Tiny white bugs in zoo meds repti bark

[dillymann]

About a month ago i found some little white bugs in my Bp's enclosure im not sure what they were but i cleaned out the tank and used newspaper instead I'm wondering if i should not use repti bark anymore? If not what are some alternatives that would be available in canada


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[aldebono]

Do they jump when you touch them? If so, they are most likely springtails and feed off of fungus. We use them in dart frog tanks as janitors and feeders for small froglets. They are harmless to your snake and will most likely disappear when their food source does (any mold or fungi from being sealed in the moist bag). They also will not take over your house because they need high humidity and will quickly die if they jump to the floor.

[dillymann]

Again im not sure i kind of panicked when i noticed them but there were a lot an they were small enough that you would have to stare at an area to see any movement


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[bcr229]

Baking your repti-bark at 200*F for about 10 minutes in your oven should kill off any bugs and eggs. Obviously you will need to put it in a baking pan or other oven-safe dish, don't leave it in the plastic bag.

[dillymann]

While I actually did that before i had noticed them because i drenched the substrate with water by accident with a homemade misting system so i baked it to dry the bark out


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[dillymann]

Well*


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[Pythonfriend]

no need to worry, most springtails and even most mites stay tiny and only eat biofilms. which is basically fungus or bacteria. they lack the ability to harm your snake.

ive seen healthy and well-kept aquariums with springtails on the water surface (yes, unlike the blood-sucking mites that drown, some of these walk on water), and with flatworms on the ground. when pollutants rise up, the springtails eat it right off the water surface. when dirt sinks down, the flatworms eat it. and when the fish get bored, they always have something to hunt.

no need to bake them out. they may even contribute to cleanup and/or smell reduction.

its funny to me how people pounce on anything living in an enclosure besides the snake, when its often enough to identify if its any threat to the snake or not, and when its harmless you may just let it be.

[dillymann]

I'm new to ball pythons so i thought it may be mites because i saw them on my snake i was just worried


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[Pythonfriend]

if they jump, you are fine.

if they dont jump, but their body is so soft that it turns into a little smudge without resistance as you touch it, you are also fine.

blood suckers are hard shelled and typically darker, no matter what kind of blood sucker it is.

[Inarikins]

Mites are black, about the size of a period on this page. They can't survive long when not on a reptile. White bugs are okay, the time you want to start worrying is if they're black and tiny and seem to be hanging out near your snake's eyes or in the crease on the bottom of their head.