White Wood mites in my harlen sani-chips

[oskyle1567]

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?

[oskyle1567]

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

[Mike41793]

They dont look like bugs to me...?

[oskyle1567]

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...

[Mike41793]

Huh, idk thats weird man...

Hopefully someone else can chime in here...

[GenePirate]

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.

[oskyle1567]

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

[oskyle1567]

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!

[Focal X]

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.

[satomi325]

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.