Mites on my T?

[Niko77]

My Venezuelan suntiger (Psalmopoeus irminia) arrived today and I noticed it was a bit sluggish and not as fast as these species are supposed to be. I took him out of his packaging and put him in a tub (don’t worry I know it’s small but it’s only until my exo terra arrives tomorrow) and I noticed white dots on him. Could they be mites and are they harmful? He’s about 7cm by the way and is it okay if I leave him in the little tub overnight will it harm him?

 

[Dave Jay]

No harm from the tub, they get posted in smaller and could be days in there. It's hard to tell if the spots are mites from a picture, if they move I'd say they are mites. Most mites are just hitchhikers and only a problem in large numbers, most types not even then. Mites can be controlled by having a dry substrate and limiting food sources by removing the remains of crickets etc. In time they can be eradicated if you change the substrate every month or so for about 8 months , but that's very disruptive.

 

[Ungoliant]

and I noticed white dots on him. Could they be mites and are they harmful?

If we are looking at the same thing, I am just seeing reflections on the non-hairy parts of the exoskeleton.

I see what you're looking at now (where the chelicerae join the carapace). That does not look good.

is it okay if I leave him in the little tub overnight will it harm him?

One night is OK, but you should set up the new enclosure as soon as you can so he can settle in and become the beautiful ghost he is destined to be.

 

[starnaito]

Are you talking about the white dots above the fangs? Because if those are all mites, that looks troublesome. I bought a tarantula with a mite infestation once, and it took me a few substrate changes to get rid of them all. Luckily, they weren't congregating on her in large numbers, though. While they're generally not harmful, it can be a problem if they're bothering the tarantula like that.

 

[Greasylake]

If you open the image in a new tab you can zoom into the image to get a good look, and it does like the mites are grouping around the joint above the fangs.

 

[Tia B]

If you open the image in a new tab you can zoom into the image to get a good look, and it does like the mites are grouping around the joint above the fangs.

Oh my, that does not look good when you zoom in. They definitely are grouping there.

 

[sdsnybny]

Those look like parasitic mites and they are harmful to your T sucking the fluids from it. This can cause the T to desiccate and it may not end well. Try to put it in a very confined deli cup with lots of small hole in it on all sides, top and bottom. Then take a q-tip, remove all the fuzz off one end dip just the very tip into petroleum jelly (Vaseline), use this sticky end to reach through the holes and remove the mites one by one. Wipe them off the sticky q-tip each time renewing the vaseline as needed. Get as many as you can off the T. KEEP it away from the rest of your collection till you get all of them gone so it wont infest any others.
Depending on how infested it is you will find them at each upper leg joint, pedical, and all sides of mouth/fang area

 

[Greasylake]

Where did you get the T from? Did you get it from a vendor or another keeper? For future reference incase any of us consider buying from the same person.

 

[BellaGooty]

How is your T? What did you do for it? I feel really bad for you and your T. That really looked bad- - don’t know if you have other Ts but I’d get some predatory mites - for any cages in your house that way they can eat any of those bad mites if they get into other cages.

 

[PidderPeets]

They're definitely mites, but I think a few questions should be asked before immediately jumping the gun and assuming they're parasitic mites or not.

First of all, are they mobile? Parasitic mites are much more likely to stay in one spot, and when they're feeding, they're actually latched onto the tarantula, rendering them completely immobile. If the mites on your tarantula are wandering around at all, they're much more likely to just be hitchhiking scavenger mites. I do think I see one or two on the carapace, which makes me think hitchhikers.

Secondly, where are the mites predominantly located? If they're just on the chelicerae, I'd be even more likely to lean towards hitchhikers. Parasitic mites can only latch onto soft joints where the exoskeleton is easier to breach (leg joints, where the carapace attaches to the body, and other soft spots along those lines are favorites). The chelicerae, fangs, and top of the carapace are far too strong for the mites to bite through, so they wouldn't spend an extended time on them. They'd quickly move to find a spot they can actually feed off of.

