Nematode Question

[LuiziBee]

I don't know much about nematodes. However, I'm sure there are many different kinds. My question is, are all of them dangerous for tarantulas?

I got in an order of dwarf white isopods today and I was trying to make sure I got all of them out of the cup they were in into a better container for them. I used my flashlight to see clearer and I noticed very tiny white worms wiggling around.

Any feedback or knowledge on these would be fantastic.

 

[viper69]

I wouldn't knowingly feed something with parasites to a pet. A lot of exotics in the wild have parasites, that's also one of MANY reasons they typically live shorter lives in the wild too.

 

[Arachnomaniac19]

They're not all parasitic, but I wouldn't risk it.

 

[Rittdk01]

I would not put them in the enclosure. I read up on them after having a tarantula fall ill. It's not worth the cost of pill bugs to have a tarantula get worms. I would ask the seller for a refund. Get springtails, they do more in my t stirmi's enclosure

 

[Jpeg]

"Tiny white worms" like springtails?

 

[LuiziBee]

"Tiny white worms" like springtails?

I would not put them in the enclosure. I read up on them after having a tarantula fall ill. It's not worth the cost of pill bugs to have a tarantula get worms. I would ask the seller for a refund. Get springtails, they do more in my t stirmi's enclosure

I already have springtails. I was just really looking forward to some dwarf white isopods. This is the third time I've tried to get some and something goes wrong every time. I think I'm going to scoop as many as I can out one by one and keep them in my bedroom, away from my spider room, on fresh dirt and see what happens from there. There's always a chance they're fungus gnat or phorid fly larvae.

 

[Rittdk01]

^^^^they probably are gnat or phorid fly larvae, but I would be scared to risk it. Do you have a theraphosa or H gigas? The Isopods go into the dirt in my stirmis enclosure, and are rarely seen. When she drops a food ball it get covered in springtails though, so I know they are doing their job.

 

[boina]

Ok, I'm going against the majority opinion here: When what you see really are nematodes they are harmless for your T. Half of all nematodes are NOT parasites but live in soil ( http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/Creatures/nematode/soil_nematode.htm ) and they are actually GOOD for your tarantulas since they may eat bacteria and rotting organic matter, (it's the same with mites btw: most are GOOD for your T). Even parasitic nematodes are very specialized and I would very much think that nematodes that infect tarantulas may infect other arachnids but not isopods. Now, of course there could be larvae and eggs of parasitic nematodes in the soil but they wouldn't look like wriggly worms and wherever would they come from? They must have been in a spider at one point in their lives.
I think the only way to get nematodes is to buy an infested WC tarantula. Whatever you have in that soil is harmless or even helpful because it is LIVING IN THE SOIL. However there's a small possibility that these nematodes (if that's what they are) are parasites of the isopods. In that case they still wouldn't be harmful to the spider, but they'd kill your isopod colony off...
(Btw, I'm a biologist)

 

[LuiziBee]

^^^^they probably are gnat or phorid fly larvae, but I would be scared to risk it. Do you have a theraphosa or H gigas? The Isopods go into the dirt in my stirmis enclosure, and are rarely seen. When she drops a food ball it get covered in springtails though, so I know they are doing their job.

I have a T. stirmi

Ok, I'm going against the majority opinion here: When what you see really are nematodes they are harmless for your T. Half of all nematodes are NOT parasites but live in soil ( http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/Creatures/nematode/soil_nematode.htm ) and they are actually GOOD for your tarantulas since they may eat bacteria and rotting organic matter, (it's the same with mites btw: most are GOOD for your T). Even parasitic nematodes are very specialized and I would very much think that nematodes that infect tarantulas may infect other arachnids but not isopods. Now, of course there could be larvae and eggs of parasitic nematodes in the soil but they wouldn't look like wriggly worms and wherever would they come from? They must have been in a spider at one point in their lives.
I think the only way to get nematodes is to buy an infested WC tarantula. Whatever you have in that soil is harmless or even helpful because it is LIVING IN THE SOIL. However there's a small possibility that these nematodes (if that's what they are) are parasites of the isopods. In that case they still wouldn't be harmful to the spider, but they'd kill your isopod colony off...
(Btw, I'm a biologist)

Thank you so much for your reply. That make me feel so much better. I picked out the isopods with toothpicks and put them into fresh substrate and am just going to watch them for a while and maybe use in a few generations just to be on the safe side.

