Well <expletive>

[Canth]

I was taking some shots of one of my S. hardwickei tonight and noticed this...

Mites behind the first few tergites.

Should I be worried?

 

[Galapoheros]

Hey Jared I've had pedes lose those hypopus stage mites over time but it can take some months. You have to try to not miss a cricket leg or the tiniest dead part, a few pillbugs help a lot, I wouldn't use the faster sowbugs though. Those fast ones are a little too aggressive imo.

 

[Canth]

Hey Jared I've had pedes lose those hypopus stage mites over time but it can take some months. You have to try to not miss a cricket leg or the tiniest dead part, a few pillbugs help a lot, I wouldn't use the faster sowbugs though. Those fast ones are a little too aggressive imo.

Thanks Todd! I'll definitely get a couple in there.

I haven't read much about them, is WC okay or do I need CB ones?

 

[H. laoticus]

My WC populations over the past years haven't brought in anything harmful from what I can see, but I can't speak for your area.

 

[KyuZo]

i personally use the dwarf white isopods for all my centipede enclosures. they don't harm even my the baby pedes that i had and the baby pedes were about an inch long... that's really small, pretty much the same girth as the adult white isopods. they didn't harm them when the lil guys were molting. a few of them actually killed and ate the isopods.

If you don't plan on using the isopods, then i recommend changing out the substrate after each molt (wait until the pede harden up for a couple of days, otherwise you might injure it when it's still soft).

but definitely put some types of isopods in there, they help a lot. I have about 44 centipedes and not a single one of them have mite.

 

[Scolopeon]

I hate mites with a burning passion!

They killed my first giant pede I owned back in 03 it was an 8" brown and orange pede I got from virginia cheeseman.. sorry it was never identified.

Within a couple of weeks the mites had swarmed it and stuck in the tergites and segments until it was dead.

I have had no problems with mites recently (so far touch wood) with my current pedes, which are kept damp.
I am now so meticulous about removing remains so they do not establish themselves, it's a little harder with slings but I just nuked the soil in I was keeping it on yesterday and the mites are gone.

They are super hardy little buggers, I tried going at the soil with a hairdryer at first with NO EFFECT! they carried on as normal.

---------- Post added at 09:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:54 AM ----------

i personally use the dwarf white isopods for all my centipede enclosures. they don't harm even my the baby pedes that i had and the baby pedes were about an inch long... that's really small, pretty much the same girth as the adult white isopods. they didn't harm them when the lil guys were molting. a few of them actually killed and ate the isopods.

If you don't plan on using the isopods, then i recommend changing out the substrate after each molt (wait until the pede harden up for a couple of days, otherwise you might injure it when it's still soft).

but definitely put some types of isopods in there, they help a lot. I have about 44 centipedes and not a single one of them have mite.

I lost 2 slings to mites last year, two of them molted at the same time and when I checked they had both molted (The same night), dead and covered in mites.

I got so angry I flushed the soil with the mites down the toilet.

Mites target what they can access easily.

 

[JanPhilip]

Try to get some H. miles predatory mites. I am not sure how perfect they work, as i had some pedes die while using them. But as the last pede survived after i changed up the humidity (i was given incorrect information on how to keep them in the first place), the last one survived and is now mite free. The others were also mite free before they died, but since i kept them wrong, they didnt make it :wall:

I have even seen the predatory mites go on the pede to look for food, in contrast to what i have heard from other people. They are quite cheap, and definitly worth a try, they wont do any harm.

Regards,
Jan Philip

 

[Canth]

Thanks guys, I'll look into the isopods and predatory mites. I've always wanted to try the H. miles out and I guess now I can! Although I wish it was on just about any other species :/

 

[Scolopeon]

Try to get some H. miles predatory mites. I am not sure how perfect they work, as i had some pedes die while using them. But as the last pede survived after i changed up the humidity (i was given incorrect information on how to keep them in the first place), the last one survived and is now mite free. The others were also mite free before they died, but since i kept them wrong, they didnt make it :wall:

I have even seen the predatory mites go on the pede to look for food, in contrast to what i have heard from other people. They are quite cheap, and definitly worth a try, they wont do any harm.

Regards,
Jan Philip

True, but prevention is better than cure as they say...

The mites don't start appearing until it is adequately damp and there is a food source around i.e discarded prey bodies.

In the event you get mites, pop your pede into an ICU (intensive care unit) which consists of damp paper towels and a plastic temporary tub.
Use a damp cotton swab to dab the mites off of your pede you 'mite' have to use small amounts of vaseline on the tip to capture the mites.

