radu Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 hello everyone, I have a little problem. These days I bought a pair of hissings And today I saw this arthropods om their bodys. Can anyone tell what are they, if it-s dangerous for the animal and how can I get rid of them? Thank you very much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 hello everyone, I have a little problem. These days I bought a pair of hissings And today I saw this arthropods om their bodys. Can anyone tell what are they, if it-s dangerous for the animal and how can I get rid of them? Thank you very much Those look like the normal commensurate (harmless) mite that lives on many hisser species naturally. These are not a problem and trying to remove them will bother the roaches more than the mites ever will. Some people theorize that they can be very beneficial to the roaches even. I have several colonies of hissers with those mites and it is absolutely not a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radu Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 Thank you very much ok then, I won't worry anymore. But there is an other problem. I have some tarantulas near the hissers. If these mites pass on tarantulas I think it's going to be a problem, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibiscusmile Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Humm, do all roaches have mites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Radu- no it will not be a problem. Those mites stay on hisser roaches only. That mite will not go to another roach species and will not go to a tarantula. Basically they run around on a hisser roach and feed on micro-organisms and a waxy sectretion made by the roach. These mite-food items are not available on other insects/arachnids. Hibiscusmile- No. Most roaches do not have mites at all under normal circumstances. However it is normal for a few species of mites to want to live in with the roaches as the mites like to live in decaying substrate material, or feed on roach frass or roach food, or all of the above. The most common mite associated with roaches actually feeds on decaying wood/paper products that are often used in roach culture bins. The second most common mite prefers to feed on decaying food that was given to the roaches and/or grain products in dog food/cat food/etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 By the way Radu- those are GREAT photos of that mite. Those photos can be useful to other roach keepers on this forum and people new to roaches. Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radu Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 I'm glad I could help and thanks for the help I got from you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Clausen Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 These also look a lot like the mite explosions we sometimes see in our substrates. Since you are only seeing them on the hissers then they are the mites discussed here, but I had an explosion of something similar in appearance in another tank recently. What did you take those close up photos with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugmanPrice Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 These also look a lot like the mite explosions we sometimes see in our substrates. For a comparison, here's a picture of (or one of) the mites that is on the substrate/food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radu Posted April 16, 2010 Author Share Posted April 16, 2010 sorry for this late reply, those mites were not on the substrate, only on the hissing body. The close up photos were made with a microscope. On the substrate I found some other type of mites, but in the tarantulas cage, not at the hissings. Here are some pictures of the substrate mites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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