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Hisser molt progression pics


Nanchantress

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Last night I caught my Hisser molting from start to finish. Even before the first split I knew something was up - he was breathing heavy and stretching and jerking for 30 minutes. The process from the first split to the end took 45 minutes. It started out looking like a female, but ended up looking like a male. Do the horns show up only on the mature molt?IMG_6857_3_1.jpgIMG_6859_3_1.jpgIMG_6861_3_1.jpgIMG_6870_3_1.jpgIMG_6883_3_1.jpg

Here is a close-up of the hisser's mites (*gag*)IMG_6872mites_1_1.jpg

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Last night I caught my Hisser molting from start to finish. Even before the first split I knew something was up - he was breathing heavy and stretching and jerking for 30 minutes. The process from the first split to the end took 45 minutes. It started out looking like a female, but ended up looking like a male. Do the horns show up only on the mature molt?IMG_6857_3_1.jpgIMG_6859_3_1.jpgIMG_6861_3_1.jpgIMG_6870_3_1.jpgIMG_6883_3_1.jpg

Here is a close-up of the hisser's mites (*gag*)IMG_6872mites_1_1.jpg

Pretty awesome!! I LOVE the one of the mites! lol.. good macro lens you have there girl!

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I have young (half grown) hissers with very prominent horns, there is a good chance yours is still immature. Very nice set of photos btw, I've never seen the hisser mites in my tank so it's interesting there are so many on just this one in yours. I hear they are pretty beneficial though...

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I have young (half grown) hissers with very prominent horns, there is a good chance yours is still immature. Very nice set of photos btw, I've never seen the hisser mites in my tank so it's interesting there are so many on just this one in yours. I hear they are pretty beneficial though...

I keep trying to remind myself that they're beneficial...kinda unsettling to watch them crawling all over my precious roaches! lol B) Some of the hissers have around 7 to 10 on them - I don't know at what point I should start to worry...

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I keep trying to remind myself that they're beneficial...kinda unsettling to watch them crawling all over my precious roaches! lol B) Some of the hissers have around 7 to 10 on them - I don't know at what point I should start to worry...

Probably never. Unless, of course, they were feeders.

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Probably never. Unless, of course, they were feeders.

If I am going to use them as feeders then should I make sure all the mites are off them first? My tarantula cages are very dry and I would think any mites would die off with the roach.

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If I am going to use them as feeders then should I make sure all the mites are off them first? My tarantula cages are very dry and I would think any mites would die off with the roach.

If it isn't too inconvenient, just put them in flour and shake them a little, then brush them off. Any mites should be off at that point, and the roach will be good for feeding. Washing with a few drops would be even better. The mites could also die off from the lack of moisture, but that might be where the tarantula comes in :/

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looks awesome!! After doing that whole thread on removing the mites, its my opinion that its best to just leave them...I have some roaches that have a lot of mites, some that have very little...If ya use them as feeders, just do the rinse technique I posted up in that last thread...Works better than anything else and the flour can kill your roaches...

Nate

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Here is what I've come to find out about the mites....While they aren't parasitic to the Roaches, they can't live off the roach for long periods of time. The mites feed on a type of fungus that only grows on hissers, and no other Roaches. According to CSU's (Colorado State University in Fort Collins,CO) Entomologists, they can't harm any other invert or reptile...The mites have been shown to reduce the allergen level to humans from removing the fungus from the hissers...

Some of my hissers have as little as 5, some have a lot more...Just give 'em a quick rinse if ya are super worried about them.

Nate

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Here is a great article on the mites:

www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/148211.php

The mite is Androlaelaps schaeferi (formerly known as Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi) according to a web search.

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Here is a great article on the mites:

www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/148211.php

The mite is Androlaelaps schaeferi (formerly known as Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi) according to a web search.

I Seriously Am Baffeled!! Maybe I should start breeding the mites for other people's hisser colonies!!

Nate

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  • 7 months later...

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