Small worm-type things in the water dish?

[ketz]

Hi,

My girlfriend owns a leopard gecko and today she found small worm-like things in the water dish. Some were clear and some were a brownish color. They were about half a centimeter long and there were about 15 of them in the dish. The gecko has been acting, pooping and eating normally. The hot temps are usually in the high 80's. The humidity has been about average for our area (between 40-80%).

Does anyone know what these are? Thanks for any help!

 

[Tommy13b]

how often do you change your geckos water? and how often do you scrub there water dishes down?

 

[55g]

If she feeds crickets, it's probably cricket eggs. If the worm-like things are wiggling then it's something else.

 

[Brett B]

Clean then asap with some bleach. Don't overkill the bleach. And of course soak in water and rinse several times after bleaching to ensure there is no bleach residue left over.

 

[ketz]

Alright thanks, it's definitely not crickets because she doesn't feed them. She took it out and cleaned it very thoroughly, and usually does so once a week. Any ideas on what it could be? Could it be something from the gecko itself?

 

[RampantReptiles]

Fruit fly larvae?

 

[That_DL_Kid]

If I was in this position I would get a fecal done to make sure they aren't parasites.

 

[sausage]

Iv had this before, am i correct in assuming you feed meal worms?
If so then they are nothing more then baby meal worms.
meal worms that escape bowls/ dont get eaten lay eggs and once they hatch if there's nothing for them to eat they head for water and subsequently drown because they cant get back out.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Mealworms in their larval form can't lay eggs. Their sex organs don't form until they become beetles.

Were the things in the water dish kind of fuzzy looking and swimming in a jerky motion? If so, my guess would be mosquito (Google pictures). Many of species of mosquito breed in standing water. They don't need much and are happy to lay eggs in almost any amount. In fact the eggs of some species can dry out and lie dormant for years before hatching. The most common types of standing water mosquitos we have in the US and Canada are mammal and avian specific so I wouldn't worry too much about your geckos.

Making sure you change the water at least twice a week and bleaching the entire enclosure and rinsing whatever bleach touches really well a few times a year is an excellent idea

 

[sausage]

Yes I know that. The meal worms hide, pupate into beetles then lay eggs lol
My vivs massive and it's easy for them to hide.