Are the 'bad' mites really bad??

Elo,

I have just been talking to a member of another forum about the mites known as 'bad' mites i.e. the little white blobs that can infest a scorpion (see pic)



When ever any of us (me included) end up with a scorpion with mites we freak out and are convinced our scorpion is suffering and is going to die, but is this really the case??

The forum member states that the mites are actually detrivorious and they hitch on to the scorpion as part of their life cycle. They then drop off in a new place when they become adult. I have always presumed they are feeding off the scorpion but could it be they are just using the scorpion to transport them somewhere new? I know that there are truely parasitic mites/ticks out there but they look different to this.

As for the claims that the mites killed someones scorpion, is it really the mites that killed it? We all know that mites can be a sign of poor husbandry i.e. leaving dead crickets in the tank. Could it be that the mites are one of the symptoms of bad husbandry and it is actually incorrect care/ lazyness that killed the scorpion?

Just a thought. Please add your opinions

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They then drop off in a new place when they become adult.

The trouble is though that we keep our scorpions in closed systems...In the wild what this forum member says could well be true but in captivity there's no where for the scorpion to get rid of it's passengers..hence all they can really do is multiply.

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Could it be that the mites are one of the symptoms of bad husbandry

I'd say "Absolutely!"

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and it is actually incorrect care/ lazyness that killed the scorpion?

In the majority of cases i'd agree with this to...

Den wrote:

The trouble is though that we keep our scorpions in closed systems...In the wild what this forum member says could well be true but in captivity there's no where for the scorpion to get rid of it's passengers..hence all they can really do is multiply.

Yer true but so long as we don't provide 'food' i.e. mess for them to eat then they shouldn't multiply and the colony/infestation will die off through starvation. Well it's working for me anyway

Unless you use sterilised substrate which is changed regularly there will always be microbes and other forms of nutrients in the substrate that mites could conceivably nourish themselves on ... Scorpion faeces for example.
I think emphasis should be more on moisture or lack off, as opposed to nourishment.

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Well it's working for me anyway

Can't argue with you there mate so all i can say is good for you..

Also true. So long as you don't end up with a scorpion like the one pictured your doing it right (note; I received it like that lol). The problem seems to happen when there is an over abundance of dirt/dead matter.

Well it's the lack of moisture that is taking the biggest toll on the mites on that ^^ guy. They are pretty much non-existant now :-).

How do you have a lack of moisture in say an emp or Het enclosure? Obviously an adult will tolerate a short period of time with low humidity but they cannot be kept like this permanently. Or is that what you mean, keeping them dry for a while to get rid of the mites?

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How do you have a lack of moisture in say an emp or Het enclosure? Obviously an adult will tolerate a short period of time with low humidity but they cannot be kept like this permanently. Or is that what you mean, keeping them dry for a while to get rid of the mites?

Yes...i've never experienced such a mite infestation (mainly because almost all of my scorps are either desert or temperate species) however if i did then i would change the substrate for fresh clean dry substrate and provide a small bottle cap or similar for drinking water..No moisture in the substrate....I'd keep this regime up until the mite infestation was minimised drastically and then return the scorp to a more species dependant environment...Keeping it up permanently would undoubtedly eventually kill the scorpion.

I actually knew someone that had a bad mite infestation in his emp enclosure some years ago..He did as i mentioned as well as using a soft haired toothbrush to gently brush as many mites of as he could..He'd then put his emps in a bowl of shallow water for 10 minutes to rehydrate them before letting them drip dry and being reintroduced to the dry enclosure...I seem to remember it took approx 3 weeks or so for him to get the infestation totally under control...The soft toothbrush i thought was a good idea although on a smaller species such as liocheles or euscorpious this technique probably wouldn't be so advisable.

yes totally-my longimanus-my parahybana died because of mites/oral infestation/.--i see that wild caught liochness is prone to mites when held in cativity/own a communal/.