Water dish problems:Mites,nematodes???

[vicareux]

So i woke up this morning,ready to change my tarantula's water and i noticed something weird moving inside the water dish on the surface.I thought those were springtails but i decided to take a closer look. I saw spider-like 8 legged creatures moving around,and then i noticed a bunch of nematodes stacked up on the side of the dish (notice on the left side of the water dish a couple of nematodes). I removed the dish immediately. I hope he didn't drink from it. If he did,will something bad happen? Also,how do i prevent it in the future? I am using garden earth from my local home depot covered with some moss.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

They are probably grain mites, which are harmless and commonly found almost everywhere. They can be unsightly but don't pose a threat to your tarantula. They're attracted to moisture and decaying material like leftover food, rotting vegetation, feces, etc. Most nematodes are also free living detritovores ( eat decaying material) and it would be highly unlikely for the ones you found to be parasitic. Many species are found in soil, especially moist soil. What species of tarantula do you have? It could be that maybe you need to let the substrate dry out a bit, which will reduce the population of these little freeloaders significantly. They thrive in damp conditions where there's decaying material.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I hope he didn't drink from it. If he did,will something bad happen?

No, the mites are most likely grain or soil mites which, while unsightly, are harmless. The nematodes are most likely soil nematodes which are also harmless (also, parasitic nematodes have to enter the tarantula via the anus as they're unable to enter via the mouth because dense setae filter out anything that isn't liquid).

Also,how do i prevent it in the future?

Dry things out somewhat, keep up with spot cleaning, add springtails.

Nematodes only seem to pop up if you over-moisten the substrate IME.

 

[vicareux]

Thank you very much for your answers. I am relieved to know that everything will be okay,but i am going to take out the moss and totally change the substrate with a proper coco fiber and sphagnum moss bought from a pet store to not worry much about it in the future.
I bought the spider as a Curly hair tarantula (Brachypelma Albopilosum)

 

[Kaden Bryant]

Thank you very much for your answers. I am relieved to know that everything will be okay,but i am going to take out the moss and totally change the substrate with a proper coco fiber and sphagnum moss bought from a pet store to not worry much about it in the future.
I bought the spider as a Curly hair tarantula (Brachypelma Albopilosum)

I would recommend always baking topsoil bought from a hardware store.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I would recommend always baking topsoil bought from a hardware store.

Most people advise against this as baking soil just turns it into prime breeding ground for the first thing to come into contact with it (usually mites or mould) because you've nuked all the microorganisms that would otherwise help to keep them in check.