Now with the soil I put mine on a plate and nuked it for 1.20-2 mins and that should do the trick, the soil should be sanitized.

Alternatively purchase new soil.

 

[Michiel]

I hate mites too with all my heart. I recently put a dead scorpion in a fixative fluid (Diettrichs'fluid) for 24 hours, and I saw a live mite crawling over the scorpion when examining it under the microscope. Mites are very hardy....

 

[KyuZo]

isopods. isopods. isopods!!!

 

[Michiel]

isopods. isopods. isopods!!!

I am really going to try that, next time I have (well, not me of course ) mites, thanks! I have hordes of these in my garden, just have to lift tiles or debris....

 

[JanPhilip]

In the event you get mites, pop your pede into an ICU (intensive care unit) which consists of damp paper towels and a plastic temporary tub.
Use a damp cotton swab to dab the mites off of your pede you 'mite' have to use small amounts of vaseline on the tip to capture the mites.

Now with the soil I put mine on a plate and nuked it for 1.20-2 mins and that should do the trick, the soil should be sanitized.

Alternatively purchase new soil.

They were quite fresh cb pedelings, they came to me with the mites. With an adult pede I might considder removing the mites by hand, but with 1-2cm plings its another story..

@ICU tip: it might work well for some but I have made some bad expiriences with it. I now stick to giving the pede propper housing, keeping it very clean and using predatory mites. From all i have heard and tried, it by far works the best. I will post some pics of one pede i got cleaned up this way.

Nuking the soil might be an idea, but for most people the mites will come into the cage by preyitems. Breeding your own feeders and keeping them very clean aswell, would also keep the mites away.

As a last measure, if it was a bigger pede, I would put it in a clear and ventilated plastic-box (maybe with one damp piece of paper in one corner) and let the sun or a bright somewhat hot light shine on it. I read in the Poecilotheria-book by Kroes, Maerklin and Krehenwinkel that they have had some success with this method on WC spiders. Might be worth a try with bigger pedes.

Prevention is the best tactic in the end anyway

Cheers,
Jan Philip

 

[zonbonzovi]

I'm with Kyuzo on this...haven't had any mite problems in 'pede tanks that have contained isopods. The habitat similarities are ideal(although they obviously won't work as well for dryer species- no 'pods in the heros tanks). I was afraid too many of them might be trouble during molting, but after finding a freshly molted adult eating its exo right along side a 'gang' 'o 'pods, I stopped worrying. Sometimes they come out to eat while the 'pede is still munching on its prey, comically oblivious to the substantially larger predator. In larger, more moist setups(esp. planted), they can reach obnoxious numbers. Just redistribute amongst other tanks...or feed less.

Jan's ICU worked great before I started using isopods...highly recomended if you lack access to 'pods.

 

[Canth]

What kind of ispods are we talkin? The "woodlice" or rolly pollies?

 

[JanPhilip]

I use tropical woodlice, white ones

 

[J Morningstar]

Ihe hyopsis mites from Biocontrol network for years...they do seem to take care of the problem. Or at least keep it from gettig fatal on occasion.

 

[apoohneicie]

I hate mites with a burning passion!

They killed my first giant pede I owned back in 03 it was an 8" brown and orange pede I got from virginia cheeseman.. sorry it was never identified.

Within a couple of weeks the mites had swarmed it and stuck in the tergites and segments until it was dead.

I have had no problems with mites recently (so far touch wood) with my current pedes, which are kept damp.
I am now so meticulous about removing remains so they do not establish themselves, it's a little harder with slings but I just nuked the soil in I was keeping it on yesterday and the mites are gone.

They are super hardy little buggers, I tried going at the soil with a hairdryer at first with NO EFFECT! they carried on as normal.

---------- Post added at 09:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:54 AM ----------



I lost 2 slings to mites last year, two of them molted at the same time and when I checked they had both molted (The same night), dead and covered in mites.

I got so angry I flushed the soil with the mites down the toilet.

Mites target what they can access easily.

This is off subject a bit but for some reason it reminded me of a local pet store who had a wonderful giant millipede that I thought about getting until I held it. Poor baby was INFESTED with mites. Not a speck of it was mite free and the guy told me they all have mites like that. That it was completely normal. My BS alarm immediately went off (I mean I'm no expert but that poor baby was in bad shape). I guess I'm just saying it's horrible how pet stores have people that are supposed to be "experts" on exotics (especially insects and T's) who know absolutely nothing about the animals in their care! Infuriates me!

 

[BQC123]

^
Many millipedes have a species specific symbiotic relationship with mites.
Still freaks you out to see it.