Tiny Bugs In Enclosure

[Luke.]

Hello everyone! In my tortoises enclosure, I have started to notice some tiny bugs. They are some sort of fly I believe, they have tiny wings and are black. I believe this is because of me constantly spraying his bedding down and trying to keep the humidity up. However, I was worried as to if these bugs could cause any harm. If anyone has any experience on this I would be grateful. I have also attached a picture where you can see the substrate, maybe I am keeping it too wet? Thank you in advance

 

[Sleppo]

Hi,
Yes we all experience these gnats, the indoor environments we create for our torts are perfect for these gnats as well. They are harmless and will not hurt your tort. It's been my experience that they are incredibly hard to completely get rid of I make homemade gnat traps which I replace every couple of days to keep the population down. The recipe for the gnat traps are 1 cup hot water, 2 tbsp. of sugar, 4 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar, and 12 drops of dish soap. Mix and place in small bowels around the outside of the enclosure in the room you keep them in. (Do not place in the enclosure with your tort) Good luck!

 

[Luke.]

Hi,
Yes we all experience these gnats, the indoor environments we create for our torts are perfect for these gnats as well. They are harmless and will not hurt your tort. It's been my experience that they are incredibly hard to completely get rid of I make homemade gnat traps which I replace every couple of days to keep the population down. The recipe for the gnat traps are 1 cup hot water, 2 tbsp. of sugar, 4 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar, and 12 drops of dish soap. Mix and place in small bowels around the outside of the enclosure in the room you keep them in. (Do not place in the enclosure with your tort) Good luck!

Thank you for the reply! If they are no harm I will probably just let them be. They don’t seem to bother my tortoise at all!

 

[Lulabee247]

Hi I also experience these “gnats” you call them. If they are just left without traps how long would it be before they would be overpopulated ? As in how often should I clear the whole enclosure out totally ? Is every year sufficient ?

 

[Sarah2020]

Just as an idea you can get window fly trap stickers that you can attach in the inside of the enclosure to help catch and peel off and dispose when full! I cut the sticker in half. They come in on the food seasonally and I do not like them, but up to you.

Amazon UK link for example.......
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B1V4N84G/?tag=

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Back when my tortoise was little and housed indoors, I found the best way to combat the little flying bugs was to go bioactive and add the right amounts of the right type of substrate bugs. You can check out BioDude or Josh's Frogs for more information on how to do it right. It's a neat set up if you're up for it!

 

[Lulabee247]

Back when my tortoise was little and housed indoors, I found the best way to combat the little flying bugs was to go bioactive and add the right amounts of the right type of substrate bugs. You can check out BioDude or Josh's Frogs for more information on how to do it right. It's a neat set up if you're up for it!

Interesting, might have to research that then, thanks