White Wood mites in my harlen sani-chips

Has anyone else have this problem? I dont think there snake mites because they are all white but maybe im wrong. Somewhat annoying should i throw away my sani chips?

got a pic of them i love these sani chips! but there going to have to go if they have bugs in them... Back to the zoo med aspen :( Much more expensive
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps2d261827.jpg
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/y...psa298490a.jpg

They dont look like bugs to me...?

Yeah there small little pin head white things. I havent really noticed them until now, there so small and very easy to miss, but now that i have noticed them i can see them all over my tubs...

Huh, idk thats weird man...

Hopefully someone else can chime in here...

It's quite common for wood mites to ride in on wood bedding. Sani-chips are no exception. Try to keep the bedding as dry as possible. Wood mites love moisture and they feed on decomposing wood substrate. They're not as insidious as snake mites and are not a threat to your animals, but anyone that uses wood shavings or chips has probably seen their share of wood mites.

Thanks Makes me feel a little better about it. They only develop when i get the sani chips wet...

FOUND THE CULPRIT!! It ended up not being the sani-chips! So i thought it would be a good idea to try and breed meal worms for my uromasyx and leopard geckos and i guess it was either from the stock of mealworms i purchased from petco or the outmeal i bought from the dollar store. I ended up tossing the project anywas im prety sure it was from them i checked out the mealworm tank and they were all over!! Like infested! I am in the process of dousing everything i have in my collection room with 1-10 solution of bleach hopefully this will kill the little bleeeeps!

I'm going to go with wet Sani-chips. I just had my first experience with wood mites and it's caused a major freak out but I do think I've annihilated every last creepy crawly in my house. I've spent countless hours going over every snake with a magnifying glass and only found about five. They are all white and smaller than a pin hole.

The problem was only in my hatchling quarantine rack and my collection hatchling racks, which are the only tubs I use SaniChips in. They are also low ventilation and stay extra humid which I'm sure helps break down the wood quicker. I've learned this things love decaying wood.

I've blasted everything with PAM and have another three cans on the way. I also gave them all a soap bath and soak. So far, I haven't seen anymore. This was my first year with SaniChips and it's been great over changing paper towels daily, but I don't think I will continue using it. I have never noticed wood mites in the shredded TekLad but it's also used in a lower humidity environment than the hatchlings.

While wood mites aren't dangerous to reptiles, I still wouldn't want them around.
You can bake your bedding to kill them if you really wanted to.

Ooooo yuck! Ya, not a pleasant thing to think about :P I'm no stranger to bugs, and definitely don't mind a a spider in the house here or there. But mites creep me out for some reason...

I hope you get rid of them! Good luck :)

Thanks! The mites are still gone. I sort of retract my statement on Sani Chips at the moment but won't completely write it off. I have noticed the same mites in my planted terrarium which is bog-like and I must admit, the lighting is very good and I do take pictures of my smaller snakes under them. Did they travel on the snake back to their tub? Did they make their way across the house? Don't really know but the experience of the OP and mine indicates they think the SaniChips are tasty.

I've done a lot of research this week and would be glad to help anyone in a similar situation. I can say that while they may not harm your snake, it does sound they could pose as a nuisance to the snake if left to run out of control. As Ball Python owners, I'm sure we can appreciate one less stressor for such picky eaters.

When faced with infested bedding I prefer to freeze it instead of baking. The idea of putting wood chips or shredded aspen into an oven raises alarms.

If you're from the south i think they're called spring tails, which are completely harmless, just kind of a nuisance

friend of mine who has perfect husbandry and 100+ snakes gets them from time to time. they come in his aspen bedding. like i said they're harmless, but just annoying lol

not only are they harmless, they can also help in reducing smell and cleaning up reptile feces and rotting substrate.

for vivariums for frogs, people even buy them and intentionally put them in because they are considered little helpers. they eat stuff that is about to rot or already rotting and help to reduce and to a degree disinfect it, they eat bacteria and fungus.

so you can reduce them by freezing, drying or heating the substrate, but you might as well just ignore them.

no need to throw out or change the substrate. if anything, they will only be an optical / cosmetic problem.

personally i would leave them alone and hope they do a decent job at reducing bacteria, fungus and smell. but it comes down to personal preference.