Crickets Eating Water Sponge
- Thread starter c0ld
- Start date
Tokaybyt
New member
the only problem I can possibly think of is that if you are using a standard household sponge, most have anti-microbial/anti-bacterial properties to them and state on their packaging not safe for aquarium use. From there, if the sponge is allowed to mold it may cause toxins to build up in the cricket. This happened to a now retired leopard gecko breeder, where she bought crickets from a well-known, large cricket farm that used chicken mash as a substrate. The chicken mash had molded, crickets ingested it, the toxins from the mold sequestered within the cricket, geckos ate crickets, geckos died.
I'd provide fruits or veggies for a water source, or even invest into an insect diet like Repashy's Bug Burger which is designed to hydrate and feed your insects.
I'd provide fruits or veggies for a water source, or even invest into an insect diet like Repashy's Bug Burger which is designed to hydrate and feed your insects.
Thanks both.
Chris, you mean that the sponge itself is toxic (it wouldn't mold based on anti-fungal properties?) ?
I researched the "not Safe for aquarium use" piece and a lot of people are saying there are chemicals in the sponge which are hard to get rid of. So IMO now it's not worth the risk and I removed the sponges accordingly. Hopefully my crickets are still safe for consumption! May not be worth the risk either. One gecko already ate a few.
C
Chris, you mean that the sponge itself is toxic (it wouldn't mold based on anti-fungal properties?) ?
I researched the "not Safe for aquarium use" piece and a lot of people are saying there are chemicals in the sponge which are hard to get rid of. So IMO now it's not worth the risk and I removed the sponges accordingly. Hopefully my crickets are still safe for consumption! May not be worth the risk either. One gecko already ate a few.
C
CrestedL
New member
I would not feed any more of the crickets to the geckos, the sponge could most certainly contain chemicals that the producers intended it to be used for probably more durable tasks, agreed with Tokay that you should look into Repashy Bug burger, although I have not used it I have heard very good things about it, should be a lot safer and a good gutload all in one for your geckos
Tokaybyt
New member
c0ld,
Yeah, even though most sponges (save natural sea sponge) are now anti-microbial/anti-bacterial, they can still mold or become a breeding ground for bacteria. My assumption would be food particles and any other organic compounds would eventually allow enough bacteria to generate a CFU (colony-forming unit) through potentially developing a mild resistance of whatever anti-compounds present in the sponge.
Yeah, even though most sponges (save natural sea sponge) are now anti-microbial/anti-bacterial, they can still mold or become a breeding ground for bacteria. My assumption would be food particles and any other organic compounds would eventually allow enough bacteria to generate a CFU (colony-forming unit) through potentially developing a mild resistance of whatever anti-compounds present in the sponge.