Mites...

[bella3]

Hello,
I have yet another question to ask
I have heard that some people get mites from the substrate that they are using...does that happen a lot?? When I get a BTS this summer should I be worried about the substrate having bugs in it??
Thanks

[Linnea]

there can be lots of bug eggs in any substrate, i got small moths in mine at first but this was since i got aspen shavings thats been stored badly when i got my skink at first. the substrate was removed instantly and no problem in the house.

that aside, if you pick aspen shavings from a regular place, dont be all too worried. just pick it up from a clean place. im not sure if you buy it from a certain brand in america but you can always buy directly from the wood-workers here, guaranteed you can too. its cheaper too.

i use wood chips, and id say the risk of getting mites from that substrate is......very little.

you can also bake substrate in the oven like anything else you bring in, it kills all insect eggs

[Fatal_S]

The mites you get from substrate aren't the dangerous reptile-biting mites. They tend to be the benign kinds. Still not that fun if you don't like bugs. The only time you'd have to worry about dangerous mites is if the substrate could have come in contact with/been need infected reptiles (ex: a bad pet store). I personally don't worry about it much. You can always bake or freeze the substrate to kill bugs.

[Coomassie]

You can kill anything that might be living in your substrate by freezing it before adding it to the tank.

[bella3]

Okay, thanks so much for the answers. Freezing or baking it sounds like a good idea

[Jeff]

It is usually not necessary, but I always pretreat my substrate with Provent-a-Mite or equivalent before using it. I just spray it down really good, then allow it to dry for 3-4 days before putting it in the enclosures.

Mites are a horrible thing to deal with if you have a lot of reptiles. Not nearly as hard to deal with if you have one or two skinks, so I don't claim it is necesssary in every situation. It is just WAY easier for me than treating 50 enclosures for mites.

[James Wilson]

You can kill anything that might be living in your substrate by freezing it before adding it to the tank.

That being said, freezing does not always kill mite eggs...