Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all. I usualy post at venomous but today I did something cool. This guy came to my house to talk to me about something. I went into the house to get paper and pen to write his number down and when I came back out this guy was on his knees catching grasshoppers. I asked him what he was doin and if he was goin fishing. Said he just got his son a chameleon at the reptile expo, and said "Do you know how much I spend on crickets?" I told him he was takeing a big risk feeding the chameleon from the yard, all about pesticides, gave him the whole spill. And the iceing on the cake was the look he gave me when I told him that I had just used diazinon around the perimeter of the house. He dropped the tainted hoppers and I pointed him to a few places that he might find crickets cheaper. Wish people wouldnt just buy herps on impulse. SKINNER

Well, the guy had the right idea, feeding a variety of insects (and wc insects are often packed full of good nutrition). His big mistake was collecting them from a yard he didn't know about. You can feed wc insects, just be careful that you know what if any pesticides or fertilizers might have been applied before you do it. You can go to non landscaped areas to get insects. You can usually find out if counties or local agriculture agencies have sprayed and when. It's worth a phone call. Also, I often keep a screen cage outdoors for wc insects I want to observe for a while just in case they show signs on insecticide poisoning.