Thread worms in p. marginemaculatus enclosure?

[LordAnon]

I have my p. marginemaculatus (Florida whip spider) in a deli cup with some substrate of soil, sand, Coco, and sphagnum, and a piece of corkbark. I had seen some thin worms in the soil a few days after putting the enclosure together, but assumed the isopods would either eat then or outcompete them. I was sorta right, the numbers decreased a lot. However ,this afternoon I noticed the water droplets that form from the humidity in his cup have dozens of worms. Are these parasites? I wanted to avoid throwing out the soil because my colony of isopods isn't exactly established yet and I don't really want to harvest from it. Is the substrate no good? Can I kill the worms without killing the isos or throwing out the soil?

 

[The Snark]

We need a lot more to go on. Could be any of dozens of animals. From harmless nematodes to the threadworm and beyond. Without knowing the actual creature the only approach to eradicate is the shotgun method, sterilizing everything in the enclosure.
Also, be aware, many parasitic infections/infestations are treated with antibiotics which can be lethal to your keepers.

 

[LordAnon]

We need a lot more to go on. Could be any of dozens of animals. From harmless nematodes to the threadworm and beyond. Without knowing the actual creature the only approach to eradicate is the shotgun method, sterilizing everything in the enclosure.
Also, be aware, many parasitic infections/infestations are treated with antibiotics which can be lethal to your keepers.

Yeah, unfortunately the closest that I've been able to find that matches my description seems to be horsehair worms. Unfortunately as you said, I'll probably just have to remove all the substrate, sterilize the enclosure, and possibly get new cork bark. I'm iffy about the Cork Bar, since it has some crevices inside the cork bark itself that he really likes to use.

To clarify, are you saying that there are certain products I shouldn't use to remove the possible parasite? I wasn't really planning on using any over-the-counter remedies, but it's good to know to avoid those anyway.

 

[The Snark]

You need expert advice.

My experience with parasites is all about human infestations and transmission. I don't think a month has gone by in the past 15 years where I haven't taken a suspect sample to a lab. Trivial nothing-to-worry-about most of the time and on one occasion I was put on medication for 3 months and retraced and took samples from every place I had been for the previous week. Couldn't even pronounce the little monsters I had been infected with.

Immediate infection is only one aspect and a trivial one. Transmission is the nightmare. Some parasites in animals equate to you are probably infected and inadvertently have become a vector. Get the real low down from the pros.

All animals keepers should familiarize themselves with transmission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_(medicine)
With parasites, ALL pathogen pathways are possible.


PS The words you never want to hear or read: Positive. Sample sent to CDC for identification.

 

[1Lord Of Ants1]

Nematodes will always be present in any substrate with a food source and plentiful moisture. Most are microscopic and never noticed. Their population will equalize with time and competition from other microorganisms.

I have several vivariums that have been running for years. Their soil has had visible nematodes of many species since week 1, and at the startup there is often an explosion of a certain animal...normally springtails, mites, or nematodes.

 

[LordAnon]

You need expert advice.

My experience with parasites is all about human infestations and transmission. I don't think a month has gone by in the past 15 years where I haven't taken a suspect sample to a lab. Trivial nothing-to-worry-about most of the time and on one occasion I was put on medication for 3 months and retraced and took samples from every place I had been for the previous week. Couldn't even pronounce the little monsters I had been infected with.

Immediate infection is only one aspect and a trivial one. Transmission is the nightmare. Some parasites in animals equate to you are probably infected and inadvertently have become a vector. Get the real low down from the pros.

All animals keepers should familiarize themselves with transmission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_(medicine)
With parasites, ALL pathogen pathways are possible.


PS The words you never want to hear or read: Positive. Sample sent to CDC for identification.

Real talk, are you saying I should see a doctor or something? Sounds kinda like that went 0 to 100 real quick .

 

[The Snark]

No. Square one, identify. Usually a lab tech or doc will take a glance and shrug-> "It is xxxxx, no big deal." And you go from there.
But lurking in the mind of every vet or healthcare worker are the words, "Those eggs can go air born."

 

[LordAnon]

No. Square one, identify. Usually a lab tech or doc will take a glance and shrug-> "It is xxxxx, no big deal." And you go from there.
But lurking in the mind of every vet or healthcare worker are the words, "Those eggs can go air born."

So I should take a sample to a vet? The only other people I can imagine could identify it would be in the biology Department of my University, but I don't know anyone in particular and I don't really want to bother anybody there with what might just be nematodes in some dirt.

If anyone else wants to take a crack at identifying them, I recently forgot a piece of dry dog food just under the surface of my isopods substrate, and it was covered in them. So they seem to like protein, unless they like the Grain in the dog food.

 

[The Snark]

I chum it up with labs, hospitals and universities. Universities often welcome specimens. Find a near grad student or professor that seems amiable. Or I walked in cold turkey into a hospital I had never been to before, went to the lab window and held up a specimen for the tech to look at. A minute later I had nearly everyone in the lab ogling it and a half hour later a microscopic report from a friendly and intrigued pathology technician.
Just put on a vapid vacant expression, stroll up to a likely looking techy type and ask, "Uhhhhh... what is this?"

 

[MikeyD]

It could be a white worms from the genus Enchytraeus, they are common in moist soils.

 

[LordAnon]

It could be a white worms from the genus Enchytraeus, they are common in moist soils.

Googling that, I'm pretty confident that that's exactly what they are. One of the pictures I found on Google looks exactly like what I found when they were covering the dog food. Apparently people breed them for fish fry food.