HELP i found a bug

[liltattyprinces]

ok here's the details i recently brought in walking stick bugs that's the only thing that has change in our environment, they came here about 2 days ago, i go into my tank with the sunglow corn, and suprise there is a beige little bug , on the hide...tank ect is in the bathroom accessories are soaking in bleach and i'm going to systematicaly clean and bleach each tank eaven though i cannot find any bugs in the other tanks the tank i found the bug in is the only tank i use repti bark in could that be a factor as well? the other tanks i have aspen ... i am also going to give all of them a bath in nix as well but i have 2 juvenials can i use nix on them gd i'm sooo pissed at my self...i'm very clean and kepp the tanks that way as well i don't know what happened btw i got rid of the stck bugs just in case...any info or advice is greatly apperciated ty all.

[Pixie]

Can you describe the little beige bug you found? It doesn't sound like an insect that would infest your tanks. Most likely it went in there while the cover was open and you were doing something with your snake.

I wouldn't recommend you treat your snakes with Nix unless you have mites or suspect them. It is a good safe treatment but I wouldn't use it if it wasn't necessary.

Pixie

[SerpentLust]

That's what I was thinking Pixie...it doesn't sound like a serious infestation or anything. Just a little bug that happened to crawl into the tank. This happens...no need to go histerical or on a bleaching and nixing fest...

Jenn

[gauts28]

Ok let see if I understand you correctly you put the stick bugs in your corn’s tank? That’s a big NO NO. Never mix things together and anyway when you have new animals or bugs you should quarantine them for a while to prevent the transmission of diseases and parasites. As for the bug you found, I haven’t seen it so it’s hard to say what it is. Maybe if you describe it. A clean up is a good thing but don’t over react and put a whole gallon of bleach in ;) as for the nix on juvies I’m not sure so I’ll let somebody else answer.

[liltattyprinces]

no i did not put the stick bugs in their tank.....lol.. they were brought in the house in another tank.it was a tiny little beige bug somewhat like a small flea but beige, i've cheacked all the snakes but i've never seen mites so i don't really don't know what to look for..btw the stick bugs were in another room i just thought to mention it as it's the newest addition

[liltattyprinces]

i'll hold off nixing everyone for now thank you guys cuz i was freakin ......

[Pixie]

To be on the safe side, define the size of a flea!

If the bug is no bigger than this ° it could possibly be a mite. However, snake mites tend to be dark brown/black or reddish. If it was bigger than this ° it is not a snake mite. Beige is not a color I've ever seen used when referring to snake mites.

If you want to be on the safe side and see if there could be mites, replace your substrate with paper towels. If mites are present, you will know very soon.

If I was in your place though, I wouldn't be changing anything unless I suspected snake mites or saw evidence of another type of bug infesting the tank.

Pixie

[liltattyprinces]

thank you pixie i've compleatly cleaned the tank i found the little bug in, it was about that size but beige i've been looking at my books and on the net and can't find anything that looks like what i saw thank you so very much i know i tend to overly worry about my babies

[Linds]

The only thing that comes to mind, although they are not beige and are quite small, are wood mites. They are tiny little white bugs that come in on natural substrates (ie - repti-bark). Completely harmless to you and your pets, if you really want to get rid of them, bake/microwave/boil any natural substrates and items prior to putting them in your tank. Wash it thoroghly to rid what is there and replace with clean stuff. It isn't highly likely that the stick bugs would've brought anything in to your collection, and if they did it would be insect mites, these do not affect reptiles or mammals, as mites are host-specific.

[liltattyprinces]

well i'm positive they were wood mites i just threw out the repti bark just in case, i was switching to aspen anyways went over everyone with a magnafying glass literally, and all have gotten a clean bill of health thank you all so much for your help. i know i tend to over worry about my guys what can i say the kids and i are just that attached to them, there members of our family...