Help! I noticed tiny in enclosure with my Russian tortoise.

[Dinohoff21]

I just noticed small specks in the water dish for the past couple days and saw crawling little specks in food dish last night. I am due to change substrate. Any idea what they are so I can figure out next steps to treat/prevent. I am currently using reptibark for substrate and changing every 2-3 months with daily spot cleaning.

 

[wellington]

It's very common to get tiny bugs in the enclosures eventually.
Bake the new substrate 250 for 3 hours. This will help kill any eggs/bugs that may be in it waiting for ideal conditions to come out. It will not keep them away forever, but usually for a year or longer
Btw, substrate should last a year or more before needing replaced if you keep it clean from uneaten food and poop. Just stir it up once in a while.

 

[Tom]

I just noticed small specks in the water dish for the past couple days and saw crawling little specks in food dish last night. I am due to change substrate. Any idea what they are so I can figure out next steps to treat/prevent. I am currently using reptibark for substrate and changing every 2-3 months with daily spot cleaning. View attachment 376912View attachment 376913

Those are called springtails. They are harmless detrivores. They come from the surrounding environment and move in to the perfect environment you've created for them. There is no need to treat them. They are cleaning your enclosure and they cannot harm your tortoise.. People add them on purpose to "bio-active" enclosures.