small red bug??

[Petrichor0212]

I was checking on Fire before putting him to bed tonight and I saw a small red buy crawling (quickly) across the tile is his enclosure. I have never had an issues with bugs in the past so this is all new to me. It looked like it maybe had 6 legs and a couple longer antennae. It was bright red and when I squished it, it left a red streak across the tile. What am I dealing with and is my big man in danger or was it just a fluke? I keep his enclosure pretty clean, feed him daily veggies and every other day I feed him dubia.

 

[Petrichor0212]

I have done some research and from what I can find, it appears to have been a clover mite. Does anyone have experience with these things? It says they are harmless and feed on grass. I'm not too keen on the idea of having bugs in his tank. I plan on doing a thorough cleaning tomorrow. I also caught 2 fruit flies in his tank. None of this has happened before.

 

[Terry15]

They must be mites. You need to really read about the treatment that your dragon needs and also the tank and all of the accessories. From what I've read, you have to do it in stages.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....how big was it ? If it was big enough for you to identify it's characteristics it may have been a giant red velvet mite, which are closer to the size of a very small spider. The clover mite would be VERY tiny, smaller than an actual pinhead or grain of sand. The red velvet would probably not cause an infestation but the clover mite possibly can. If the bug was large enough for you to see it, it may not be the type that causes infestation. Google " red mites on lizard " , that will be the type that infest. If you see no tiny bugs the size of a speck of sand around your dragons eyes, nose, mouth or in body crevices then you're probably fine. As a precaution, you can bake any wooden cage furniture in a 250 preheated oven for an hour [ preheat so any potential pests are killed by high temp. immediately ] and clean the rest of his items with hot soapy water.

 

[Terry15]

I've have never seen either bug. But I did looked them up. How do the dragons get the mites ?