Wild Caught Questions

[DVirginiana]

And DVirginia, I spoke the to largest cricket breeder in the area. this guy sells to all major pet stores in the area. I was asking tips on breeding them and he said he feeds them veggies that a local farmer gives him that aren't up to standards to sell for human consumption. Not saying all breeders do this just saying the largest one in my area does. I even asked him if he has had issues with pesticides and he said he has had problems in the past.

Sounds like you have a quality cricket breeder in your area then. Honestly, his product is probably overall healthier for feeding the veggies. Most of the feeders , crickets and roaches, I have ordered from breeders have been fed (and even come with sometimes) the processed-cardboard-nutrient-meal stuff. That's also what they feed them in every petstore in my area except one very small private one that is pricey, but they keep their animals in such good conditions that I'd consider buying a pet from there instead of a breeder. idk for sure what they feed them there, but the crickets have the darker look I associate with natural foods. I mean, lighting is even changed for albinos and nocturnal critters in their place-- who cares if you want a closer look the animal is asleep! lol

I'll be honest, I've had to feed w/c prey to rescues before. When I have to rehab a slug-eating snake, I have no choice. I don't know how they are as a frog food-source, but I've had one experiment slug for almost a year now (happiest slug in the country...), so I try to keep a small veggie-fed colony since they live long enough to detox. Actually got to use it last winter when I got a call about a redbelly snake that had been attacked by a cat.

My general opinion about w/c feeders is that "If you have to ask, you should avoid it". Kind of like, if you don't have the resources and experience to feel confident in feeding stuff from your yard, it's probably not worth the risk. Haha, can't tell you how many times I've felt guilty for coming in from a fall herping trip and my garters going nuts because they smell salamanders but can't eat them. The runoff in our area is so contaminated it's made the cats sick before (and we live in the middle of nowhere, but it's mountainous sooo...) so no way I'm feeding anything from there to my cold-blooded babies.

[demon amphibians]

My general opinion about w/c feeders is that "If you have to ask, you should avoid it". Kind of like, if you don't have the resources and experience to feel confident in feeding stuff from your yard, it's probably not worth the risk. Haha, can't tell you how many times I've felt guilty for coming in from a fall herping trip and my garters going nuts because they smell salamanders but can't eat them. The runoff in our area is so contaminated it's made the cats sick before (and we live in the middle of nowhere, but it's mountainous sooo...) so no way I'm feeding anything from there to my cold-blooded babies.

I could not agree more. I firmly believe that in order to feed wild prey you must be a seasoned frog owner. And like you said if there are uncertainties then it is best to avoid doing it all together.

[Lija]

another "wild prey thread"? it has been discussed so many times already.
- re to "who knows what crickets's been feeding on in the breeding facility" - you don't feed insects right off the store, you keep for a few days at least and gut load them, this way you minimize possible "who knows what" in their gut and load them with what you want, of course it wont flush all chemicals that might be in their system, but it will minimize the possible amounts by much, besides breeders usually are protecting their colonies and will not feed off contaminated food.
- wild prey is not for "seasoned herp owners", in fact none of these people will feed wild caught prey to their herps, unless it is a last resort and with great caution.
- parasites/bacteria/fungus - guys seriously, do you really want to deal with that, do you realize what does it mean if you have a frog with tapeworms/pinworms/anything else, when you need to hospitalize all your herps, possibly euthanize if you have something like mycobacteria that might be zoonotic. The warmer climate you're living in the worse situation is.
- well and of course chemicals from outside unless you live in a middle of nowhere.

we can discuss wild caught prey topic endlessly but all i have to say - we operate on risk factors here, nobody is saying all these possibilities will occur, but the chances are, do you want to take them? and why?

[demon amphibians]

well you do know that we do have new members joining all the time and they might not always know how to navigate the sight. And everyones mixed opinions can be confusing to inexperenced members.

[Lija]

well you do know that we do have new members joining all the time and they might not always know how to navigate the sight. And everyones mixed opinions can be confusing to inexperenced members.

yes i do know that and that is why it is important not to get into a deep-not-on-the-point discussion while replying to a new members posts, like we see around here quite a bit sometimes, this will only get them confused while not really getting answers to their questions.