Small grey insects found on substrate- ID please

[Crestie Chris]

Hi guys, I was feeding one of the geckos last night when I spotted one of these little buggers:

On further inspection I found loads of the sods! I'm going to clean the viv out and disinfect it but I'd like to know what species they are.

A little info:
Size: About 1mm long
Legs: approx 6 (I couldn't see enough detail to be sure)
Behavior: Seen on Corkbark and on substrate (kitchen roll). Very fast when compared to other arthropods of a similar size.
Colour: Grey/Brown.
Affinity with gecko: Not seen on gecko or faeces.
Country: UK

Some pics:

Thanks for any help you guys can offer me,

Chris

 

[Crestie Chris]

My initial thoughts are Collembola... But with them being on kitchen roll and not being on faeces I have my doubts

 

[K&B Pet's]

What where you feeding them?

 

[Crestie Chris]

The Gecko sp is Rhacodactylus chahoua, so CGD and Crickets

 

[Hilde]

They look like springtails -Collembola- to me.
As long as there's a food source and enough humidity, they'll survive, even on paper towel. The CGD will work as a food source.

Some pictures of the ones I've had over the years, quite similar looking to what you have:

They're nothing much to worry about, good scavengers for cleaning up left-overs. If they get too plentiful, just wipe them up. Once you have them, they're almost impossible to get rid of without completely removing and cleaning everything in the tank and starting with fresh substrate. Might as well leave them be and take advantage of their usefulness.

 

[Crestie Chris]

Thanks for that, put my mind at ease... After a recent infestation of Booklice I have the urge to nuke any little tiny creatures that appear :roll: