# mite question



## chocolatecolubrid (Dec 4, 2007)

Im sorry if this has been covered, I couldnt find the info I need from the search feature (I may have missed it). Anyway I was analysing some pics of my adult orchid mantis and noticed what I thought was food gunk round her mouth till a closer examination revealed a mite-like creature. I immediately checked my fantasy which also appears to have them (though its more difficult to see on her as shes darker), and since the mantids are in the same room as all my reptiles and amphibs Im starting to worry. Ive searched my vivs and started going through my reptiles but have seen no other evidence of them. These mites are very pale brown, almost see through. Ive seen black reptile mite infestations and these mantid-mites are smaller and not that colour, and like I said upon a good search through all my tubs, vivs and tanks Ive seen nothing else.

So are these mites dangerous to my mantids and on the larger scale, my other animals? How can I get rid of them without harming the mantids? Are there any particular places they would be hiding, or do they only exist on the mantids?

Heres a shot of my orchid eating, when I noticed them (the pale beige splodges that looks like it could be food gunk)


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## Rick (Dec 4, 2007)

Your fantasy? What's that? Think you mean ghost mantis.

Mites won't harm anything. They are not the only little critters living around your pets that are hard to see. You can disinfect your cages but won't get them off the mantids. I have not heard of mites on mantids though. I notice little things in my turtle enclosures but I know they're just a part of life.


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## chocolatecolubrid (Dec 4, 2007)

Sorry, I did mean ghost mantis, she was sold to me as a fantasy so I keep referring to her as such.

I dont want to start any arguments here, but I am quite shocked that you deem mites harmless. In the wild they may be harmless as animals rarely stay in the same place for too long, so when mites get onto an them its unlikely a few mites will do any damage to a healthy creature, and it is true that they are a part of life. However in captivity animals are confined to their enclosures and if certain species of mite are allowed to get into extreme numbers they can kill reptiles and other animals by feeding off them. As it happens its very easy for them to get into these dangerous numbers in captivity, and if they arent controlled then animals can die.

Trust me Ive seen some bad reptile infestations. Mites are a reptile owners nightmare imo. I have a lot of pets in my room at the minute and if a mite infestation arose all of my animals would be affected. If these mites were guaranteed to stay in small numbers Id be happy enough to let them live on my mantids, but I cannot be assured of that and that they wont spread to my lizards, snakes, frogs, and others nearby. Unfortunately I have never come across these particular mites before, so Im worried. Sorry for ranting, I just feel very strongly against mites as Ive seen some major problems arise from them.


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## Rick (Dec 4, 2007)

Well sure in huge numbers they can be a problem. I keep herps too and while I have seen a mite or two I have never had any issues and they have never multiplied from more than a few here and there. There are also different kinds of mites. I have never seen a mite on a mantis or even in a mantis enclosure. You can disinfect youre enclosures but not sure how you would remove them from a mantids body. I have however seen large mites on wild beetles that I have come across. Maybe it is the same situation on your mantids. Since you have not seen these mites anywhere else I would disinfect the mantid cages and get some mite paper. Put your mantid cages on the paper to keep them from spreading. Since mantids don't live long once those mantids die you may be rid of them.


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## Rick (Dec 4, 2007)

Forgot to mention you can get mite paper at: www.carolina.com


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## meanfoot (Dec 4, 2007)

Rick said:


> Your fantasy? What's that? Think you mean ghost mantis.Mites won't harm anything. They are not the only little critters living around your pets that are hard to see. You can disinfect your cages but won't get them off the mantids. I have not heard of mites on mantids though. I notice little things in my turtle enclosures but I know they're just a part of life.


