Lissa
New Member
Can anyone tell me what these bugs are & how to get rid of them?
- Thread starter Lissa
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Lissa
New Member
They started off in her water dish about a month ago. Now I'm changing her water every couple of hours. There is a huge population bouncing off one wall in her cage. I have food grade DE, is it safe? Greta is a Hermanns tort about 3 months old. I dump her water in the toilet then bleach the toilet.
M
Maggie Cummings
Guest
Huh, any chance of getting a closer pix? Like of a bug?
Lissa
New Member
Not really, they are so tiny. They bounce off the walls. Disgusting, worried about Greta.
Lissa
New Member
I don't know what those are. If they're spingtails how do I get rid of them & where did they come from?
They seem to resemble maggots, they usually go around food areas, and toilet areas, i'm not sure what they are! I'd recommend a full clean of your tortoise tank, new bedding, new substrait and disinfect the enclosure before putting your tort back in! Do you reguarly clean water and the enclosure?
But they look alittle like springtails.
Take aloook at this, see if it resembles them. http://www.orkin.com/other/springtails/
But they look alittle like springtails.
Take aloook at this, see if it resembles them. http://www.orkin.com/other/springtails/
Lissa
New Member
the picture of the toilet is from Greta's water dish I dumped in there. They are only in her cage at the moment. From the description on the link you sent they do have springtail qualities (small, bouncy & how quickly they've become a problem) except their appearance. Her water dish is cleaned multiple times a day with antibacterial soap & fresh water . She poops & pees during her daily soak outside of the cage. I do plant clover & vetch in her habitat, I think that may be part of the problem. I will clean out her entire cage & no longer plant plants directly in her area.
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Maggie Cummings
Guest
Plant the plants in pots first. Springtails don't hurt anything. They eat the poop and leftover food. They do not hurt the tortoise at all. It's just kinda creepy with all of them walking around.....
Lissa
New Member
I'm guessing they were springtails by the way they acted & jumped but they did not look like any springtail images
on the Web. I dumped the entire cage, disinfected everything, replaced any wooden items with plastic or ceramic, new dirt no cypress mulch & replaced real plants with terrarium decorations. No problems since that.
on the Web. I dumped the entire cage, disinfected everything, replaced any wooden items with plastic or ceramic, new dirt no cypress mulch & replaced real plants with terrarium decorations. No problems since that.Attachments
Lissa
New Member
Thanks to everyone for all the information 
Those are a type of "substrate fly". They are harmless detrivores and they come from the surrounding environment. The habitats we create for our tortoises supply them with an ideal place to live and breed.
The only way to get rid of them safely is to boil, bake or replace your substrate every week or two. Personally, I just ignore them. They reach a balance where there are not too many. You are having a population explosion right now, but it will balance itself out if you do nothing.
These insects are harmless to you or your tortoise.
The only way to get rid of them safely is to boil, bake or replace your substrate every week or two. Personally, I just ignore them. They reach a balance where there are not too many. You are having a population explosion right now, but it will balance itself out if you do nothing.
These insects are harmless to you or your tortoise.
Just a heads up so this doesn't happen to you. There were gnats that got into my enclosure. One of my torts had a terrible mutilation of his front legs in a 24 hour time period. It turns out my other tort was trying to eat the maggots and chewed part of my little torts legs. I'm in the midst of getting this all treated but it was very disturbing
