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View Full Version : Are the flunkers cricket food dangerous?


Zosime
03-18-13, 10:30 PM
Well i left my beardie in the care of my uncle last night. i always put a cap of the green flunkers cricket food for the crickets at night so they dont munch on the beardie but when i told him to do that he put the green cubes in his salad bowl and left it in there for the day and im sure he ate some of the cubes im wondering if she will die or get sick or what im really worried for her i dont want anything to happen

Starbuck
03-19-13, 03:45 AM
He should be ok; the whole idea of gut loading insects is that the predator animal gets all of that great nutrition in a crunchy, evasive package.... That being said, I dont believe flukers is or should ever be part of a beardie's balanced diet :P I would make sure it doesnt happen again, and keep your beardie provided with lots of FRESH water and veggies, so if there is a problem he has every chance to overcome it.
disclaimer: I havent ever had a bearded dragon, but have done some research on reptile nutrition and diets for classes i've taken. Best of luck, keep us updated?

jarich
03-19-13, 08:24 AM
He will be fine. Like Starbuck said, its not necessarily something to make a part of their diet, but its not a big deal if it happened this once.

Falconeer999
03-19-13, 08:49 AM
Sort of confused - are you saying you leave the fluker's food in the cage over night while the dragon is sleeping so the crickets will eat it and then take it out in the morning?

If so, you should be taking the crickets out instead. Don't leave them in there with the dragon just for the reason you stated. I don't know about yours, but when my dragon goes to sleep at night, whe's dead to the world. The house could fall down around her and I doubt she'd notice, let alone having a cricket nibbling on her. Just because you have the food in there for the crickets doesn't mean they'll choose that over your dragon. They're indiscriminate eaters.

poison123
03-19-13, 09:33 AM
Leaving food in with the crickets will stop that. A cricket prefers fruits or veggies over a lizard. At least from what I've noticed.

Zosime
03-19-13, 11:01 AM
Sort of confused - are you saying you leave the fluker's food in the cage over night while the dragon is sleeping so the crickets will eat it and then take it out in the morning?

If so, you should be taking the crickets out instead. Don't leave them in there with the dragon just for the reason you stated. I don't know about yours, but when my dragon goes to sleep at night, whe's dead to the world. The house could fall down around her and I doubt she'd notice, let alone having a cricket nibbling on her. Just because you have the food in there for the crickets doesn't mean they'll choose that over your dragon. They're indiscriminate eaters.
Yeah thats exactly what i do, well from what iv heard and seen the crickets go after the Kale or parsley in the salad bowl or the green cubes i put in there i put the cubes in two spots in the enclsoure so they will be able to find food on ither side. Im not worried about the crickets nibbling on my beardie
He will be fine. Like Starbuck said, its not necessarily something to make a part of their diet, but its not a big deal if it happened this once.
Ok well i hope she will be fine im just worried because one of my gel crstyals says they shouldnt be ingested for reptiles or humans..so i just want to make sure nothing will happen

He should be ok; the whole idea of gut loading insects is that the predator animal gets all of that great nutrition in a crunchy, evasive package.... That being said, I dont believe flukers is or should ever be part of a beardie's balanced diet :P I would make sure it doesnt happen again, and keep your beardie provided with lots of FRESH water and veggies, so if there is a problem he has every chance to overcome it.
disclaimer: I havent ever had a bearded dragon, but have done some research on reptile nutrition and diets for classes i've taken. Best of luck, keep us updated?
Hopfully she will be, Yeah i NEVER give it to him it was my uncle who didnt understand the instructions i gave, I always give my beardies fresh veggies every morning and change the water when im here. Oh alright, yeah ill post if anything happens to her.

Starbuck
03-19-13, 12:32 PM
I use a flukers liquid gel thing for my crix hydration, as well as flukers orange cubes, which are only food product. I'm not too sure what type of flukers product you're talking about, but if it is a silicone based expanding gel product (more for getting crix hydration), your biggest worry would be if it was dehydrated, your dragon ate quite a few, and then it re-expanded in her GI. It doesnt sound like this was the case anyways, not trying to be alarmist here :) If it is just the food product with nothing synthetic i wouldnt be at all concerned.

I would just keep a really good eye on her BMs for the next week or two, make sure they are regular and look normal. If you havent yet, clean out her cage now so you can make sure she continues to have regular movements.

As for removing the crix, in an ideal world that is the best option, but depending on your set up it may not be feasible... i know in my naturalistic terrariums there are tons of places for them to hide :P Its good that you are providing them an additional food source at all, many keepers don't even do that.

jarich
03-19-13, 01:17 PM
There is no silica based products used in the cricket feeds.

Removing the crickets is not necessarily the best option at all. The crickets will go after the vegetable matter not the dragon, given the choice. It is only when they are starving that they would resort to attacking an animal that would normally eat them. The reason it is good to leave them in there is that your dragon may not just want to eat when you happen to want to feed it. Giving it the option to eat when it chooses to is preferable. I dont tong feed mine at all anymore, just to make him be more active.

Zosime
03-19-13, 02:29 PM
I just asked the people i bought the stuff from and they just said it was zilla total bites and nature zone gut load if anyone knows anything about them