Tiny white bugs in fresh substrate

[EverydayThor]

Hi everybody,

I just filled my new viv with substrate (Orchid bark and EcoEarth) and saw some tiny white bugs (mites?) walk around. I'm worried about reptile mites now. I'll go pick up my new baby Northern tomorrow and wonder if you can make an educated guess About what they might be? I did not put the Substrate in the oven as it was a new bag and 90l of substrate would have taken ages…

They are too small to get a sharp enough picture with my phone, so all I can say is that they're white and tiny.

Thanks a lot!

[splashy07]

They are not reptile mites, couldn't be with no previous reptile in there. They are more than likely springtails or what I call 'wood mites' that simply clean up garbage and are harmless to your animals.

[kingofnobbys]

Baby cockroaches are white too when they first hatch , until their exoskeleton darkens and hardens.

[splashy07]

Baby roaches are much larger than mite size.

[EverydayThor]

Thanks to both of you for your answers and especially to splashy, you made my day! Was very worried but now I only need to figure out how to get the temperature just right on the basking spot THANK YOU!

[kayla990]

While it sounds very likely to be springtails (as splashy mentioned) just adding in the possibility of spider mites. If possible take a close look. If they look long bodied try to gently poke them, if they jump pretty high it's a good sign of them being springtails and no need to worry about them being there.

But if there is any sign of webbing between the substrate, or they seem to look like very tiny white spiders.. then it's something you'll need to fix (likely by the oven method, they infest the house really fast otherwise).

Otherwise, globular springtails and soil mites are a possibility - despite the name they are also beneficial to the substrate

[splashy07]

More than likely 'soil' mites, I've never gotten substrate without the occurrence. I've never seen or even heard of spider mites. If they create webbing they are then spiders.

[kingofnobbys]

Thanks to both of you for your answers and especially to splashy, you made my day! Was very worried but now I only need to figure out how to get the temperature just right on the basking spot THANK YOU!

Digital thermometer probe stuck to the basking surface with some cloth tape , let the temperature stabilize , not the temperature , then either move the basking globe up or down accordingly (if you don't have a dimmer connected to it).

I'd settle for the aim temperature minus maybe 5 degrees , this will give you some wriggle room if it's a warmer day. I use the rule that I aim for the lizard's Preferred Body Temperature + 2 degreeC for my basking spots and monitor both the basking spot surface temperature and the air temperature in the basking area.

[EverydayThor]

I taped the probe to the basking spot as you recommended. Now the Dimmer works perfectly unless little Loki decides to make "himself" comfortable right on the probe or tries to chew on it.
It does not look perfect and comes with the risk of Loki blocking the temperature management but for now, it's the best solution I can come up with. Will see in the future if there is a better way to sort this.

Thanks for your help!!