Cricket water jells, dangerous?

[DEW]

Has anyone had problems with cricket water jells making their way to the animal being fed the crickets?

I just had one of the baby gray tree frogs pass a dark red cricket water jell attached to frog feces. The only thing I can think of is a feeder cricket had a piece of dehydrated jell stuck to it when I fed it to the frogs.

I could see this being extremely dangerous causing impaction, dehydration and death.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

[DEW]

Hi everyone,
(This was previously posted in the feeder insects area)

I am re-posting this here since I have had no answer and am wondering if I should stop feeding the crickets water jell.

*I have baby gray tree frogs and when cleaning I noticed a fairly large piece of (blood red) cricket water jell obviously passed by one of the frogs since it was attached to feces and red in color.

The only way I can think of for a frog to have ingested the jell is if it was a piece of dehydrated jell stuck to one of the crickets when it was fed to the frogs. It must have re-hydrated in the frogs intestines. I can see that this could be extremely dangerous causing discomfort, dehydration, impaction, and possibly death!

Has anyone had or know of anyone who has had the cricket water gel making it's way to the animal the crickets are fed?

Should I stop providing the jell as a water source?

Thanks in advance,

Dani

[LilyPad]

I personally use wet cotton balls. However, when I used to use them, I clean my cricket cages often enough that there was never enough time for them to dehydrate completely. Food and water source are dumped and changed every day in my cricket cage.

[DEW]

Thanks Amy,

I do change water and food in crickets cages daily and clean the the whole cage weekly.

It is not the crickets I am worried about getting dehydrated, I am worried about the frogs ingesting dry jell that would pull moisture from the frog.

[LilyPad]

I meant that the gels have never had time to dehydrate completely, to stick to a cricket, to get eaten by a frog.

[DEW]

Oh, OK.

I have severl breeding colonies now and they go through the jells pretty quick, and pieces end up next to the dish on paper towel and dry up pretty quickly especially since there are heating pads under the containers. I tried sponges and they dry up even quicker, and, newly hatched crickets like to use the holes in the sponge to hide when it is nearly dry)

[Snappi13]

I've Never heard of that before but I'm also slightly confused how the frog could have directly encountered the water gel. If the cricket eats the gel it should b broken down enough that U can't see it when the frog passes the feces. If the frog ate the water gel directly maybe it would be visible in the feces. The answer may lie at the locals herp vet.

[DigitalPunk]

I've never heard of this before, but I imagine it isn't an ideal thing to have pass through your digestive track.

[Snappi13]

I'm wondering if it's something else that just looks like the water gel. but it sounds like there was a little bit of blood in the feces so that would alarm me. And if it was really blood than a vet visit is definatly in need. The reason I say this is because ive never seen red watergel only clear.

[LilyPad]

I merged your two threads. If you don't get a response to one thread, please pm a mod for help before starting a second one, we'll track down someone to help you if we don't know the answer. Thanks!

[DEW]

Re: Cricket water dispenser?

---

I did a little research and found enough anectdotal and medical evidence to make me stay away from the crystals.

This was just the first couple pages of a google search;

Polyacrylamide gels have been reported to cause impaction in animals that are able to ingest any of the gel either before it hydrates (if the material isn't mixed sufficiently) or particles that have dried out (including those found in soil mixtures). In frogs there is an anecdotal report on Cadadart.org (see Canadart.org • View topic - Anionic Polyacrylamide Warning (Cricket Water Gel)) from a necropsy and there are institutional reports in other animals see BioOne Online Journals - Polyacrylamide Gel Ingestion Leading to Fatal Intestinal Obstruction in Two Birds in a Zoological Collection. It should also be noted that unpolymerized acrylamide is also toxic so if there are sections that are degraded or not properly polymerized, the insects as well as the frogs are at risk of acrylamide toxicity.


https://www.facebook.com/AlmostHeave...98782630265456
***WARNING ABOUT WATER CRYSTALS!***
Unfortunately I have to inform you guys that little Ders has passed away. Upon performing a necropsy, several chunks of hydrated water crystals were found in his stomach. He had never been exposed to these crystals. After doing some research, we discovered that this is not the first time something like this has happened. This has happened in every animal from dart frogs to chameleons. The crystals gradually dehydrate and the insects will ingest dehydrated crystals. When your animals eat these and take a drink, the crystals swell and cause impaction. Everyone, please do not use these crystals to hydrate your insects, and please tell every reptile hobbyist you know!

Bearded Dragons-General - Best staple insect?
Just make absolutely sure that there are no water crystals/gels in the tank while your bearded is in it. I lost a bearded to impaction from eating a gut load gel about six years ago, and I’ll never make that mistake again! We couldn’t figure out what she had eaten until she died at the vet’s a week later and they did a necropsy and found this weird green chunk in her : (

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Polyac...Polyacrylamide gel ingestion leading to fatal intestinal obstruction in two birds in a zoological collection.

[Crunchy Frog]

Thanks for the info. I stopped using those crystals some time ago because they were drying out so quickly. I'm really glad now that I quit.

[DEW]

If was definitely water gel. I examined it thoroughly. The gel would be whatever color the liquid was that it absorbed, you have seen clear since it absorbed water. If on the other hand it were to draw fluid from the digestive tract... There is also the fact that they ( the frogs ) have been eating primarily fruit flies, so they have red tinted poo, Totally freaked me out the first time I saw it. Anyway, that could account for the color.

[Frogger00]

Do you think that the flukers Orange cube is safe?

That's what I'm using. No problems so far.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[LilyPad]

You could use the "pillows" also or make your own and just resoak them as necessary for hydration. Amazon.com: Zilla 11733 Cricket Water Pillows, 6-Pack: Pet Supplies

When I used gels, I put them in a lid with just enough lip that the crickets couldn't drag them out. I emptied, rinsed, and refilled every day. That way there was no chance of them drying out. Now I just use cotton balls and the crickets get all fresh fruits and vegetables to make them nutritious and are dusted with either vitamins or calcium at every single feeding.

[DEW]

I am guessing the pillows are the gel crystals encased in a fabric of some sort. Thanks for the link but I think I will try alternatives, from what I read it just seems there is too much risk.

[manderkeeper]

I am guessing the pillows are the gel crystals encased in a fabric of some sort. Thanks for the link but I think I will try alternatives, from what I read it just seems there is too much risk.

I use the cotton balls too. Very inexpensive and fit perfectly in a milk cap. The only danger is bacteria buildup, but I clean the caps out really well daily and replace them every 3-4 days. I have a couple of people who save the caps for me, but I am sure they could be ordered in bulk if needed.