# Infestation of extremely tiny bugs in RF enclosure



## jockma (Jul 12, 2015)

Today I noticed some bugs in my RF's substrate so I pulled him out and inspected him. There were these tiny little bugs crawling all over his plastron. Immediately I washed them off, but I noted that they did NOT seem to be on his skin at all, only his plastron as if he had sat down on top of them and fell asleep. I inspected him closely and there were no bugs on his head, limbs, or soft tissue like his neck. He's behaving normally, very active, bright-eyed, ferocious appetite. That all seems good so far.

He had been sleeping right next to his log shelter, so I pulled that out and checked it. It was swarming with these little bugs. I didn't even try to rescue that thing, I tossed it. These little bugs were scattered here and there in his substrate (cypress mulch) as well, and his enclosure was due for intensive cleaning so I threw it all out. I didn't notice them at all yesterday and I checked his plastron for shell rot then, too. It's like these bugs exploded in numbers overnight.

The problem is, I can't find ANY definition of common enclosure pests that match these guys. I see a lot of people mentioning little white bugs which seem to be harmless, but these guys are mostly brown or even black. I have found some white ones, but they aren't exactly "white", more of a grey-ish color. I also can't tell if they can fly or if they're just so small and lightweight that they float away when I lean in or exhale while trying to look at them up close. They seem to have an oval shape but they are so small that I can't know for sure. They're wandering up and down the sides of the enclosure now with no hiding place to retreat to. I kill them on sight. I hate them.

Could these things hurt my RF? Regardless, I want them all gone and I want them to suffer like they made me suffer. I've been feeling itchy all over since seeing them.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 12, 2015)

Gnats or springtails are the most common. Most will not harm your tortoise.
Most can be kept away by cleaning/ changing your substrate and by getting rid of uneaten food and poo quickly.


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## jockma (Jul 12, 2015)

Could they reinfect the new, clean substrate? Or will they stay away as long as the substrate is clean? I never feed him in his enclosure and I give him a quick rinse before putting him back in to get rid of food particles that could cause this kind of thing. I clean his poop practically the second it leaves his body. The only thing I can think of is that the substrate, while not very old, was very moist because I left the mist humidifier on overnight on accident. Would they be less likely to come back if I keep the substrate drier?


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## Tom (Jul 12, 2015)

There are several species of these "substrate flies". They are harmless detrivores and they come from the surrounding environment, not your substrate. Your tortoises living quarters provide and ideal spot for them to live and thrive. The only way to get rid of them is to boil, bake or replace your substrate every two weeks or so. They tend to balance themselves out, so I just ignore them.


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## jockma (Jul 12, 2015)

I have to admit this is sort of devastating news because I'm utterly repulsed by these things. Cypress is practically unobtainable in SoCal so I have to switch to something else anyways, is there ANY sort of substrate that would be the least welcoming to them? I can handle having some numbers of them but seeing them swarming all over the log shelter and my RF like that...

I've scrubbed the bare enclosure clean so there's only a few of these crawling here and there, but it's only a matter of time until they repopulate I guess.


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