Catching live bugs/critters for your reptile's food supply.

[Monitor_Keeper]

If it the vet I assume it is he is a very good reptile vet and a lot more than just book smart. Most reptile keepers these days are just lazy as they have the convenience of shops. Before crickets and woodies were readily available what do you think we used to feed our reptiles. Variety is important for reptiles just as it is important for us.

1) Never said they are not a good reptile vet
2) Shops are there for us to take advantage of...not lazy if people buy from them lmao
3) This is 2012 not the 20th century and also on this note..my point exactly..what ever they could find. That is why there were a lot more captive deaths compared to these days because we learn from our mistakes.

 

[lizardjasper]

I catch grasshoppers all the time for my guys. I also get a lot of wild black crickets. We have a worm farm in the garden and so I feed some of them every now and then. Also a wild colony of woodies has taken up residence in the top layer of the worm farm so I get free woodies. Use caution though, if you know your neighbours use pesticides, don't feed your lizards anything found in your own garden. If you see your local council spraying, don't catch anything for them in that area. Use common sense and catch them from places you know are safe like the country side.

 

[KaotikJezta]

1) Never said they are not a good reptile vet
2) Shops are there for us to take advantage of...not lazy if people buy from them lmao
3) This is 2012 not the 20th century and also on this note..my point exactly..what ever they could find. That is why there were a lot more captive deaths compared to these days because we learn from our mistakes.

Do you have statistics for all these captive deaths that occurred from people feeding bugs they caught themselves. I have never experienced this myself and have fed wild bugs for years. There is a huge international market in pet food/product so it is in the best interests of these companies to scare us into buying their products with tales that are simply not true. Yes caution should be used and it should be ensured the bugs are pesticide free but lizards can and have died just as quickly from a bad batch of captive bred insects.

 

[ronhalling]

as i said previous in this thread i used to keep and breed Arachnids and never ever did i use bought food for them, i used the trap i mentioned for 100% of my feeds and never lost an Arachnid to the wild caught insects, some died from old age some died from mating activities (keepers laziness in getting the males out quick enough) and some died from sheer orneriness coz they would not eat regardless of what they were given, i gave the guy next door who had blue tongues what i did not need for the Arachnids and he nevewr had a problem. I don't know about water dragons, gecko's and beardies but i should imagine it would be the same...................Ron

 

[maddog-1979]

my beardies go nuts for huntsmans, i get heaps around my bin area and just put em in with the beardies, they will try and jump to the roof chasing spiders

 

[ronhalling]

Awwww don't go saying you are feeding the Huntsmans to the Beardies, they are my fave Arachnids....................................Ron

 

[Bananapeel]

Same!!! I struggle to find any! Still desperately looking for one! As a pet not food. Particularly a delena cancerides.

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Most are very friendly and walk around on your shoulder for ages. Well my old one did anyway.

 

[ronhalling]

yes BP they are a great Arachnid my personal favorite is the Heteropoda venatoria, unfortunately not found much down your way but IMO they are the best of the Sparassidae family and probably the biggest..................Ron