HELP! double whamey!!!

Why why why did I look in the first place? anyway here goes;

whamey 1:
Spotted a mite infestation in my Avics enclousure when I removed a cricket bolous and noticed it crawling with tiny winy white/beige critters which I assume to be mites (if wrong please let me know). Switched all lights off and returned to room 20 min later with a torch and sure enough the ground was alive with these bloomin pests.
I have transferred my Avic to a clean container, no substrate and just the bare minimum of what she needs so I can monitor her and make sure she is mite free which she seems to be. I have also put her in another room so my other T's are safe, or so I thought..........

Whamey 2: here's where I need help,
In my Smithis tank I noticed again with the torch very small eggs (I assume they're eggs), just under the surface of the substrate around the two sides of the enclosure near the water dish. They are a creamy colour and too big I hope to be mite eggs, they are about the size of a sesame seed. I hope that they are just cricket eggs as baby crix are'nt as big a prob as mites. I have removed the clusters (3 to 6 eggs in one area) with a spoon and don't imagine for a minute that I have got rid of all of them unfortunately.
If these are cricket eggs I doubt they will hatch because it's not that warm or moist in the Smithis tank (can anyone confirm that?)
Could these be anything else.
I have searched for a pic of cricket eggs but to no avail, I have seen mite eggs and i seriously doubt that's what they are because the eggs are bigger than a mite.

Oh and I also broke the lid to my Avics tank with my elephant feet, I know I know it should'nt have been on the floor in the first place.

Apart from that I had a nice evening, huh!

Thanks people

What crappy luck you had last night. I hope things turn out alright. I'll be reading along, good luck!

I breed crix and i can never see the eggs, i just see the tiniest crix after they have hatch its like they come from nowhere, could be cricket eggs, my friend had a cricket lay in her Ts tank and ended up with baby crix all over it, hope you get it all sorted, good luck...

Don't worry about the mites, as long as they're not on your avic, they are harmless. I think they are more or less in every tank, you just don't notice them most of times.
Keep the tank dry with a waterdish and the pinhead crickets will die shortly after hatching or drown in the waterdish. Dry conditions will also keep the mite population down.

greetings
Bernhard

Thank you for your replies!
So just to be a pain and make doubly sure ....... are they cricket eggs?

Sorry I'm a compulsive obsessive and need to double check every thing twice, crayze gal.

Sounds totally like cricket eggs to me, they are about 2 mm long, yellowish and about 1 cm deep in the substrate around the waterdish, right?

Cricket eggs look mike miniature grains of rice, sounds like what you have. In a dry cage, they usually don't hatch, but as Spiff says, check around the water dish as that area may be moist enough for them to hatch.

Wade

Thank you again very much, small grains of rice that's exactly what they look like thank you Wade.
Thanks again x

http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/redir?ur...=MS&partner=Google&query=cricket+egg+pictures

Just in case anyone wants to see what a cricket egg looks like I have located a pic, just ignore the fact that it was extracted from some Geko poo it was the only link I could find :8o Its 3/4 way down the page under the heading Other Matter.

The aol search result link did not work for me, but here is a "cleaned up" version for others to try: http://www.thegeckospot.com/fecal.html

As chique said, scroll down to "Other Matter."

Interesting pic, thanks for the reference.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but it is the second time I have heard of using a torch. What type of torch and why, if you guys dont mind educating me. I did a search but got no clear answer.

NoS said:

Sorry to hijack this thread, but it is the second time I have heard of using a torch. What type of torch and why, if you guys dont mind educating me. I did a search but got no clear answer.

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I believe they are referring to a flashlight.

Even though we are all speaking English, it is not the same language.

When I say I use a torch it's just a small handheld battery run light, not the most powerful thing in the world but it certainly helped me last night. i also use it to make puppet shadows on my ceiling if there is nothing good on T.V.

chique said:

When I say I use a torch it's just a small handheld battery run light, not the most powerful thing in the world but it certainly helped me last night. i also use it to make puppet shadows on my ceiling if there is nothing good on T.V.

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Haha, when I first read "torch" I immediately thought you were going to weld something together or set your T on fire!

Does shining a flashlight (torch) on a T disturb it?

Windchaser said:

I believe they are referring to a flashlight.

Even though we are all speaking English, it is not the same language.

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lol, ya...cigarettes are also known as fags, trunk is a boot (in Australia I know...probably England as well), and so on. My grandfather who was born in Canada calls the couch a "davenport" pretty often...

i do it sometimes but not very often. i dont think it bothers them too much but if its a really bright "torch" it might bother them. and i am glad this thread came up cause im worried about my cages since i have adult crix and they might be laying so glad it came up thanks

beccamillott said:

Haha, when I first read "torch" I immediately thought you were going to weld something together or set your T on fire!

Does shining a flashlight (torch) on a T disturb it?

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i have been using it the "torch" for quite sometime to look in on my T's at night...i do not think it is causing them any problems if it will...someone please let us now if it will not then

and yeah circket eggs suck. especially when they hatch

I use a red flashlight on my arachnids as it doesn't seem to bother them at all, white light makes them run for cover or scrunch up trying to shade their eyes.

I had crickets in my avic tank and they all seemed to drown in water dish. Whenever I notice e a lot of pests though or I';m worried I may not get them all... best thing to do is just remove the T, empty the substrate and add some fresh pete. Incidentally, since I started using 100% canadian pete in all my enclosures, I haven't seen any pests at all.

My T's don't seem to mind the torch at all but it has'nt got a very bright light.
Its funny how certain words have totally different meanings across the pond, I'll try and be more aware of it in future guys.
Just a quick update, My Avic is 100% mite free, turns out from advice I received off a good source/friend that they may have been baby fruit flies but I don't really care now so long as they're gone.
Have'nt spotted any more eggs in my Smithis tank, but I'll be watchful over the next few weeks and feed any hatchlings to my P.Cancerides sling, yummy!
Francesca

chique said:

My T's don't seem to mind the torch at all but it has'nt got a very bright light.
Its funny how certain words have totally different meanings across the pond, I'll try and be more aware of it in future guys.
Just a quick update, My Avic is 100% mite free, turns out from advice I received off a good source/friend that they may have been baby fruit flies but I don't really care now so long as they're gone.
Have'nt spotted any more eggs in my Smithis tank, but I'll be watchful over the next few weeks and feed any hatchlings to my P.Cancerides sling, yummy!
Francesca

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Strange... you use the opposite extremes a lot in england huh? Flashlight becomes TORCH, and gigantic ocean becomes POND. I guess only I would notice that.

Also, shining a flashlight or torch briefly on the T usually doesn't make them move, but it must be uncomfortable when they have no eyelids. I do it out of kindness, unless of course I can't find my red filter.