Found tiny brown bugs in Lithir's cage

[Awaiting Abyss]

The night before last I lifted Lithir's hide so I could feed him. (He refused to eat) When I was about to pick him up, I saw a small brown bug crawl beside him on the substrate. Then I looked closer and I noticed more bugs. There was a bit of fresh poo under the hide, but I always clean up poo as soon as I see it.
I removed Lithir and cleaned his tank completely, but I found that the wild mouse that we had in the house recently chewed up the substrate bag in many spots.

The bugs were very small and looked like little beetles... kind of like brown mealworm beetles but much smaller.
Should I be concerned? Or is everything okay now since I dumped the buggy substrate?

[kelzerman]

If you could get a picture of one of them it would really help. Possibility?

[Awaiting Abyss]

I don't have a picture, since I put the bugs in a trash bag. However, after some searching I believe they were either Drugstore beetles or Cigarette beetles.

[Pareeeee]

Did they look like this?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Drugstore_beetle_02.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Drugstore_beetle_03.jpg

[Awaiting Abyss]

Yes, that's it.

[sharthun]

Yes, that's it.

Definitely not mites. Beetles prey on other bugs! :)

[Awaiting Abyss]

Well those beetles are attracted to cereals (I have several bags of grains in the room for my rodents), but they aren't in the food or anywhere else in the room other than in Lithir's tank.

I know all too well what mites look like. Ugh, I had them over a year ago on my rodents. ... I hope I never have to deal with them again.

[sharthun]

Well those beetles are attracted to cereals (I have several bags of grains in the room for my rodents), but they aren't in the food or anywhere else in the room other than in Lithir's tank.

I know all too well what mites look like. Ugh, I had them over a year ago on my rodents. ... I hope I never have to deal with them again.

Yeah but I guess we need them all. Lol They all have their own niches.

[Pareeeee]

Yes, that's it.

Okay. Here is some advice for you. I suspected that was your problem since I've just recently had a long battle against these beetles. It took many months for me to get rid of them.

If you have any cayenne pepper, chili spice or parsley in your house, it's probably infested. My beetle infestation came in a sealed package of cayenne pepper. They will be very difficult to get rid of. Keep on top of it. Check EVERY spice you use in your kitchen. Check things like rice, cereal, etc. Seal every container of non-infested spice so they cannot get to it. Wash the cupboard/spice rack. Don't throw away the packages you find them in, they must be killed or they will just come back. I poured boiling water into infested spice containers.

Get the mini sticky traps like these and put a tiny bit of cayenne pepper or parsley in the center to attract them.
http://http://www.homedepot.ca/wcsstore/HomeDepotCanada/images/catalog/17091.GreenEarthHomecareRoachCrawlingIns_4.jpg

[Pareeeee]

Hmm, also check your Ginger if you have any in the house.
I just went to use some this morning and I found more beetles. I thought they were gone... :(

[Awaiting Abyss]

Thanks! Looks like I'll be going on a bug hunt.