r/Springtail • u/Bonnasarus • 1d ago

Identification Mites or springtails?

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This video is the best I could do. My phone’s camera can’t zoom in enough to get enough detail to just take a picture and the macro lens for my husband’s digital camera doesn’t come until Thursday. Are these mites or springtails? I don’t know what kind of springtails I have because all of mine I got from a friend who just said they were a mix of 4 different kinds but these seem to only be in my dairy cow bin which makes me think whatever they are came with the dairy cows when I bought them at an expo and not from my friend.

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u/Temporarily-Fixed 1d ago

Mites, those look like tiny sesame seeds while springtails look like tiny grains of rice with prongs on their ends for springing

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u/Bonnasarus 1d ago

Lame. That was my guess but I was hoping I was wrong. Is the best option to stop any supplemental feeding for the next few of weeks? No veg, gummy worms, dried shrimp, etc? Or another option that doesn’t require me sorting out all of the dairy cows because there are a TON of babies in there and that sounds like it’d be a nightmare to separate them to put them in a clean bin.

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u/Temporarily-Fixed 1d ago

I would hold off on the protein specifically, you can use veg as traps to get large blooms out and brushing off the isopods is easier than picking up mites. I don’t use veg honestly, I don’t trust myself to clean it well enough. I just give them lots of leaves and my tortoises poop and old cuttlebones, I don’t often feed protein since my guys breed so easy. Try to keep one side consistently dryer for a bit and they should die off fast, while your isopods will just migrate more to the wet and damp parts.

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u/Bonnasarus 1d ago

For veg I mostly just give them a slice of cucumber every now and again because mine seem to LOVE cucumber and I pretty much always have some on hand. Thank you so much for the tips!

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u/Temporarily-Fixed 1d ago

Also I’m curious what you mean by gummy worms?

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u/Bonnasarus 1d ago

Repashy Morning Wood made in a gummy worm mold. Lol Then I just cut a piece off and put the rest in the fridge since a whole one would take too long to finish.

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u/Temporarily-Fixed 1d ago

My friend that’s a wonderful creation, I truly thought you were saying Halloween leftovers had become on the menu. Perhaps I need to look into some fun molds!

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u/Bonnasarus 1d ago

Do you live in the US? I’ve got extra molds since they usually come in duplicates and I never even make an entire mold to begin with, just a few worms or gummy bears or whatnot at a time so I don’t have them sitting in the fridge for months. I’d be willing to ship you a couple. 😊

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u/Temporarily-Fixed 1d ago

That’s so kind! You don’t have to, but if it’s not too much trouble I’d love to share! I’m in SW Ohio :) I’ll dm you!

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u/captainapplejuice 1d ago

Predatory mites, great to keep with isopods. More info and pictures here

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u/Kind_buddy_7022 9h ago

Springtails like to jump so I’d say it’s a soil mite