|
Post by etana on Jul 22, 2016 9:25:41 GMT
Stubborn snail, lol. I think the dishsoap is okay, if you rinse very, very well.
|
|
|
Post by eibhlin on Jul 22, 2016 11:13:12 GMT
I finally got him. Stuffed a leaf under him and kinda forced him to slide on it. Took me 3 hours! Can i rinse well when i can't really move the tank? He's to heavy for me. I did a first rinse with just plain hot water. Going to do 2 more cleaning rounds. The first one was with a sponge. The second 2 will be with a cloth. Then i'll leave it dry. I don't think any critter will survive that? And then fill it up again. I'm still working out the decoration in my head. I want it open and easy to maintain but also natural looking and spots for hiding.
|
|
|
Post by eibhlin on Jul 23, 2016 5:58:24 GMT
I did a big google search but still haven't found if it would be a problem to put some of these Hypoaspis Miles in my baby snail tank. Most baby's are grown a bit now and are more easy to spot. But some of the cepaea were born smaller than the others and are still smaller. I haven't seen the mites in there. But the snails are also sooooo tiny that it's easy to miss anything on them. I wouldn't put many in there tho, maybe like a spoon or so?
|
|
|
Post by eibhlin on Jul 23, 2016 18:06:35 GMT
I just saw some of these hypoaspis mites walk on the tank wall. I hope they won't get out and spread trough the house?
|
|
|
Post by eibhlin on Jul 25, 2016 15:22:03 GMT
I have been stalking my snails during their last meal they head. Didn't see a single slugmite so far. Maybe they are already eaten. The mites also cleaned out my baby tanks. I HAD springtails in there and some nymphs of a fruitfly. All gone! Usually when i put food in it, these little critters also go munch on it. Now after 2 days not one single critter on the courgette slice.
|
|
|
Post by eibhlin on Jul 25, 2016 21:44:52 GMT
I just did quite an interesting observation. I was looking at the snails to see if there were still mites. They were all on the door panels so i was able to get a good look. All of a sudden (unfortunately) i see one slugmite on one of the snails. Now! This snail bends it's head and eats it! The snail actually ate the mite!
This kinda made me wonder. We know snails eat small insects in the wild. Maybe they also deal with their infestation by eating the ones that are on their body?
|
|
|
Mites!!!!
Jul 26, 2016 5:16:15 GMT
via mobile
Post by etana on Jul 26, 2016 5:16:15 GMT
Yes, snails do that. The unfortunate thing with parasitic mites is that they go inside the snail, where the snail can't reach them. That, however, is why one sign of severe mite infestation is that the snails rasp themselves around the breathing hole - they often do a bit and usually it's ok, but with mites in them they rasp so much, the skin gets irritated.
|
|
|
Post by eibhlin on Jul 26, 2016 6:52:27 GMT
Ah Well i hope these hypoaspis will eat them all soon. But i didn't got the idea that they knew that they also had to check on and in the snails. Last night they were super active. They were like everywhere! But i saw a couple walking up to a snail and then running away from it
|
|
|
Post by etana on Jul 26, 2016 11:58:20 GMT
Yes they are good at hunting, and they indeed are the only good way (as far as I know anyway) to get parasitic mites out of the insides of a snail. Snails do find the Hypoaspis tickle them as well, though, and will remove them from their skin if they tickle too much (I guess snails can't tell they're put there to help), so the mites have a reason to fear them a bit.
Fingers crossed the snails and the tank will be all clean and pest-free soon!
|
|
|
Post by eibhlin on Jul 26, 2016 16:57:55 GMT
If i take a look in the tank, there are waaaaay more hypoaspis than slugmites so i think they have little chance at surviving. Every time i stick my hand in to replace food or touch something, they are even on my hand! And if they would die in one tank... I added them to all 3 haha. So maybe i could pick some of the survivors and reintroduce them. In the small tanks, there are other critters so they have plenty of food.
|
|
|
Post by eibhlin on Aug 16, 2016 9:02:43 GMT
Ok so... The mites seemed to be all gone. Till today! One of my snails was asleep on the side of the tank, a bit more retracted than usual so i took a close look. Yep! Tiny white mites AGAIN!!! I suspect she has/had eggs inside from these stupid small bloodsuckers. Now, fortunately, i still have some living hypoaspis in there! I don't know how many but by stirring up some dirt i already saw 3-4 of them popping up. I know where they hide so i placed the snail that has the mites in the middle of their hiding spot. They were all over the snail right away. I really hope they eat them all again. Otherwise i seriously have no idea at all how to get rid of it... My baby's are growing well but i can't put new snails in there that are mite free to be infested as well. Especially juveniles.
|
|
|
Post by jolovessnailies on Aug 16, 2016 9:26:50 GMT
They are a bloody nuisance it put it mildly love and I really hope you win this battle. I hate any parasite. I do not have chickens but would love some as pets and mites are a severe problem with them also. I am glad your babies are growing well and can understand your concern. Where do the mites come from exactly? Touch wood mine have remained mite free so far. Please keep us posted.
hugs Jo xx
|
|
|
Post by etana on Aug 16, 2016 9:36:53 GMT
Jo, usually mites come with something brought from outside - a wild caught snail, decorations collected from forests without desinfecting, etc. That's why we recommend a little quarantine with new snails (especially wild ones) so you can see they're clean.
Sorry to hear there are still mites eibhlin. Keep us posted.
|
|
|
Post by eibhlin on Aug 16, 2016 10:31:26 GMT
They are a bloody nuisance it put it mildly love and I really hope you win this battle. I hate any parasite. I do not have chickens but would love some as pets and mites are a severe problem with them also. I am glad your babies are growing well and can understand your concern. Where do the mites come from exactly? Touch wood mine have remained mite free so far. Please keep us posted. hugs Jo xx My snails are wild caught and i think at least one of them was infested. They all came in here at the same time kinda. I haven't seen these mites for weeks when i just had them. All of a sudden there they were. It's a good thing that there are still hypoaspis in the tank. This way maybe they will eat them again. My thought is that the mites that i first noticed laid eggs and the mites i saw today are the baby's. They were smaller than the first ones so that would be my best guess. I killed all of them that were on my snail. Also bathed the snail again. Sometimes i think i should better just start over and release them or something. Start fresh with their babies. But on the other hand... i just can't you know. I wouldn't throw out my cats if they were sick so why do that with a snail. I mean, they are adjusted to the tank now and then to put them out there again. That would be harsh isn't it. Maybe its a good thing that i only have 4 snails in my terrarium. I mean, with less snails, less mites that can infest snails. Maybe it's better to control with fewer snails than when i would have like 10. The baby cepaea are still to tiny to move to the big terrarium anyways. I think they will probably need an other month or even 2. So i guess they will also stay trough out the winter i'm afraid. The Helix will be released after my exams in september.
|
|
|
Post by eibhlin on Aug 16, 2016 11:06:34 GMT
Also, owning pets, snails, chickens or anything else always has the risk for pests. I also have 3 cats and they also need to be de-wormed and can get fleas. No matter what you keep there are always nasty critters out there. Even us humans can get them. So yeah, it's something that is just part of having animals in and around the house i guess. My mom didn't got rid of her blood mites infestation on her chickens as well. I think there are just suuuuuper many. If my hypoaspis still live, hers probably are as well. She put 2/3 of the container in the chickens their sleeping place.
|
|