Little Worms Are Mosquito Larvae?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 4:12 pm

I have had hermit crabs a little less than a month now..I have 4 and I take really good care of them. So tonight when I looked in on them I noticed like little black worm like things in the water pool I have for them. I kinda thought they were babies(at least I was hoping). I looked but couldnt find anything..please help...they are only in the water no where else!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 4:36 pm

they are the size of the poop but its not! It is only in the water bowl where the sponge is. I have a seperate dish for the food and water that they drink...I feed them regular hermit crab food. And I counted about 13 or 14....they are really small but they swim around like little toadpoles..its really weird.

Crabby Abby · Post by **Crabby Abby** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 4:44 pm

Sounds like mosquitoe or some other kind of larvae. Any chance they could be fruit flies?Here's what I'd do: use a spatula or something to shave off the surface of the substrate. That way if there's anything on it, you'll remove it. Wash all your dishes and either replace or steralize your sponge. (As you pour your fresh water over it, squeeze it repeatedly, give it one final hard squeeze to get all the excess water out and set it on a window sill our counter top until tomorrow. Let it fully air dry and then microwave it for one minute. Nuking while wet will make it shrivel and harden.).Remove any woods you have and soak and/or bake them tomorrow to kill anything that might be on them.Our resident bug expert's name is Jedediah. If you Private Message her she may be able to help you determine what they are and how to remove them.*Side note: I noticed you said 'separate dish and not dishes for water. If you're only offering fresh, you need to begin offering salt water to them. You'll find a hyperlink to some salt mixes 1/2 way down our Basic Supplies thread.

Jedediah · Post by **Jedediah** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:39 pm

Fruit fly larcae are always white and they would drown in the water dish, apart from not finding anything to eat. I'd say mosquitoe larvae, too, the size (and time) is about right.

Jedediah · Post by **Jedediah** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 1:29 am

The best way to recognize fruit fly larvae is to wait until they pupate (doesn't take long), the pupa has two tiny outgrowths that look like bunny ears.