# white tiny bugs in soil substrate



## yellrat (Jun 13, 2008)

i just noticed these just now i was spot cleaning my ackies viv and saw a white spec move on a broken pot hide.
on closer inspection of surrounding area there are quite a few of them they are white and less than a mm like moving specs. there seems to be quite a few around some fruit veg i put in for crickets to munch.
i didnt bake the soil as i have used topsoil and a fair bit of it so would have taken ages to bake.
should i be worried about these cant see any on the ackies themselves asked a m8 and he assures me reptile mites are black or red and these are just soil mites found in all soil is this right or should i be worried.
i really dont want to have to gut viv and disinfect and mite treat everything if it isnt necercery. 
any help will be apreciated 
thanks


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## yellrat (Jun 13, 2008)

Bump anyone have any ideas


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## renton (Jun 24, 2008)

Hi ya, Cant tell you for def what they are but i saw what sounds like the same thing in with my Water monitor (V. Salvator) when i used dirt from my garden. I was told the same as you, just soil mites. They seemed to stay in the humid/damp places. Never saw them on the monitor himself but to be safe i changed all his substrate, cleaned out etc.


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## Spider Call (Mar 23, 2007)

They could be spring tails, not quite sure what they are XD 
But I had them in with my snails a while back, I changed to coir and no longer get them....


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## yellrat (Jun 13, 2008)

thanks for the replys 
hmmmm well i think i will clean them out tomorrow replace sub and disenfect all  just to be safe but i reckon when i add soil again they will come back what other substrate could i use which would allow them to dig , tunnel burrow any ideas ? 
thanks in advance


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## Spider Call (Mar 23, 2007)

I can't remember what it is called, but when I was looking at getting ackies someone mentioned a new substrate.
It is soft to begin with, then hardens like clay, so they can make burrows that wont collapse, and its pest free and not dusty.
I'll see if I can find what it was....


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## yellrat (Jun 13, 2008)

Spider Call said:


> I can't remember what it is called, but when I was looking at getting ackies someone mentioned a new substrate.
> It is soft to begin with, then hardens like clay, so they can make burrows that wont collapse, and its pest free and not dusty.
> I'll see if I can find what it was....


 
thankyou very interested to see what this is sounds great


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Do they seem to boing around a bit when disturbed?
They sound like springtails to me which are completely harmless, helpful little detritivores, they will tidy up any leftovers in the substrate


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## mhbird (Jul 14, 2007)

You can kill of any bugs by removing your animals, then putting dry ice in your viv. It'll suffocate any crawlers with CO2 and boost plant growth if you have any in there. :2thumb:


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## LauraMartin (Apr 15, 2008)

i get them in my salamanders viv, which is a similar soil set up to ackies. i think they are called water limpets, but when i google water limpets, its not the same thing, anyway what i have is tini white things, that are so small they dont even look like bugs, the are sort of long, not round, and the twitch around on the top of the water dish in groups. if this is the same as u have then im pretty sure they are harmless and part of the soil eco system of your viv. i just change the water every day, i think they will often reappear but as long as theres not millions of them it is ok. this is what i was told when i bought the salamanders, by a very good and experienced reptiles keeper. oh also its the soil they come from, i useed asda soil for 6 month, n got none of them, then got B&Q soil and within 2 weeks had lots, so maybe chnage your soil to stop getting them in future, but in my experience, they are harmless.


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## davesadlerfunkaholic (Mar 17, 2008)

i found em, in my BCI viv, i started freaking out, thinking that they were mites - they are probably just springtails as someone else said. i wouldnt worry


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## Llizardx (Jul 4, 2008)

*Silverfish*

Hi,
in my leo's viv I saw a silverfish. it could be a silverfish?
Jonny


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## yellrat (Jun 13, 2008)

oh also its the soil they come from, i useed asda soil for 6 month, n got none of them, then got B&Q soil and within 2 weeks had lots,

aha well it was b&q topsoil i used so i think i will buy some from somewhere else.

thanks :2thumb:


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## yellrat (Jun 13, 2008)

thanks for all replies sounds like nothing to worry about then i will change top soil supplier and see if that helps
i will try and get some pics of them but they are tiny and seem to only be in the middle sort of area of the viv so i reckon hot end to hot cold end to cold etc.
thanks all again.
anyone know if you can buy topsoil in dried out blocks ?


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## LauraMartin (Apr 15, 2008)

yeah it was B&Q topsoil i got too, so it prob breeding in the soil. i used to use asda smart price soil, its got nothing added, and its only 87p a bag, i only got the B&Q one cos asda had sold out, i also found the asda soil to be more consistent and just soil, nothing else, i found the B&Q one had lumps and stones and wood chips and loads of other bits in it, so im deffo changing back to asda stuff n just putting the B&Q in the garden. im pretty certain u have the exact same things as me then, so dont worry, but just change the soil when u get the chance.


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## yellrat (Jun 13, 2008)

thanks laura will pop in asda near me and see if they have some.
my b&q topsoil is the same stones bits of wood and rubbish all sorts sived most out took ages lol wont be doing that again.
thanks again


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

I managed to find a pic that isnt so close up that you wouldnt recognise em anyway!









You description of them Laura is spot on, often seen boinging around on the surface of water dishes.
You'll find more information on them if you search for "collembola" :2thumb:


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## Will5 (Apr 15, 2007)

they are completely harmless as far as I am aware. They just live in the substrate and help 'clean up'.


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