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Post by siobhanc54 on Jan 31, 2010 18:16:07 GMT
Noticed in my tank some mites, and having received snails before that had the little white mites on them these are different.
They are orange coloured and bigger than white ones and keep going onto my smallest snails, could they be hypoaspis mites? have read they are used in some organic farms (feed nearly all organic food and wash thouroughly) and they look like them. have changed substrate and bathing the snails daily, but they just keep appearing on my smallest snail who isnt happy about it.
any ideas? (definately not little white mites)
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Post by coyote on Jan 31, 2010 20:31:31 GMT
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Post by siobhanc54 on Feb 1, 2010 20:00:07 GMT
yes they do, where would they come from, and how come my snail doesn't like them? the others are fine. I have to let some food go mouldy for the tropical woodlice and found these mites swarming round the mouldy food.
anyway put my snail in a small tub on its own with damp kitchen and a bit of food, as he is very retracted (not sure hes alive?) even after baths
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2010 20:22:26 GMT
You should get rid of mites because they suck snails blood and if you have small snails they could kill them in like a few days!
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Post by coyote on Feb 1, 2010 21:14:54 GMT
I don't know how hypoaspis could show up on their own. Usually people buy them from someone to combat a parasitic mite infestation. I suppose any kind of little critter on a snail would be irritating to it, even if it's hypoaspis going after the bad mites.
As long as you are sure you don't have the bad kind of mites, your snails ought to be okay.
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Post by siobhanc54 on Feb 3, 2010 14:28:22 GMT
have searched all kinds of parasitic mites and they don't look like any of them, and they do not bother the larger snails (I haven't even seen any near them), but my fulica who is very stunted 1 year old and just 1cm size seems to be attractive to them, since I have moved her I haven't found any more mites, so may be a bit of a mystery.
Hopefully in a small box with no substrate I can monitor her and hopefully she'll get better.
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Post by coyote on Feb 3, 2010 22:43:16 GMT
I hope she's okay. Let us know how she's doing.  |
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Post by siobhanc54 on Feb 5, 2010 15:24:59 GMT
unfortunately she died, she was very stunted from a mystery illness when I first got her that wiped out all but her out of a batch of snails I bough a year ago, so possibly was a coincidence that she died after mites appeared as I have no idea how being so stunted affects lifespan.
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Post by coyote on Feb 5, 2010 21:07:54 GMT
Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss. Sometimes snails will pass away in spite of us doing our best to take care of them. There are so many things, such as genetics or previous illnesses, that are simply not under our control. I know the loss is still hard to take, however, but she will always have a place in your heart.
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aerliss
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 281
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Post by aerliss on Feb 9, 2010 1:42:19 GMT
Sorry to hear your mini GAL passed away, Siobhanc. I know you did everything you could to make her life a happy one.
As for the mites; do you have any plants in the tank? I started finding them after I planted live cress in the tank. They went with a clean out, but have reappeared with the spider plants.
I did the "stick them in a tub with a bunch of other bugs and see who eats what" test and I can safely say that if they're not hypoaspis, they certainly think they are... and boy do they have big appetites! I want to have a go at breeding a colony but the males are TEENY. Any mites I pull out the tank will most likely be female... and they ain't gonna breed on their lonesome.
They do seem to swarm around rotting food (especially half eaten pumpkin seeds), but I think that's because their food stuffs (mites and, when those are in short supply, fungus) will be.
The only problem I've had with them is when one got stuck on Odo's eye stalk o.O It was irritating him, so he kept retracting the stalk, which as you can imagine only made matters worse... had a nightmare getting it off.
Perhaps your mini GAL had a mite problem, occurring only inside her...air hole (2am... nurg) and that's why they were swarming to her? Unlikely I know, if it didn't spread to the others...
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Post by SnailsPace on Apr 10, 2011 18:04:00 GMT
Can anyone suggest where to buy these please?
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Post by ness on Apr 11, 2011 12:45:39 GMT
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Post by snailysnuggles on Apr 11, 2011 13:10:54 GMT
I am so sorry to hear you have lost your little girl.
Hugs.
Jo xx
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Post by SnailsPace on Apr 11, 2011 18:11:13 GMT
Thanks Ness
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