Hey everyone,
Lately I've been hearing a lot about all the "store-bought" food options for crickets, but I have a different kind of question; are wild "weeds" safe to feed feeder crickets? I have plenty of dandelion, plantain, clover, and wood sorrel plants that naturally growing in my (un sprayed) back yard.. and I see people talking about how feeders tend to be less "nutritious" due to their unnatural diets, so I just want to know if it's safe for my tomato frog to ingest wild-fed gut-loaded crickets? I mean seeing as I have heard that plantains in particular happen to be great medicinally for numerous things, and Pekoe has eyelid and nostril injuries.. in your opinion would it be beneficial to start wild-feeding his crickets?
And while I am on the subject, if I catch wild crickets/woodlice, and breed them, would the nymphs be safe to feed my tomato frog? Or would they too then carry possible parasites/deceases passed on from the parents?
Thanks in advance for any and all advise!
- Dani
Hi Dani,
You can totally feed all of these plants from your yard to the feeders, should make a great gutload supplement (and moisture source). I would still give them a good wash with water, but otherwise, go for it. Do be 110% certain that you are out of range from any potential -cides that might have blown over from a neighbor's yard, too. Always better to be safe than sorry with these things.
As long as you are certain that there are no chemical -cides that the insects came into contact with, and you are confident in your insect identification for safe feeders, you can feed some wild caught insects. Never feed caterpillars or species that feed on potentially toxic plants, those with bright colors, those that have a life history in or around waste, and be vary about insects that can travel some distance (to avoid the possibility of them having made contact with something nasty in another yard).
I don't think that parasites in feeders can be transferred vertically to offspring, and I would wager that feeding out of an F1 generation of crickets or isopods would be safe.
One insect that might help with healing is the chinese silkworm (Bombyx mori). Silkworms are sold as feeders, and they are absolutely awesome. Tons of protein, low fat, very high calcium, soft-bodied... the only major downsides are their need for mulberry or artificial diet to survive, and their cost. But, they contain an enzyme known as serrapeptase that is known to promote healing, increase calcium absorption, reduce arterial plague, and reduce pain. A friend of mine rescued bearded dragons and swore by silkworms for those that needed the most rehabilitation.
-Jeff Howell
ReptileBoards ( Branched from The Reptile Rooms )
"If you give, you begin to live." -DMB
Parasites are not likely to pass on to future generations of bugs? I'd have no problem feeding wild caught to native species but I wonder about exotics. Maybe very strict segregation of cultures by age and keeping the insects environment clean would help with that. It seems like if I keep frogs at some point I'll need to learn to cultivate insects considering the nearest pet store is 30 miles away. (I don't know whether to trust live bait stores. Then again, I've read some people suspect their pets got parasites from pet store crickets, so...)
If I did cultivate a native species, I might go with rolly-pollies/ pillbugs or the tiny centipedes which are everywhere. The native toads love them and they appear fat and happy. Really fat. One of them I saw was over four inches and nearly as big around.
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