Question: Little white bugs?!?

[caudatadude28]

What are these little white bugs? They live in my Ambystoma Laterale's(blue spotted sal) coco fiber/top soil mix. They are about twice the size of the tip of a pencil. Like daphnia size only a little smaller. Please help me. My mom is beside herself. The salamander does not seem to be harmed.

 

[Nathan050793]

My guess is either mites or springtails. Do they jump? Are they attaching themselves to your salamander?

 

[caudatadude28]

I think they jump. Because when I approach them with my finger they jump/dissapear. They dont seem to be attatched to the salamander. Are they harmful to me or the salamander?!? Also if I decided to give him away, is there anybody who would like to take him? You would have to pay shipping. It is not a sure thing but I would like to know if someone would take him in.

 

[Greatwtehunter]

If there jumping then they are springtails. Springtails are actually a good thing because they consume fungus, decaying leaves, and the such. They are not harmful to you or your latrale and in fact as long as you are properly mainting the tank they will never become a problem as they tend to boom and crash as the amount of their food changes in the tank. I always put a starter culture in all of my terrestrial tanks when I set them up. So I wouldn't worry about them one bit, in fact I bet your tank has that nice forest floor smell.

On a side note, if your mom is still not happy with answer and you still have to get rid of him I will be more than happy to take him off your hands.

 

[rust]

I actually "seed" my containers with springtails for their beneficial nature. And if your Mom has any potted plants in the house, she has them too, she just hasn't noticed them (yet).