilize the container.
 

Greasylake

Arachnoprince
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Before you take any serious actions can you post a few pictures of the mites on the pede. A very important thing to note is where on the pede the mites are. Just because they are large and colorful DOES NOT mean they are parasitic as there are hundreds of thousands of mite species and they are extremely varied. 99.9% of mites in people's collections are not actually parasitic, but are just detrivores that hitched a ride on whatever animal they could find to the nearest food source. Now, I will say that I had a grain mite infestation a few weeks ago in my roach colony and the population was well into the millions before I had done anything about it and they were in both my T's enclosures and my springtail colony. Drying out the substrate does help, as well as cleaning out any uneaten food, cleaning out the food will remove a food source from the mites and so at the very least it would help to keep the population in check. However, I do agree that a substrate change would help to thin them out. One thing I did was place a slice a fruit in the enclosure and allow the mites to congregate on it overnight then flush it down the toilet in the morning, this also helped with the population. I'm going to wrap back to the beginning now and say that parasitic mites will physically attach themselves to the invertebrates softer parts by piercing the softest parts of the exoskeleton and living there like a clam. They attach themselves so tightly that to try to remove them might actually cause harm to the invert. So what I'm trying to say with that is if the mites are moving around then they aren't eating your centipede. If they group around the mouthparts then they're just eating any left over food that might be stuck to the exoskeleton. Like I said before please post some pictures of the mites, but in the mean time I wouldn't worry too much.
 

NYAN

Arachnoking
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In the photo they attached above, you can see some of them. There is one on the terminal leg and some in the substrate.
 

Greasylake

Arachnoprince
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I see them now, they were a little small so I didn't see them the first time I looked at the picture. They look very similar to the mites I had, and all those did was eat decomposing plant/animal matter and considering that you have mites in the substrate I would bet money that they aren't feeding on your pede.
 

SUT

Arachnopeon
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If you are really worried about the mites invading. In the more likely chance they detrivores mites. Usually, a colony of springtails will outcompete the mites for food so introducing them could help. If they are parasitic I would look up some guides on how to tackle the issue properly. The only way to know though is extended observation. Like are there more on the pede then the substrate for example.
 

Staehilomyces

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One of my Ethmostigmus rubripes has what looks like a similar infestation. If you skip to 2:10 in this feeding video I posted on my YT, you'll know what I'm walking about.
Anyway, I highly doubt they're parasitic - the one I saw in your pic looks like the ones I have, and they move around a lot. So far, I've been trying to get them off with a paintbrush - a tedious job. However, I might try the aforementioned fruit-luring technique.
 

Staehilomyces

Arachnoprince
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I would also like to add that a water bowl can also work as a mite-lure. Back when my biggest pede had an infestation of the same mites, I'd find them in its water bowl every morning, which I would then proceed to clean and refill. As such, I daresay a water bowl would make for a good mite-lure. Also, they have the added benefit of serving as a safeguard against dehydration. For instance, if you decide to let the enclosure dry to combat the mites, the presence of a filled water bowl will serve to keep the pede hydrated, and lure off some of the remaining mites.
 

RezonantVoid

Hollow Knight
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If you are really worried about the mites invading. In the more likely chance they detrivores mites. Usually, a colony of springtails will outcompete the mites for food so introducing them could help. If they are parasitic I would look up some guides on how to tackle the issue properly. The only way to know though is extended observation. Like are there more on the pede then the substrate for example.
I looked up 3 methods; holding the centi with gloves and brushing them off, drowning it to knock the centi out and drown mites (but dont like that one) and housing them in calcium carbonate to dry em out. I decided to mix it up a bit, got the centi out into a clean tub, got some gloves on to gently press it down and used a spray bottle to blast the mites off. Worked pretty well and got all of them off save for 2 or 3 that had attached themselves. But regarding my springs, there is currently an outbreak of a different mite in my culture. Do you think if I introduced both to my enclosures the springs would end up outcompeting them for food?
 
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RezonantVoid

Hollow Knight
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I would also like to add that a water bowl can also work as a mite-lure. Back when my biggest pede had an infestation of the same mites, I'd find them in its water bowl every morning, which I would then proceed to clean and refill. As such, I daresay a water bowl would make for a good mite-lure. Also, they have the added benefit of serving as a safeguard against dehydration. For instance, if you decide to let the enclosure dry to combat the mites, the presence of a filled water bowl will serve to keep the pede hydrated, and lure off some of the remaining mites.
I might give it a try, but my centipede has a habit of furiously uprooting everything in its cage each night. This might change though with dry substrate
 
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Greasylake

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What I did with the springtails was fill their container with water so they floated then blow them into a new container with a straw. I haven't seen a mite since then.
 

SUT

Arachnopeon
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But regarding my springs, there is currently an outbreak of a different mite in my culture. Do you think if I introduced both to my enclosures the springs would end up outcompeting them for food?
Sorry I cannot be much help with the parasitic mites. Never had experience with them (thankfully). With the detrivores mites. My springtails ran them out of my heterometrus enclosures in 2ish weeks. Though that time was based on it being a small enclosure and the springtails were already thriving. I would always recommend springtails for any enclosure they can thrive in and they should outcompete any mites, also they are an amazing cleanup crew.
 

RezonantVoid

Hollow Knight
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Sorry I cannot be much help with the parasitic mites. Never had experience with them (thankfully). With the detrivores mites. My springtails ran them out of my heterometrus enclosures in 2ish weeks. Though that time was based on it being a small enclosure and the springtails were already thriving. I would always recommend springtails for any enclosure they can thrive in and they should outcompete any mites, also they are an amazing cleanup crew.
That answers my next question, wasn't sure if springs would upset scorpions by crawling around the pectines or something. Unfortunately my spring colony isn't doing too well atm, so i am waiting for them to populate a bit more or else ill have none left if i add any to enclosures rn. But it sounds I've got all the stuff to help manage these mites
 
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