Mites in P.Metallica's enclosure

[Noiselessx]

I have noticed small white dots that occasionally move, so I assume they are mites. I saw the mites around four days ago, and I guess they've appeared because I've moist the substrate too much. Lesson learned, I will make sure not to do that again.

The question is - should I attempt to clean everything or should I just let them die on their own? I always clean food leftovers, so I assume they will die in a couple of days w/o water.

NB: There aren't that many mites and I can only see them if I use a flashlight.

 

[Poonjab]

Clean up all food sources. They will go away. They will never be 100% gone, but you get the point.

 

[Liquifin]

The answer to your question will really depend on how bad it is. In most cases, it is not severe and you can just let the enclosure dry out over time and remove any food remains to get rid of food sources for the mites. That will help deal with the mites for starters.

 

[Noiselessx]

It isn't bad because I only see a few under bright light. I guess I will just give it a week or two to see what happens, I hope the T would be fine

 

[viper69]

It isn't bad because I only see a few under bright light. I guess I will just give it a week or two to see what happens, I hope the T would be fine

had mite problem once. They can easily explode out of control. They don’t die in a few days.

put in some extra bowls of water, they will hop in, and turn brown dead, as they ultimately sink.

also, put your setup inside a pan of water, they will be attracted there too, and will prevent spread to rest of collection

if out of control they will irritate your T as they climb on setae.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Dry out the sub/increase ventilation or add springtails to keep their population in check. No need to gut the enclosure, they're only a problem if there's a colossal population explosion and even then they're more of a nuisance than an actual threat.