Mites

[InEx Situ]

I have a slight concern regarding this topic. Last night I discovered some mites walking along the inner and outer glass of my Exo Terra Mini Tall (12" x12" x 18") made for a tropical arboreal Theraphosid. Currently, the terrarium is empty, lacking the main inhabitant (tarantula) but plants and wood are present. Looking under a magnifying glass, I can clearly identify the organism walking along the glass are mites. I decided to ignore this and surprisingly, this morning, I discovered a group of mites all in the same area of the glass approximately the size of a dime (actually slightly smaller than a dime). Wiping these mites from the glass with paper towel and alcohol I decided to leave the terrarium be until later tonight. I understand that mites (oribatid mites) are beneficial to an ecosystem and parasitic mites are quite harmful to inverts (please correct me if I am wrong). Overall, I have a slight concern that these mites could somehow affect my Tarantula in a negative way. I would very much appreciate it if I could get some insights and comments from people that have experienced this "problem". Thanks in advance!

 

[Arachnoclown]

There's different types of mites...yours are dirt mites. Just let the enclosure dry out and they will be gone. Dirt mites dont harm the T at all in controlled numbers. Parasitic mites will climb on the T hanging on around the mouth and between the fangs...these are the ones you need to be more consernd with. They're much larger then dirt mites.

 

[Dustin Amack]

There's different types of mites...yours are dirt mites. Just let the enclosure dry out and they will be gone. Dirt mites dont harm the T at all in controlled numbers. Parasitic mites will climb on the T hanging on around the mouth and between the fangs...these are the ones you need to be more consernd with. They're much larger then dirt mites.

Agreed, let things dry out and see what happens.

 

[InEx Situ]

Thank you @Dustin Amack and @Arachnoclown for the suggestions. I really appreciate it! I was just concerned by the number of mites present on the front glass panel of the terrarium. I did notice however that the T room yesterday reached a temperature higher than the normal temperature I usually keep my T's in (from avg of 70 to 81) because I forgot to turn off the space heater. I don't know if this is a potential factor. My theory was that the mites were already in the soil but were uncomfortable (or comfortable) at the spike in the temp so moved higher to the glass.