[SIZE=12pt] Sory Rick but I have to disagree on mites in your turtle enclosures being a part of life ,when i get mites on my turtles I treat them as fast as I can ,they are like little vampires liveing off your reptiles .If there gets to be to many they can even cause the outer covering of there scutes to flake off ,leaveing the shell a bone white color and it takes years for it to grow back if ever at all.also can cause abcessed ears which can cause death or at the least a heck of a vet bill if you don't know how to cut this out yourself. I will get the name of a product I use to kill them off,I can't remember what it is right now and it is to dang cold to go digging threw the shed to try and find it now but it is a antibacterial product that will kill off mites also used in large by chicken producers to keep there birds clean. I will update this tomorrow with the name .I do not know about useing it on your mantis but would use it on your turtles and enclosures for sure.I also have a friend who uses talcum powder to kill the mites on his spiders as it smothers the mites killing them out but it would be an experiment to try them on mantids because neither of us have heard of useing it on mantis and do not know how it would effect them[/SIZE]

It sounds kind of cruel maybe but I think one day I will see what the effects of talcum powder on a mantis would be by trying it on some lower end mantis,just so if I ever had a problem with mites on them I will have an option of getting rid of them

Oh yea I only enlarge script so I can read it better.

jim o.


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## hibiscusmile (Dec 4, 2007)

I think it is lime. I believe that is what I used in the chicken pens. But that wont work here. You could use duck tape and stick to mantis face and get the mites off, but won't kill the eggs. Just kidding (as Alf would say)


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## macro junkie (Dec 5, 2007)

brilliant pic


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## Rick (Dec 5, 2007)

meanfoot said:


> [SIZE=12pt] Sory Rick but I have to disagree on mites in your turtle enclosures being a part of life ,when i get mites on my turtles I treat them as fast as I can ,they are like little vampires liveing off your reptiles .If there gets to be to many they can even cause the outer covering of there scutes to flake off ,leaveing the shell a bone white color and it takes years for it to grow back if ever at all.also can cause abcessed ears which can cause death or at the least a heck of a vet bill if you don't know how to cut this out yourself. I will get the name of a product I use to kill them off,I can't remember what it is right now and it is to dang cold to go digging threw the shed to try and find it now but it is a antibacterial product that will kill off mites also used in large by chicken producers to keep there birds clean. I will update this tomorrow with the name .I do not know about useing it on your mantis but would use it on your turtles and enclosures for sure.I also have a friend who uses talcum powder to kill the mites on his spiders as it smothers the mites killing them out but it would be an experiment to try them on mantids because neither of us have heard of useing it on mantis and do not know how it would effect them[/SIZE]It sounds kind of cruel maybe but I think one day I will see what the effects of talcum powder on a mantis would be by trying it on some lower end mantis,just so if I ever had a problem with mites on them I will have an option of getting rid of them
> 
> Oh yea I only enlarge script so I can read it better.
> 
> jim o.


I don't have mites on my turtles. I have seen a mite or two in the substrate over the YEARS but do not see them on a regular basis. I understand they can be a problem for herps if they get bad as I have been keeping turtles for years. However when I see a mite I monitor closely for a bit and if I don't see more than one or two I don't worry about it. It is very rare that I do see any. But in this guys case I think my advice applies.


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## chocolatecolubrid (Dec 5, 2007)

Thanks for everyones advice and for the link Rick  A friend of mine suggested predator mites, so I might give them a go before I start looking at other things, just incase they arent friendly mites lol.

Thanks again B)


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## macro junkie (Dec 5, 2007)

i bought frute fly medium and its got mites in..graham said its not a probelm it wont hert em.


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## meanfoot (Dec 6, 2007)

Rick said:


> I don't have mites on my turtles. I have seen a mite or two in the substrate over the YEARS but do not see them on a regular basis. I understand they can be a problem for herps if they get bad as I have been keeping turtles for years. However when I see a mite I monitor closely for a bit and if I don't see more than one or two I don't worry about it. It is very rare that I do see any. But in this guys case I think my advice applies.


Just a quick,not saying your advice is wrong in this guys case about the mites on his mantis ,I would not go as far as to do that seeing as I am very new to raiseing them and you have much more experiance than me in this and I respect what you say in this matter .

Just shareing my feelings on mites on turtles mainly because of the hardships they have caused me in the past when they ended up infesting my breeding pool of box turtles

I hope I did not offend you.

jim o.


