What are there worms?

[Rob Dutch]

Fed my T two crickets today and some meal worms last week. Look into his waterdish today and saw these things. Looked at them for a while but they didnt move at all. Anyone know what they are? They are kinda worm like but nothing like i have seen suggested thus far.

Oh btw it smelled really bad as well.

 

[Entomologist210]

Can't tell from the image. Look like vermiform fly larvae, but they could be anything. What's the humidity like in the enclosure? Is it bioactive?

 

[Rob Dutch]

Can't tell from the image. Look like vermiform fly larvae, but they could be anything. What's the humidity like in the enclosure? Is it bioactive?

Not bioactive, no springtails, low humidity.

 

[EulersK]

Those definitely look like phorid fly larva, and the fact that you said they smell bad backs it up. Phorid flies feed and lay eggs on decaying organic matter. When the moisture isn't high enough, the larva then search out somewhere with more water - which often happens to be a water dish. Since they're not aquatic, they immediately drown. What you smell is a combination of the larva themselves rotting as well as any food they ate.

Typically speaking, staying vigilant about picking out the old bolus will keep phorid flies at bay.

 

[Rob Dutch]

Those definitely look like phorid fly larva, and the fact that you said they smell bad backs it up. Phorid flies feed and lay eggs on decaying organic matter. When the moisture isn't high enough, the larva then search out somewhere with more water - which often happens to be a water dish. Since they're not aquatic, they immediately drown. What you smell is a combination of the larva themselves rotting as well as any food they ate.

Typically speaking, staying vigilant about picking out the old bolus will keep phorid flies at bay.

looked up some photos and i dont think i agree, these are much longer and the poop was fresh my t only pooped there in the night before i cleaned it up. could it have been some kind of parasite in my spider?

 

[EulersK]

looked up some photos and i dont think i agree, these are much longer and the poop was fresh my t only pooped there in the night before i cleaned it up. could it have been some kind of parasite in my spider?

A bolus isn't feces, a bolus is a little ball consisting of the leftovers your spider discarded after a meal. I've never seen a larva take up residence in tarantula feces.

Nematodes do exist, but those don't look quite right to be nematodes. But the photos aren't the best, so it's hard to say. Further, nematodes tend to swim in water for quite some time, not die off that quickly.

Honestly, my money is still on phorid fly larvae. I deal with those things constantly due to my roach colonies, and from the picture I have to work with, that's what you have. Length and all. Perhaps you're looking at fruit fly larvae? People often mislabel the two. Fruit fly larvae are tiny and stubby, nowhere near as long or as large as phorid fly larvae. Just jumping on Google and looking at images of "phorid fly larva", a good chunk of them are definitely not what they claim to be.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

My money is on some sort of fly larvae.

Nematodes are longer and much more slender in build. Also, any nematodes you do encounter will likely be soil nematodes which are harmless and basically act as clean up crew, you'll most probably never encounter the parasitic ones unless you purchase a wild caught tarantula that is already riddled with them.