"Grubs" in my T stirmi sling enclosure

Archer33389

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Messages
23
Hello all,

I was feeding my T stirmi sling today (it is about 1.5-2" leg span diameter) and I noticed some small white grub-like insects crawling in the enclosure. They are very small (maybe 2 millimeters). See attached photo. One can be seen to the left of the center slit in the silk leaf. I feed the sling 2 times a week (it eats small crickets). I keep it in a 4"x4" terrarium which has reptisoil on the bottom (about an inch deep) and several pieces of cork and silk leaves in the habitat. I pour a little water onto the large silk leaf 2 times a week in order to give the sling a puddle to drink from and to keep the substrate moist. The temperature in the terrarium ranges between around 84 on the hot side at the hottest and about 76 on the cool side. If I see food that was only partially eaten (when I have given mealworms) I take it out but I have not seen any partially eaten crickets. Is this something I should be worried about? I feed and water my 3 slings with the same schedule and they are roughly all in similar set ups (except the stirmi is the only one with cork and silk leaves) and the other 2 do not appear to have any of these "grubs" in their enclosures. Wingless fruit flies did get into the enclosures once, is it possible these are wingless fruitfly larvae?
0531201712.jpg
Thank you for any help you can provide!
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
Pic is too small for me, can't enlarge it. Whenever insects invade it's usually because they found a food source, or suitable temps to lay eggs etc. Your temps are certainly high enough to be inviting for others.

Either way it doesn't matter what it is per se, get it out.
 

Chebe6886

Arachnobaron
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
522
Yeh pics too small but Moist/warm environment with possible food source is almost certainly mites. I had a problem with them in New Orleans when I kept my Ts in an external storage room. Get them under control now bc they’ll run rampant in short order. I’d throw out all substrate and re house in clean containers. Lot easier now than later
 

Archer33389

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Messages
23
I didn't see any on the tarantula. Do mites live mainly on the tarantula, in the environment, or both? I also think the sling might be getting close to molting because it did not take the cricket when I first put the cricket in (it usually jumps right on it). The abdomen of the sling also seems rather fat. Should I wait to rehouse/clean the substrate until after the molt? I do not want to disturb the sling if it is about to molt. Thank you
 

Chebe6886

Arachnobaron
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
522
Various types but they definitely will irritate T once their numbers get high.
As long as the sling isn’t actually in the process of molting you should be fine moving it. Make sure you move it into a ready prepared enclosure another words don’t leave it in a catch cup for long or at all.
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
4,835
Pic is too small to get a look at them, you said they're a couple of mm in size so do they look like this?
(Click to expand)
Springtails.JPG

Those are springtails and are beneficial, they thrive in moist environments and feed on decaying organic matter which makes them a good clean up crew.

If not then mites are another possibility but the only mites you're ever likely to encounter are grain/soil mites which are harmless in the sense that they're not going to eat your tarantula (because they only eat decaying organic matter) but they will irritate it if their numbers get out of control.

Do mites live mainly on the tarantula, in the environment, or both?
In the environment but they will hitch a ride on your tarantula when there is no food source nearby
 

spideyspinneret78

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jul 19, 2019
Messages
1,253
It's hard for me to see the photo, but they could also possibly be fungus gnat larvae, which are extremely annoying but not directly harmful to the tarantula.
 

Asgiliath

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 4, 2019
Messages
404
It's hard for me to see the photo, but they could also possibly be fungus gnat larvae, which are extremely annoying but not directly harmful to the tarantula.
Do not even mention fungus gnats!!! I had to dump probably a dozen enclosures because of those! Some even found their way into a few of my sling cups. NOPE.
 

Archer33389

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Messages
23
Thank you all for the replies!
Looking at photos tells me they are probably either fungus gnat larvae or phorid fly maggots. They are not springtails. I will clean the enclosures to try and get rid of them. I just wanted to make sure I understand you guys right. I know fungus gnat larvae aren't dangerous (just annoying) from your post earlier. What about phorid flies? It seems like it is the same deal with them as long as their numbers do not get overwhelming that they are not dangerous, just annoying again. Is that correct?
 
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