# White bugs / things on dead cricket.



## SandyMuffinCakes94 (Aug 9, 2009)

I tried searching but i couldnt find any information unless its worded differently. 

I cut a small cricken in half for this wolf spider i found outside, today i look in there and theres these tiny little white things on it? are they mites or are they baby crickets from inside? which i dont see how that would have happend when its not even an adult cricket.   let me know if you need a picture i can try to get one.


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## Satellite Rob (Aug 9, 2009)

Thay are probably mites.Mites eat decaying insects.Clean and wash your 
T contaiers.Then change to dry substrate and keep it dry with a water dish. 
That should take care of your problem.Plus don't leave dead insects or insect 
parts in your containers.If the mites don't have food or water.Then you wont 
have mites.


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## SandyMuffinCakes94 (Aug 9, 2009)

FYI the substrate is dry  ,  and i left the dead cricket in there for half the day and i have to leave it in there that long thats how my wolf spiders eat and have been for the past year its the only source of food i have for them especially when winter comes. Its not in my tarantulas by the way i dont know if you read it properly its a species of wolf spider that i caught from outside that stays nowhere near them and is only half a inch big. 

It doesn't do it with my other wolf spiderlings that i have.. 

Anyways thanks i just wanted to clarify that i am infact following doing the proper guidelines for feeding heh, i got all my information i needed thank you. 

/close


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## Sathane (Aug 9, 2009)

Wild caught specimens may be infested with parasites.  Sounds like your wolf spider brought along some mites.  I hope you kept it far away from your other Ts.


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## micheldied (Aug 10, 2009)

maybe springtails?
i find them all over the substrate in my pede tank.
they always eat up leftovers.


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## Bill S (Aug 10, 2009)

Sounds like springtails, and definitely not parasitic.  If they were parasitic they'd be on LIVE animals, not scavenging on dead ones.

There are detritis mites that scavenge dead materials, but they're not a threat either.  

In either case, it's very doubtful they came in with your wolf spider.  They were probably living in your substrate and rapidly multiplied when conditions (food availability) allowed.


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## AngelPixel (Aug 24, 2009)

*good or bad mites?*

i find these white mites in my millipede and roach tanks. they seem to thrive when its very moist and i put moist food in the tanks. id hate to let my tanks dry up to get rid of these things.they multiply so quickly...they infested a container of dry cricket food and seem to thrive off that and the cubed food. they dont seem to bother the millis but should i be worried? also when a milli or other critter dies they seem to consume them quickly..how do i know what a good mite looks like?


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## AngelPixel (Aug 24, 2009)

*pics of the mites*

they seem to be congregating in one photo theres a mass of them...then you can see them in the substrate.


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## micheldied (Aug 24, 2009)

AngelPixel said:


> they seem to be congregating in one photo theres a mass of them...then you can see them in the substrate.


not springtails.
but ive recently got something similar with my OBT cage.
but the difference is,its very dry...
they all over the lid and web,but not on the spider itself.


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## SandyMuffinCakes94 (Aug 25, 2009)

Sathane said:


> Wild caught specimens may be infested with parasites.  Sounds like your wolf spider brought along some mites.  I hope you kept it far away from your other Ts.


Easier said then done with limited space and people.


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## mitchnast (Aug 25, 2009)

looks like some sort of soil/scavenger mite.


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## ErinKelley (Aug 25, 2009)

I have these show up in a few of my tanks.  IMO they've been harmless.  They seem to thin out once the soil dries out but they kind of leave a mess at the soil line on the glass.  Maybe you can get some of those predatory mites people talk about.


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## SandyMuffinCakes94 (Aug 25, 2009)

http://theata.org/forum/index.php?topic=2198.0

I think this thread is very helpful on ideas, so far i have nuked, changed substrate and none of it has worked, i have noticed that in my dry enclosures they ONLY are in my water dishes, i have not seen any so far on substrate, they are microscopic to me. But as long as they are harmless its fine i just want to cut the numbers in the dish down, cause as soon as the tarantulas drink its going to get on them.


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## OxDionysus (Nov 21, 2009)

I notice these once in a while also, I can't say I have ever seen any actually on my T's but they are usually in my water bowls. I think they come on my Peat moss?


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## Obelisk (Nov 22, 2009)

I have something similar to this in my cricket tank. They just eat the dead crickets, as well as the cricket food. I've never seen them on living crickets, nor on my T's for that matter.


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## 8by8 (Nov 22, 2009)

I never ever take a chance when I find little critters in any of my pets enclosure. If I get mites or anything suspicious I take everything out, put animal in clean deli cup, throw out substrate, and soak the enclosure and all furniture in steaming hot water for at least an hour. If mites are on a T, then I put a little bit (very little) cooking flour on the bottom of the deli cup when cleaning enclosure. The mites will travel off the T to go eat and hide inside the flour. And isopods (rolly-pollys) are a very cheap and easy way to insure any enclosure is free of debris, food particulate, and almost all "dirt" you find on your substrate and furnishings. Never take a chance with a pest.


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