Hi, my Russian tort, tank, recently had these really small and white bugs and a few slightly larger but still small bugs on him. I’ve seen them on some old food before but haven’t really seen them on him. I will try to get a photo, but could these be mites or are they just springtails. Please reply asap. Also, it’s a little off topic, but how could I get tank to eat more. His activity and eating have slowed down and I’m wondering how to get him to be more active. Any info will help, thanks!
Mites or springtails?
- Thread starter Alexisiis
- Start date
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
Could you get a photo of the bugs? They sound like springtails.
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
The steps listed in the brumation thread by @Tom should help with perking up your tortoise:
"Here are steps to take if you don't want to brumate your temperate species:
1. Add bright LED lighting in the 5000-6500K color range. Lots of it. Make it look like daytime outside looks.
2. Set light timers to be on for 13-14 hours.
3. Bump all ambient temperatures up a bit.
4. Keep night temps warmer. Shoot for no lower than the 70s over night.
5. Pull the tortoise out of hiding and soak it often. Don't let it stay hidden in a cool hide box all day.
6. I usually run HO UV tubes for 2-3 hours mid day. To keep a tortoise up, I might bump them up to 6-8 hours a day."
tortoiseforum.org
"Here are steps to take if you don't want to brumate your temperate species:
1. Add bright LED lighting in the 5000-6500K color range. Lots of it. Make it look like daytime outside looks.
2. Set light timers to be on for 13-14 hours.
3. Bump all ambient temperatures up a bit.
4. Keep night temps warmer. Shoot for no lower than the 70s over night.
5. Pull the tortoise out of hiding and soak it often. Don't let it stay hidden in a cool hide box all day.
6. I usually run HO UV tubes for 2-3 hours mid day. To keep a tortoise up, I might bump them up to 6-8 hours a day."
Tom's Brumation Thread
Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...
tortoiseforum.org
1. Mites are round and slow moving, both soil and grain mites can gather in hordes even on fresh food, also in case of grain mites there is a specific smell. They are harmless, but extremely prolific and hard to get rid of. Slightly lower humidity, timely removal of food covered with mites and addition of springtails should help.
2. Springtails are elongated, have two antennas in front, movements are fast and chaotic. Totally harmless (even if you see them on a tortoise). You can mostly see them on older food pieces (they rarely go for the fresh food). You can let them be but if you see a shocking number of springtails, likely the substrate is too damp.
