All you need to know about mites

Any chance we can get this stickied so it stays easy to find?

Thank you Boina!

 

Brava, Cora

 

You're the best! I'm saving this so I can just link this thread directly from you, since I basically just relay all the information you've provided me on them already

 

Thanks boina, , I love these posts of yours.

 

Pinworthy !

 

Ah man you're making the mite threads too easy for us now.

 

We just need one giant thread compiled of these Mythbuster threads of yours. This and the slime mold one.

 

This is an ok guide I guess but if you could just do one on mould, best beginner tarantulas & what to do if my T hasn't eaten for 2 weeks you'll have 99% of questions covered

 

This should be a sticky in my opinion @EulersK and @AphonopelmaTX

 

Nice idea-- we need one on mold. Maybe a dual title "Of Mites and Mold"

 

Thank you! I can't even tell you how many times I've had to explain this.

 

Book marked.
Great thread

 

Thanks for taking the time to write this, boina. This is really helpful!

 

Absolutely eased my mind, great post!

 

Great rational post!

However, I'm going to chime in with some thoughts relating to centipedes, because there are differences between them and tarantulas, and an increasing number of centipede owners (such as myself, and @Staehilomyces) have lost specimens in the presence of mite infestations, and are questioning whether mites are really as harmless as everyone says they are.

This is not to imply mites do cause these deaths (the simple truth is we do not know) but here are some thoughts and observations on the matter:

1. There are often grain mite infestations around the head parts and under the first few tergites, which is to be expected as that's the only places the centipede can't reach with its mouthparts, but sometimes we don't see anything.
2. The centipedes writhe and wriggle their heads, and scratch at it with their legs. They also often turn and nibble at parts of their body where no mites are visibly present. So either I don't see the mite, or there's something internal, or it's just what they do when they feel an itch.
3. Many keepers have reported "shovelling" behaviour - whereby a centipede continually pushes its head into the substrate or against objects while walking. Some people say this is to try to itch to get rid of the mites. When I've observed this it seemed far more like a case of paralysis of the head which may or may not be mite-related. I've seen centipedes affected by the cold develop this, and more recently had one turn that way out of the blue and die the next day. More often it's an ongoing condition, often accompanied by mite problems, that eventually results in death.
4. The mites come on in droves as the centipede starts to die - but a centipede is often long dead before it stops moving, as others have noted with the smell of decay, and as can be attested by the fact a decapitated centipede will go on running for quite some time. This supports the notion that mites are not a cause of death, but just show up in large numbers for what seems to be a long time before death (but actually isn't).
5. In some cases, grain mite infestations cause no harm to the centipede, and just clear up. This would seem to support the notion that mites are not causing the death of the centipedes, or if they are, then centipedes only succumb under certain conditions (general health, temp, humidity etc...)
6. The same conditions which lead to visible mite infestations could also be the cause for centipede's poor health, either directly, or by being favourable conditions for the pathogens which are actually attacking the centipede, in which case mites are a nice warning system.
7. The prevailing opinion seems to be that mites do not harm centipedes, but I wonder if people say that because that's what they've heard from experienced keepers. Some of those then become experienced keepers themselves and spread the same incorrect information, which keeps everyone in mutual agreement that this is fact, and whenever someone claims to think that mites did it, they are told it's not, and out of respect for those more experienced, and out of shame at losing their best specimens, these people don't argue.
8. I also wonder if this opinion is correct for tarantulas, but not for centipedes. Here are some differences which might explain why tarantulas don't succumb to mite infestations while centipedes do:
   1. Most tarantulas lay some webbing, which creates a barrier between them and the substrate, whereas centipedes live in direct contact with the substrate.
   2. A tarantula's point of contact with the ground is different, they often don't let their many bodies touch un-webbed substrate, meaning any parasite needs to climb up its legs, which it can easily groom if it sense something crawling.
   3. A tarantula's body is covered in hairs.
   4. A centipede's head parts may, just because of the shape of them, hoard more food detritus, or be harder to clean.
   5. Tarantulas feed entirely on other invertebrates (or at least can) which means it is possible to fulfil their dietary requirements in captivity. Centipedes can generally survive entirely on insects, but we don't know what else they eat in nature while they are underground or deep within rotting wood. It may be that they eat other animals like worms, or fungus, soil, plant material (which is documented - and not just in captivity) or maybe it's the water droplets they drink off the underside of rocks that contain minerals, who knows! So it may be that we are not meeting their full nutritional requirements (or this depends on what the feeders are fed, or what your water source is) and they are therefore more susceptible to succumbing to pathogens.
9. I often notice discolouration in such centipedes, with antennae, legs and in particular maxillipeds losing colour and appearing more faded and translucent than in healthy specimens.
10. I have also noticed some centipedes get what appears to be dried blood crusts around the head - often on the maxillipeds - and this appears to happen after periods of excessively high humidity. Perhaps this is fungus, perhaps this is something the body produces in response to a pathogen, mites or other. Because this happens under such conditions it's hard to tell if mites have anything to do with it.

 

And that's exactly why I wanted your view on these points

I was not suggesting that the mites feed off centipedes, just that their presence could be a contributing factor in other health problems, such as the spreading of fungal infections. However, I am happy to accept that a concentration of mites (with the exception of specialised parasites) are never a cause, although they are potentially a symptom of another problem - perhaps also a fungal infection?

We throw the word "mycosis" around quite a bit whenever a centipede get humidity related health problems, most commonly black markings on the head regions, but for all we know these could be bacterial infections rather than fungal. It may be that the mites are able to scent this and therefore congregate on those areas?

Have you any thoughts or knowledge on fungal infections in arthropods? And do you think some of the anti-fungal treatments available for humans might work, or are these overly toxic?