I'm honestly leaning towards (and hoping that) those mites being scavengers that are just swarming around the mouth region on the tarantula because that's where they can find food (any food scraps left over from the T's meal). You could try leaving a prekilled feeder or a piece of fruit/veggie in with the T to see if any of the mites start leaving the chelicerae and going to the food. That would answer you question as to whether they're parasitic or not.

 

[boina]

Those look like parasitic mites and they are harmful to your T sucking the fluids from it. This can cause the T to desiccate and it may not end well. Try to put it in a very confined deli cup with lots of small hole in it on all sides, top and bottom. Then take a q-tip, remove all the fuzz off one end dip just the very tip into petroleum jelly (Vaseline), use this sticky end to reach through the holes and remove the mites one by one. Wipe them off the sticky q-tip each time renewing the vaseline as needed. Get as many as you can off the T. KEEP it away from the rest of your collection till you get all of them gone so it wont infest any others.
Depending on how infested it is you will find them at each upper leg joint, pedical, and all sides of mouth/fang area

I'm sorry, but everything you stated here are wide spread, but nevertheless unequivocally wrong, myths, and very dangerous myths, too.

First of all, mites around the chelicerae are never parasitic but practically always hitchhikers. Second, parasitic mites have never been shown to dessicate a tarantula. Third, removing mites from a tarantula with petroleum jelly is very dangerous for the tarantula and has absolutely no benefits for it, as it is practically useless in reducing mite numbers. Do not treat your tarantula with petroleum jelly, ever! Petroleum jelly can clog the mouth and make your tarantula unable to eat, for one thing. This can also happen when a tarantula tries to clean the jelly off itself.

Again: Mites are harmless. Even if they sit on your tarantula and even if they are attached to your tarantula. These are phoretic mites, that use your tarantula as a transportation device. They do not suck fluids from your tarantula. Parasitic mites are extremely rare and only ever occur on wild caught tarantulas and they will not be found around the chelicerae but around the carapace. So far no one has ever managed to breed parasitic tarantula mites in captivity and if you manage to do that a lot of mite researchers will line up at your door to get to know your secrets. The worst thing these mites can do is annoy your tarantula. You annoy your tarantula much more by using petroleum jelly on it.

Please, please, please read this. This is written by a biologist who works about mites and knows what he's talking about.

 

[Racer Jess]

I'm sorry, but everything you stated here are wide spread, but nevertheless unequivocally wrong, myths, and very dangerous myths, too.

First of all, mites around the chelicerae are never parasitic but practically always hitchhikers. Second, parasitic mites have never been shown to dessicate a tarantula. Third, removing mites from a tarantula with petroleum jelly is very dangerous for the tarantula and has absolutely no benefits for it, as it is practically useless in reducing mite numbers. Do not treat your tarantula with petroleum jelly, ever! Petroleum jelly can clog the mouth and make your tarantula unable to eat, for one thing. This can also happen when a tarantula tries to clean the jelly off itself.

Again: Mites are harmless. Even if they sit on your tarantula and even if they are attached to your tarantula. These are phoretic mites, that use your tarantula as a transportation device. They do not suck fluids from your tarantula. Parasitic mites are extremely rare and only ever occur on wild caught tarantulas and they will not be found around the chelicerae but around the carapace. So far no one has ever managed to breed parasitic tarantula mites in captivity and if you manage to do that a lot of mite researchers will line up at your door to get to know your secrets. The worst thing these mites can do is annoy your tarantula. You annoy your tarantula much more by using petroleum jelly on it.

Please, please, please read this. This is written by a biologist who works about mites and knows what he's talking about.

Hi there, I've just come across this thread after finding mites on my Caribena versicolour sling. They are all located on the area between the abdomen and carapace, and appear to be latched on, so I'm assuming they're parasitic mites? I've re-housed the sling into a fresh, clean enclosure. Is there anything I can do to get rid of the mites? The sling is active and eating well, but obviously it's not ideal for it to have these on it. Please can you advise on what's best for me to do?