I did manage to upload the video of the worms to photobucket. It diminished the quality a ton, but it's not like there was much to see anyway.

Here's the video (hopefully it works lol):






Also, I spoke to the people who sold me the isopods. They said they took 6 samples of the substrate from their culture and tested it and found nothing. This dirt was alive with multiple types of bugs. Worms, some kind of fly or mite that ran very fast but was smaller than your average fungus gnats or phorid fly, and some other dark, hard bodied bug that was significantly smaller than the isopods I could see. I'm not so worried about those bugs, but in a small condiments container I had all that and they're telling me there's nothing and probably baby isopods? It's a little sketchy. Hopefully they'll resolve the issue, though.

 

[boina]

That looks like a nematode alright. Yikes. Can't say I ike them

 

[LuiziBee]

"Hello and THANK YOU for the video. You now have our FULL ATTENTION. We have taken our Dwarf Whites off line (zero'ed our inventory) until we can isolate, correct, and clean the infestation. We're not entirely sure what type of "White Worm" we're dealing with as there are literally 10's of thousands species in this regard.

In all likelihood they're harmless soil dwellers but you are correct to take all precautions to keep your babies safe. Dip a piece of bread into milk and place the bread on your substrate. It will draw the worms out of the soil and into the bread at which point you simply discard the bread. If there are no worms in the bread then you got them all.

We have issued a full refund in the amount of $20.24 back to your paypal account.

THANK YOU so much for bringing this to our attention and PLEASE accept our apologies for your trouble."


Thank goodness they're taking it seriously. And I got a refund.

 

[Andrea82]

"Hello and THANK YOU for the video. You now have our FULL ATTENTION. We have taken our Dwarf Whites off line (zero'ed our inventory) until we can isolate, correct, and clean the infestation. We're not entirely sure what type of "White Worm" we're dealing with as there are literally 10's of thousands species in this regard.

In all likelihood they're harmless soil dwellers but you are correct to take all precautions to keep your babies safe. Dip a piece of bread into milk and place the bread on your substrate. It will draw the worms out of the soil and into the bread at which point you simply discard the bread. If there are no worms in the bread then you got them all.

We have issued a full refund in the amount of $20.24 back to your paypal account.

THANK YOU so much for bringing this to our attention and PLEASE accept our apologies for your trouble."


Thank goodness they're taking it seriously. And I got a refund.

Now that's good customer service

 

[Rittdk01]

Yeah, u didn't want that crap in with your t stirmi. The springtails alone work great if u don't get more pill bugs. I have had no mold or anything unpleasant in her enclosure, which i attribute to housekeeping every day and the springtails eating anything gross. glad u got a refund.

 

[EulersK]

"Hello and THANK YOU for the video. You now have our FULL ATTENTION. We have taken our Dwarf Whites off line (zero'ed our inventory) until we can isolate, correct, and clean the infestation. We're not entirely sure what type of "White Worm" we're dealing with as there are literally 10's of thousands species in this regard.

In all likelihood they're harmless soil dwellers but you are correct to take all precautions to keep your babies safe. Dip a piece of bread into milk and place the bread on your substrate. It will draw the worms out of the soil and into the bread at which point you simply discard the bread. If there are no worms in the bread then you got them all.

We have issued a full refund in the amount of $20.24 back to your paypal account.

THANK YOU so much for bringing this to our attention and PLEASE accept our apologies for your trouble."


Thank goodness they're taking it seriously. And I got a refund.

Whoa! What company is this?! Absolutely amazing. I love to see companies who care more about the well-being of their customer's pets than about the profits.