what are the little white things

[dthbhk]

in two containers I have both have these little white things and there carnivorus I through a cricket in for my red rump and the thing must of been near death cause it died not long after being in then these little white things started eating it what are they?

 

[Drakonae]

Sounds like mites..........

 

[KJE]

Sounds like mites to me too. You should be able to get rid of them by letting your enclosure dry out totally. Make sure you have a water dish for your t, but the substrate needs to be completely dry.

You could also try changing the substrate and making sure it's dry. That's what I would do if there are a lot of the mites. Also make sure you keep any uneaten items cleaned up immediately.

 

[Kali]

if it's not mites, it could be nematodes or some other parasite. anything unusual should be removed from the enclosure.

 

[CodeJACK]

Just when I thought I was rid of these same little pests, they apear back in force.
My H. lividum came pre festered and I threw out the enclosure about a month ago. Setup in its new pad I saw no sign until three days ago. I noticed a small (3mm) and very slender worm like thing doing the backstoke in the water dish. A day later, obviously after replacing dish, and there are mites everywhere.
Looks like this time my 70€ lividum is headed for the freezer.
The mites have now made it outside the cage and as it is on the ground I fear the rest of my house to be the next infestation.
Are these same mites dangerous to me? What could they do to me?

I have read all the mite threads I can take and none say what could happen to humans.

Do all lividums have mite problems as a result of their higher RH requirments?
How do the rest of lividum owners keep their T's without letting things get too dry but moistening at the same time?

If I loose my collection of 4 to these mites I think I'm most definetly done from this hobby. In Ireland it just costs too much to risk a disaster like this.

All help needed!

Thanks all.

 

[bonesmama]

Don't give up! Put the T in a clean container of some sort with no substrate or anything, just a water dish. Leave it for a couple of days. The dryness should kill off the mites, they don't have a very long lifespan--I'm not sure how long, maybe someone else can tell us. If you're really paranoid, put the container in a larger container with some water in it, the mites should drown if they decide to "jump ship" As for the "wormy thing"--my first thought was nematode, but I don't know enough about them, and I've never seen one.
Your T should be able to groom the mites off of herself. And you decide if you want to feed or not--crickets (if that's what your feeding it) can host mites.
I probably don't have to tell you to isolate your lividum and wash your hands after any contact with it.
And best of luck!

 

[metzgerzoo]

Read this thread: MITES It will give you some very helpfull tips on what you can do to rid your containers of them and measures that can be taken to keep them away...even in the more humid loving tarantula containers.
CodeJACK, the mites will not harm humans, so don't fret. Get yourself some isopods (pillbugs) and put them in with your spiders. They will not harm the spiders and the spiders will not eat them.
Don't put your lividum in the freezer, that's not necessary. If it has mits actually *on* it, then brush them off with a soft paintbrush (yes, I know, eaiser said than done with a lividum )
Mites often come freeloading with crickets...just one of the many reasons I don't feed crickets. Also, just FYI, crickets will lay their eggs in the substrate and/or the water dish so, sometimes those little white floating things are cricket larve and not mites.
No need to throw out containers or water dishes if they happen to have a few mites in them. Just wash them out real well with very hot water and vinegar and let them air dry real well.

 

[smof]

Also bear in mind that the mites which accumulate on the fangs/palps of your T aren't doing it any harm. They only feed on dead matter such as cricket leftovers. They look nasty and are an annoyance to us keepers but your spider probably doesn't care. It is the mites you find on the main body that can cause harm.

If you only have the mites on the fang area, don't worry. I had these a few months back on three of my Ts. Two of them I managed to get rid of the mites by not feeding them for a few weeks and keeping their substrate bone dry. The other one I just could not shift the mites, but as they were on a sling I just power-fed it until it moulted. The mites remain on the exoskeleton for a while (I assume they start eating it?) so I just took out the shed skin and my mite problem was gone!

Please don't rush to the freezer until you're positive nothing can be done!
Good luck

 

[SpiderZone2]

I have found out in this past winter that some of the crickets we get and it really doesn't matter from where we get them, come with what appears to be fruit flies. Some kind of little flies that hang around the dead crickets. I never had a problem before, but I never bought so many crickets at one time either. Anyways, these little flies will lay eggs and they turn into small like maggots. They eat any dead part of cricket remains. Really is gross.........but I had confirmation on this by a pro in the field. So this could be also what you have. I had to change out the substrate completely and make sure no cricket remains are left. I don't know how these little flies appear, but they had. And they do fly. They are not flight-less. Only way I knew of how to get rid of them.

Just an idea if they are not mites. I had mites a few times many years ago and that is not what these are.