# Tiny white mites on my dart frog!



## cmoney421

Hi! I am new to froggin, and I got freaked out this weekend because I noticed a few tiny white bugs or mites crawling on my azureus' back and head. I read about CO2 bombing the tank with dry ice, which I did for a few hours. I don't know if they died, but I just saw a mite on the frog today. What can I do to remove the mites? Please help!


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## Julio

are you sure its mites and not springs?


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## Igofastr

What do you feed the frogs?

Could be springtails, but those are elongate, and don't really look like a mite (tiny spider).

If you're feeding fruit flies, how old are your cultures? Could they be infested? You may be adding them to the enclosure when you feed. If they're from the FFs, I don't think you have anything to worry about, except maybe getting some cleaner (newer) cultures. The FF mites will disappear in a few days once you do.

I doubt that they are harming your frogs, I'm not aware of any mites that you'd need to worry about. But, maybe someone else knows better?

Ron


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## kevin575

The frogs should eat them. They won't hurt them.


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## Tazman

They are probably mites that hatched from eggs in your substrate.
Was your tank set up in the last several months. Coco fiber is full 
of mite eggs, so unless you boil the substrate before use, they hatch
out by the thousands. They are white in their juvenile form then after a few months they morph into the dark brown adult form.
They are harmless to the frogs just irritating make sure the frogs have a
dish of water to soak the mites off.
Put a thick layer of leaves on the substrate, over an inch thick, and the mites will stay under the leaves near the substrate and will not bother the frogs so much.


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## cmoney421

Wow thanks guys! You have made me feel more relieved. They are not spring tails, I never seeded those. I noticed my frog "eating," but there were no flies, malangaster from petco, so now I think he may have been going for the mites. I am purchasing some more ground cover leaves, and a water dish for baths. Thanks so much everyone, such a nice community!


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## cmoney421

Update: I have gone a couple weeks with co2 bombing, xtra leaves to cover ground, water dish for bathing. I still see like 4 mites crawling on her back. I think she's eating them, cuz I see her striking at what seems to be nothing... I guess they are staying..


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