I don't know where to get these things. Like I said, my local pet stores are corporate and lame.

I have a jungle mix soil and moss on top. How do I go about boiling or heating that in an oven? lol

I feel stuck.

I can't get a picture of these stupid mites or gnats because I can't get a good, clear enough zoom. My digital camera is poor at such things.

I find predatory mites in my other tanks. If you have other tanks, look in them; if not, get a bucket of soil and watch it carefully.

Predatory mites are tiny things that run around the soil surface (emphasis on "run" -- they don't jump). Using a fine paintbrush, you can gently pick them up and transfer them to the tank that may have a mite problem.

If you can't find any, leave a dead feeder (such as a cricket) on top of the soil. They'll usually make an appearance within a day or two.

If you want to heat substrate in an oven, just spread it out on a cookie sheet or something and put it in the oven at around 350 Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes.

So thankfully, I wound up getting an early xmas gift of a new digital camera. Here are 2 pictures to help identify these mites, which probably aren't good. Also, why is my moss already dead? I've been spraying every day and always keeping water available. I'm about to remove the moss and just keep the jungle soil stuff in there. Maybe he'll actually burrow.

Yep, they are the bad mites. Errm, what do you mean my moss is dead?

How do I get rid of the bad mites and where did they come from? Like I said, he never had them up until this summer.

And the moss is now brown and gross whereas a week ago it was green and life-like.

Moss actually has roots, so if not planted properly and if not on correct soil, it'll die . . . in most tanks it works more for holding humidity than anything else.

As far as getting rid of the mites, I'd suggest getting a Q-tip with a little bit of vaseline on it and rubbing it over the mites. They'll asphyxiate and die in a couple days.

Check your other tanks for predatory mites -- they'll be running around on the substrate and appear slightly larger than those infesting your scorpion. If you can transfer some in (try using a small paintbrush), bumping the population in this scorpion's tank may shift things against the grain mites.

As long as you don't cover his booklungs in the stuff . . . I just meant dabbing a little bit over the spots that are really bad.

Also, those conditions seem a bit too humid for P. cavimanus, which may contribute to the mites' success.

Oh I wouldn't saturate him. I just wasn't sure if the Vaseline would absorb or disperse... or even inadvertently smear/drip elsewhere.

I am going to remove the moss tonight and just let him use the soil for a few days to see if that helps. Do these mites live in the tank at all, or are they strictly on him? Should I keep the soil saturated or just continue to spray the tank (after removing the moss)?

You don't need to keep the soil saturated at all -- P. cavimanus don't need it quite as humid as P. imperator does.

I think that, for the most part, these mites live on the scorp . . . they just disperse if conditions become unfavorable (such as too dry, which is why some people recommend dry hospital tanks to get rid of them).

I know this is late, but I've been working 2 jobs and overtime at one of them due to those wicked holidays.

I put some Vaseline on him where the mites are. He sure didn't like it and wasted his time trying to impale the poor cotton tip applicator. I have him in a plastic critter keeper (the plastic tank that they give you for hermit crabs and stuff) with just a moistened paper towel on the bottom.

1. How long should he be isolated in there to kill the mites?
2. How do I know if the mites are killed off?
3. Do I wipe the Vaseline off of him, and will it bother him if I don't get it all off?
4. I'm going to assume I should change out his entire tank. Should I even bother putting the moss back in or just keep it gravel and soil?
5. How do I prevent these things from coming back?


Sorry, I'm just trying to get it right this time! I put the Vaseline on him and isolated him around noon today.