Went to clean my breeder ASF tank yesterday (which I admit was over-due), and when I pulled out their food bowl, noticed tons of small black insects crawling all over it. Looked closer and realized they were covering the entire tank, and the ASFs!
They ranged in size from almost microscopic to almost the size of a dog/cat flea...but they were not dog/cat fleas. They were slightly smaller, and rounder, and there were tons, and I mean TONS of them all over the cage. The bigger ones were black in color and the smaller ones appeared to be red, which I can only assume was the color of the blood they were sucking out of my ASFs. When I pressed down on them, they very easily popped and were filled with blood.
I mean..honestly, they looked to me like reptile mites....but I haven't noticed anything on my snakes...and they are on the other side of the room from the snakes, and are obviously living, and thriving, off of the ASF's.
These numbers must have come up quickly, because even though the cage cleaning was over due, I have not noticed them just until yesterday, and they are all ready covering everything in the cage!
My ASF's are in an insulated shed in my backyard...but it is not as insulated from parasites and bugs as someones house would be.
Has anyone seen these before??
I did have a small population of snake mites months ago, but after a VERY thorough mite treatment I have not seen a single mite on a snake in several months.
I didn't think that reptile mites could live off of mammals. I am seriously hoping I am right about that....
This is some type of parasite I am unfamiliar with....help??
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