No offense, but my frogs & geckos don't really chew<S> They swallow whole,
at least when I hand feed them.
I read a book from what I feel is a very reputable Herp. keeper; I'll quote
from his Gecko
book "Geckos" by Jerry G. And Maleta M. Walls- page 22."There are repeated
stories of large mealworms literally eating through the gut of a small
lizard and exiting alive through the belly. Large mealworms should be killed
by crushing the head, dipping them in hot water, or slitting then open...."
Several people (pet shop owners, Herptology students ect.) say to crush the
heads of meal worms & crix for safety sake. Maybe it's just with frogs
that you have to worry about the crix borrowing into them, because the crix
seek out moisture & they seem to like to eat off of frogs more then get a
"Drink" from the dish... Sick bugs! <VBG> My white's Tree frogs are really
docile about their food, they let them crawl all over them, I've talked to
other people that have the same problem. I watch them eat, the Leo's & the
Frogs. I don't wanna take any chances. Another thing to worry
about <S> As far as the crackers go <G> if they are moist I heard somewhere
that they are a good water source or the bugs lay eggs in them or something,
which I'm not sure of, but I used unsalted as a experiment.
I read on a White's Tree Frog site that Dark Greens were the only kind of
leaf matter that you could feed to crix without making your frogs sick. &
this guy, said that all lettuce was a no no. I found it odd, but it's not
that big of a deal to me, just as long as my "kids" are healthy. & without
the Lettuce all the "Kids" are doing great, I did see a color improvment in
my Amphibians when I took it out of the recipe. Maybe that was just luck <G>
Good idea about the bulk food thing.
BTW what kinda critters do ya have? How long have ya been a Herper? I was
raised as a herper, mostly helping injured wild snakes & stuff like that,
I've been into the exotic herps. since I was 7, thats when I got my first
White's Tree Frogs, & then I got some Corn Snakes, & Lizards. Now I'm a
teenager & still in love with Herps. I'm hoping to breed some Leopard Gex &
White's Tree Frogs (I should, I already have 8 of them LOL!) & maybe even
some of my Tomato Frogs, Green Tree Frogs & Slider Turtles.
Sorry, don't mean to bore you guys about my Frogs & Turts., since this is a
Gecko list<S> I apologize.
Ash
Little Trees..Nature At Your Fingertips!
**/*
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----- Original Message -----
From: Hilde <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, December 30, 2000 4:27 PM
Subject: Re: [Gecko] mealworms
> "Owdicat<*><*><*>" wrote:
> >
> > >From what I understand, it can be dangerous to feed meal worms, unless
you
> > crush their heads before serving. It makes them easier to digest I heard
> > too.
> > I try not to leave the bugs in the cages alive, because they can borrow
INTO
> > & OUT OF the GECKO.... eek!
> >
> > & also, if you haven't heard.. crickets can borrow into & out of the
animals
> > too. I have to watch them with all my animals, frogs, gex.
> > That way they can't
> > borrow out of the animal once their in.
>
> If you feed an insect of appropriate size to a healthy gecko (or frog),
it's not
> going to chew it's way out of the gecko. The geckos chew them up good.
Once the
> body has been chewed, mangled and otherwise mutilated and swallowed, the
insect
> doesn't have much desire left to chew it's way to freedom.
>
> The old wive's tale about mealworms chewing their way out of the gecko
have been
> around for ages. The only way it could happen is feeding them to a near
dead
> animal that didn't have the strength to chew them properly, and died right
after
> the meal. Most likely it started with a worm finding a body and taking
advantage
> of a free meal by burrowing INTO the body.
> Mealworms, zoophobas and crickets are a staple diet even in the wilds. As
far as
> I know, no one goes around chopping mealworm heads, crushing cricket
mandibles
> etc.
>
> Just make sure the food item is the right size for the gecko.
>
>
>
> > I feed my crix, baby spinach,oat meal, crackers...carrots, potatos, dark
> > greens but no lettuce, thats bacuz I heard its not good for my Frogs,
thats
> > all, I'm not sure about the gex. & some prepared crix food,
>
> Romaine lettuce is safe, there's some nutrients in it, but iceberg is
really
> only good for a water source. I'm not sure about the value of crackers as
> gutload, seems to me there's not much in it, and possibly a smidge too
much
> salt? The easiest thing to do, if you're not into making up special
recipes or
> buying decent premade gutload, is to go hog wild at the bulk store, buy up
all
> kinds of grains, flour etc. If I run out of the mix I usually make, in a
pinch
> I'll use a mix of flour and ground grains: soyflour, cornmeal, amaranth
flour,
> brown rice flour, semolina, wheat germ, chick pea flour, milk powder and
rolled
> oats, wheat, rye and buckwheat. I can get just enough of each at the bulk
store
> to make a batch to tide me over until I get the time to make a batch of
the
> other recipe. Mix it up, serve in a dish on a bed of alfalfa, and use
veggies
> and fruit for moisture. This works for crickets as well as mealworms etc.
> It probably works out cheaper than the commercial gutloads when you
consider the
> nutients (or lack of) in some of the brand name ones.
>
>
> Hilde
>
> --
> ~*~***~*~
> Little rabbit Foofoo
> Running through the forest
> Finding the Zoophobas and
> Pinching off their heads .........
>
>
> (I just had to. sorry)
>
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