Wild Caught Prey?

[sirtalis]

Cool, thanks yall, I wobder how dangerous these "parasites" actually are, I mean does anyone know of a north american parasite specialized for mammals that could infect an asian or african reptile ?

[RAD House]

As I understand it, it is widely accepted that wild caught animals do not live nearly as long as captive animals. Most attribute a large part of this to a heavy parasite load, even if they are treated.

[sirtalis]

I've heard similar things, my peacock monitor was wc about 4 years ago, then I bought him as a ltc from a friends friend

[chairman]

Another thing to consider, environmental toxins that wild prey have picked up either via direct exposure or through the food chain. Look at what insecticides did to the eggs of birds of prey. Or consider that most states issue health advisories for the human consumption of wild fish, such as don't eat bottom-feeders from certain rivers or limit consumption of bass from lake x to one per month. I imagine that a fair amount of wild prey contains chemicals and heavy metals that responsibly raised captive prey would not.

[sirtalis]

Originally Posted by chairman

Another thing to consider, environmental toxins that wild prey have picked up either via direct exposure or through the food chain. Look at what insecticides did to the eggs of birds of prey. Or consider that most states issue health advisories for the human consumption of wild fish, such as don't eat bottom-feeders from certain rivers or limit consumption of bass from lake x to one per month. I imagine that a fair amount of wild prey contains chemicals and heavy metals that responsibly raised captive prey would not.

true, I feel that most animals are safe in my area primarily because there is so much ranch land spanning for acres all around, and I really dont know if any pesticide users in my area