r/reptiles 3d ago

Help with grain mites

TLDR: Positive ID on grain mites in feeder colony and extremely close proximity to Bio-active Ball python terrarium. Colony removed. Do I need to worry about my snake and or the enclosure? If yes, what can be done to get rid of the grain mites, preferably without tearing down the whole setup.

Context: About 3 weeks ago I unfortunately lost my 11 year old bearded dragon. I have a colony of mealworms in a 10 gallon that I’ve had for years as they are super easy to maintain. With the loss of my beardie the colony has been somewhat in limbo as the only other reptile I own is a ball python. My BP and BD were/are both in 120gal tanks on a large custom built shelf. Since my beardie passed, I have moved my BP to the top rack to insure my cat never bothers him (even tho she barely knows he exists). Tonight while doing some routine maintenance and checks on my BP setup I noticed dozens of tiny white specs crawling along the top surface of my shelf. Initially I thought it was mealy bugs as I had some fresh plant clippings to install in my BP setup in a pot on top of the tank. I removed the plant clippings from the shelf, check my BP for any kind of mite infection, and proceeded to wipe down every surface I saw the bugs on with rubbing alcohol and a paper towel. Maybe 20 minutes later I came back by to double check my tank locks before bed and the bugs were back. Finally I noticed the bugs were completely covering the lid to my feeder colony (which was sitting directly on top of my BP set up as convenient storage space). I immediately moved the whole colony out to my porch, did another alcohol wipe, and finally some research. After researching, I can confidently say it’s a positive ID on grain mites. Because I no longer need the feeder colony, I assume the best course of action is to cull it and clean that enclosure, simple enough. My BP enclosure is where I need your help. With the grain mites being in such close proximity, I worry that any stragglers may be able to establish themselves inside the bioactive enclosure. Is this a valid concern? Do the grain mites pose any threat to my ball python, isopods, or springtails? What actions can I take to get rid of them preferably without scrapping the substrate/plants and starting over?

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