Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is just something I've come across in the past. With 3 out of the 6 clutches I've had with my female there have been ticks climbing around on the eggs, In the whole time I've had her I've never seen a tick on her body. Where do these lil buggers come from?

I had to reply to this message because I find this method of survival (on the ticks' behalf) ingenious, and although I surely hate the little b@stards, I have to respect the power of nature.

Obviously, your female (or perhaps the cage, if it is wood) is harboring ticks. Perhaps your preventative measures are sufficient to keep the population very low. The really fascinating thing about he ticks on the eggs is that if you look close, they are in pairs-mating pairs-who are just waiting for the eggs to hatch to infest the next generation.

>>This is just something I've come across in the past. With 3 out of the 6 clutches I've had with my female there have been ticks climbing around on the eggs, In the whole time I've had her I've never seen a tick on her body. Where do these lil buggers come from?

How do you get rid of them without harming the eggs?
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1.1 Jacksons (no names yet)
1.1 Argentine B/W Tegus (Draco and Drucilla)
0.1 Columbian B/W Tegu (Diablo)
2.0 Black Throat Monitors (Razor and Spike)
1.0 Desert Tortoise (Tubbs) from Tortoise Rescue
1.0 Boxer (Shadow)
0.1 Feline (CK)

You should be able to remove them with tweezers and place them in a small cup of alcohol. If you find this impossible, you could try dipping a q-tip in a pyrethrin concentrate (available at feed stores) and touching it to the ticks. I would be very careful utilizing this method, as the pyrethrin is water soluble and should not be introduced to the eggs themselves. Use the first method if possible.

>>How do you get rid of them without harming the eggs?
>>-----
>>1.1 Jacksons (no names yet)
>>1.1 Argentine B/W Tegus (Draco and Drucilla)
>>0.1 Columbian B/W Tegu (Diablo)
>>2.0 Black Throat Monitors (Razor and Spike)
>>1.0 Desert Tortoise (Tubbs) from Tortoise Rescue
>>1.0 Boxer (Shadow)
>>0.1 Feline (CK)

They aren't attached to anything, ya just pick em up and pop em. And she and the male have always shared a glass tank the whole time I've had them, and never have I seen the ticks except on the new layed eggs, and never more than 4 or 5 in all. Her last clutch was probably back in '97 and I haven't seen a trace of them since before then. Just wondered if anyone else had seen this.