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Beetles in roach colony
So out of nowhere I have hundreds of these blackish mealworm looking things and tiny black beetles crawling around my dubia colony. How much should I worry about them? And is it ok if my tegus eat some during feeding time? They're literally everywhere and it would take forever to separate them from the roaches. What should I do?
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I have absolutely no meaningful or helpful advice for you as I am irrationally repelled by roaches. But you have just provided me with one more thread of rationale to hold on to.
EEEEEeeeeeeeeewwwwwww
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Are the mealworm looking things smooth or rather hairy?
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I thought they were fuzzy little dermestid beetle larva. That is, if they are little black fuzzy looking "worms". They are larva of beetles known as carpet beetles and eat dead insects and other products. I get them in with my crickets and my beardies like to eat them.
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The smaller ones are smooth, the larger ones are hairy/wooly. The beetles are black and tiny compared to the worms. I think I've seen them before in cricket boxes, but I'm not sure how they got in my dubia colony. I don't keep crickets and never reused used egg crates? I don't like having these worms around, but I'll live with it as long as they're safe for my tegus. I can post pics if necessary. Thanks again everyone!
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It sort of indeed sounds like Dermestid beetles. No danger to your tegus, but very, very fond of devouring dead organic matter, such as natural fibre carpeting, leather, any dead animals you have lying around.
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I have no idea, except that they are just part of the natural world. I was build an outdoor turtle enclosure and discovered that have a ton of Tenebrio beetles in my yard and even uncovered a little mealworm larva. If I order anything, it is the large Superworm larva, so it's not like they are escaping from my house. But now I see them everywhere. I have a woodpile in that corner of my yard and also a big wooded lot behind my house. Things just make it over the wall.