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## sk8erkho (Dec 19, 2007)

This is really messed up. Today I noticed the same Exact thing on my little H. Grandis legs after looking at it under a camera lens. It sure was a mite just like the ones in the fly culture. I then went tho the culture and there they are. I think they got on the mantis from the flies i fed them. If those mites hurt my babies I'll @#%@*#*#!!! :angry: 

Naw!! Anyway as long as they are not harmless. I only saw one on like two mantids. I'm going to order the mite paper anyway. There were not many only like one or two in the tank when i examined it. I cleaned it out with some extremely hot water and bleach, then totally rinsed it out like forever dried it out with a paper towel and they are gone...for now. What can i get to clean the tanks out which is specifically for mites or just safe for my mantids besides bleach. I did not want to use anything else I had for cleaning around here. Any suggestions? :mellow: 

Cheers!


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## Lessian (Dec 31, 2007)

Ok, so for the newb keepers here, what is this mite paper that everyone keeps mentioning?

Are mites common? Are they limited to a particular country, climate or area?

Basically, If I want to keep and breed mantids, are mites something that I need to be concerned about and look for often? What would sort of people disease would it be compared to in terms of risk and contagion levels?


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## chocolatecolubrid (Jan 4, 2008)

I can only speak of what I know about reptile and millipede mites, as I don't know enough about mantids but I'm sure someone here will be able to inform us.

Mites are little small, spider-like parasites, ie they live off a host. There are many varieties: some live in wood and are harmless; some live naturally on certain animals - eg millipedes usually have a load of them clustered round their legs, they serve the purpose of keeping the millipede clean by eating food/dirt remains that get stuck on the pede. This is beneficial for the mites and for the pede, who's breathing apparatus is kept clean by the mites. Some (the bad ones that most of us worry about) are the ones that live OFF an animal ie they suck that animal's blood. One or 2 are usually harmless, but in large numbers they can kill by draining the animal. I have no information on mantid mites to state if mantids can get these dangerous mites or anything similar, but its still a worry.

The bad ones are usually attracted to damp/moist/humid, warm enclosures so some mantid habitats would be ideal for them. If a few mites get into a pet's tank, where its warm and humid, they can breed in the humid substrate and feed off the animal, so they soon get into uncontrollable numbers, this is when it gets dangerous. When they get into large numbers they will start spreading, I've known of entire rooms to be affected from one infected animal (not my own thankfully). They aren't limited to a particular country or area as they can travel on wild animals, imported animals or even brought over by humans and many petshops can carry them for brief periods and not realise it. This is why quarantine is so important when a new animal is brought into a collection.

I assume that the mites I have seen round the mouth of my orchid are cleaning mites, similar in purpose to those found on millipedes, but I cannot be certain which is why I started this post. Usually with reptiles, a deterioration in health results from a mite infestation, but my orchid seems fine.

Just to clarify, the "bad" reptile mites are usually dark brown/black and can be found floating in water dishes, as well as under snake scales, round the eyes, mouth, ear holes, armpits and cloaca of lizards. They're noticeably bigger than the mites I've pointed out on my mantid, and will move around (my mantid's mites almost seem firmly stuck to her).

I've never seen this mite paper here, so cannot say what that is lol.


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## Orin (Jan 4, 2008)

Lessian said:


> Ok, so for the newb keepers here,1. what is this mite paper that everyone keeps mentioning?2.Are mites common? Are they limited to a particular country, climate or area?
> 
> 3. Basically, If I want to keep and breed mantids, are mites something that I need to be concerned about and look for often? What would sort of people disease would it be compared to in terms of risk and contagion levels?


1/Mite paper is just a treated paper you can place cages on to prevent mites from getting in from nearby sources. It does not kill mites that are already there.

2. Free living mites are common everywhere. The grain mites that get into fruit fly cultures have humidity requirements that preclude them from bothering mantids.

3. With mantids, except as an annoyance in feeder colonies, no.


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 5, 2008)

The mite paper is useful for setting cultures on and when making cultures so mites are not crawling around and getting into your culture stuff, like cups, lids, filters, and the culture itself. I am selling it on my site if you are interested.


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