Hermit Crabs and Dust Mites

Sevast0

Sevast0

AC Members
Jul 11, 2009
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New Jersey
Ok, I have 2 purple pincher hermit crabs that I've had since summer. Originally they had cali-sand as their substrate, and it was very dusty. They got dust mites in there tank. I thought this was because it was dusty and there was food. I did used to clean the tank out a lot when I had cali-sand (and it was a mess). So about in September I changed them over to pool filter sand as their substrate. It's not dusty, and I have been cleaning their cage just as often. I have dust mites in there again! I know they must be going after the food, but is there anyway to prevent these things from getting in? I've kept hermit crabs for years and never remember having dust mites (and I've lived in dustier houses with a lot of dust mites), and I've used sand before. Is there something I'm doing wrong?

I do understand that dust mites can stress and harm hermit crabs, and I do understand the need to be cleaned very well after you get a dust mite infestation (which I did! I boiled the tank supplies!). I even bathed the crabs to remove any of the mites that might be on them. Is there anyway to prevent them from ever coming back? Or am I doomed to deal with these things coming back every month or so?
 
Unless you have an electron microscope you can't see dust mites. I'm sure they're another type of mite, perhaps a species that lives on hermit crabs or a type of plant mite. There are sprays out there that kill mites but I'm not sure how safe they are around hermit crabs.

I use an organic anti-mite spray made by Zoomed that's safe to use around reptiles. It can be sprayed in their enclosure and around food and water so perhaps it's safe to use on hermit crabs.
 
I always thought they were dust mites. I've always seen then in dusty areas, around saw dust, or old wood shaving that were exposed to them. Everyone around me has always called them dust mites. So I don't think they came from the hermit crabs. They look exactly like the mites we've found in our house (and other houses, so I know its not just mine).

Do you think that spray would kill these mites? Does it kill any type of mite? Or just specific types?

Edit: I just looked it up on Petsmart and read its description. It says not to use on pets that have shed in the last six hours. One of my hermit crabs has shed recently, but I'm not sure how recently. He's still pink. Should I wait until he's not soft anymore to use it on or near him?
 
I personally wouldn't use the mite spray. I'm not 100% sure but I don't think it is safe for LHC. The Hermit Crab Association <---lots of great LHC information there.

Are the mites on the crabs or are you just noticing them around the food dish and on the substrate?

Mites
There are thousands of species of mites and it’s extremely hard to identify them. They come in all colours (white, grey, black, brown, bright red ect.) and many sizes. Only comparatively few species are harmful for the crabs. The rule of thumb is: if you find them in the food dish or the rest of the crabitat, they are probably harmless. If you find them on the crab, especially on the joints, the abdomen or the mouthparts, they are predatory and harmfull. A deep clean will get rid of the harmless mites, for the predatory ones you will need to bathe the crabs in salt water or you might even need to pick off the mites because they have claws on their legs to hold onto their prey.
There’s a certain species of mites that are often found in insects breeding containers, for example when breeding roaches or fruit flies. They feed on vegetables and fruits and are harmless, but their population can literally explode in a few days and then they are a real pest. They look like walking grains of sand, white to yellow and are about 1 mm long, I call them food mites because that’s where they often appear in the crabitat. A deep clean will get rid of them, too.

Interesting fact: Some mites feed on pollen and hitch rides with hummingbirds, racing up the beak and then down again into a new flower. Others hitch rides with flying insects to reach new plants and some not only hitch a ride, but also suck the haemolymph (insect blood) on the insect that’s carrying them. Many species change their dietary habits depending on their age.
Click on the links at the bottom to see pictures of mites hitching rides with insects:
http://www.arthropods.de/arachnida/acari/trombidiidae/trombidiumHolosericeum01.htm
Other mite pictures:
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/wihort/Phenology/images/Two-spotted Spider Mite.jpg
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/hfrr/TURF/winter grain mite close up.jpg
http://res2.agr.gc.ca/winnipeg/storage/pages/ihmt_e.htm
http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/acari/images/broad/d.jpg
http://www.giantmicrobes.com/critters/dustmite.html

Food mites pictures (just to give you an idea, they were too tiny to get a good close-up)
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r294/jedediah667/crabitat bugs/foodmites.jpg
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r294/jedediah667/crabitat bugs/foodmitescircled.jpg
Click to expand...
 
I've only noticed them around the food dish, and some of them crawl on the driftwood in there too.

I looked though some of the pictures in the links, the dust mites in my cage don't look like any of those. I'll see if I can find a picture of them on the internet. They are too small to take a picture of, but big enough for me to see them.
 
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I looked around at the Hermit Crab Association and they say they are harmless to the crabs. I would just do a deep clean to try and get their numbers down.

ETA: they even say they are beneficial, eating mold and fungi.
 
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