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Crickets? #156391
10/12/06 12:33 PM
10/12/06 12:33 PM
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,579
Sherman, Texas
MizValorie Offline OP
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MizValorie  Offline OP
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,579
Sherman, Texas
I have to buy new mealworms so I called grubco to ask what bedding they use. They said they use wheat bran for all theirs. I also asked about their crickets. They said ABSOLUTELY no corn is used. Does that mean it would be okay to feed these crickets to the suggies? dunno


Valorie and our 10 fur children

RIP Mary Kate
Re: Crickets? [Re: MizValorie] #156411
10/12/06 01:32 PM
10/12/06 01:32 PM

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Unless I'm mistaken - which I very well could be - it's not just corn that is an aflatoxin risk, many grains and soy also pose a risk. That's not to say that these crickets aren't ok, I couldn't answer that for you. Personally, I don't feed buggys that I have not raised myself - this way I can monitor their bedding & ensure that they have only human grade food stuffs with no mold, dead ones are tossed, etc...Maybe Miss Ellen will know...Oh Miss Ellen...

Re: Crickets? [Re: MizValorie] #156412
10/12/06 01:33 PM
10/12/06 01:33 PM
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 450
Florida
23Paulette23 Offline
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23Paulette23  Offline
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 450
Florida
i believe even your mealies can have the toxin or crickets if their bedding or their food has mold on it and they eat it. i think. there was a canadian site that warned that ANY bugs that are raised on moldy food would have toxins. not good news huh. somebody else will know more than me but that's what i read here a while back.
daddyglider

Re: Crickets? [Re: MizValorie] #156413
10/12/06 01:35 PM
10/12/06 01:35 PM

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You also need to know if they use corn in anything they might feed the crickets. It would be worth calling them again to find out what they bed the crickets on.

Aflatoxins can form on other substances other than corn, corn bedding is just the most common place.

Re: Crickets? [Re: ] #156436
10/12/06 02:16 PM
10/12/06 02:16 PM
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,579
Sherman, Texas
MizValorie Offline OP
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MizValorie  Offline OP
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,579
Sherman, Texas
Okay so I did call them back.

The man that answered said that it isn't beeding but rather just their food. In their feed for crickets 5% of it is corn. He also said that the mealworms are raised on 100% food grade A wheat bran.

I also asked him if he had heard of a direct connection between crickets and aflatoxins. He said that only from the sugar glider community had he heard this, but without proof. He also said that zoo's and exotics have been feeding insects for 30+ years with no problems.
What do yall think?

Sorry for you having to move it Lorna. I thought aflatoxins = health.


Valorie and our 10 fur children

RIP Mary Kate
Re: Crickets? [Re: MizValorie] #156453
10/12/06 02:42 PM
10/12/06 02:42 PM

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I asked the owner of a pet store that deals primarily with lizards, amphibians and the creepy pet bugs like tarantulas and scorpions, what their cricket bedding was. It sounded like a nice treat for my gliders, but he told me corn. I said "no thanks" and stuck with the gi-normous mealies I get from there. He, of course, asked why. I mentioned aflatoxins, he never heard of them. At least he said he'd have to look into it... Maybe the glider community is just ultra paranoid...I still don't feed crickets, though.

Re: Crickets? [Re: MizValorie] #156461
10/12/06 02:59 PM
10/12/06 02:59 PM

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off_topic
Quote:
Sorry for you having to move it Lorna. I thought aflatoxins = health
Please don't worry about that hug2 . I moved it here to diet as most of the Aflatoxin topics are in this forum, and it's easier to search other related topics if they are all in one forum wink

Re: Crickets? [Re: ] #156646
10/12/06 10:58 PM
10/12/06 10:58 PM

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Actually I had the same conversation with a representative of Grubco, by the name of Dale, and if you search, you will find where I posted about it.... it was a while back and I talked to him regarding the Mealworm farming and cricket farming.. and if I remember correctly he told me that all cricket wholesale farming facilities use a percentage of corn in their bedding and that the crickets would not grow if they did not... so I find a 5% of the corn product a little guess work, not to say that it isn't true, but contradictary of what I was told like a year ago.... I don't feed crickets mainly because all are bedded in an amount of the corn bedding and the horror of the aflatoxins that can and will effect my suggies if exposed to them.

Ms. Ellen will tell you her heartache with aflatoxins, and I hate that this subject keeps creeping up one our poor Ms. Ellen, but she lived it, so she knows. I don't want the pain she went through, so I avoid crickets and do as Monster, raise my own insects so I know what my insects are exposed to.

I tried the cricket farming, but, let me tell you, they stunk (eeeuuuu!) so bad I gave those stinky things to my step son Marine with reptiles..... he loved it!!

Re: Crickets? [Re: ] #156651
10/12/06 11:11 PM
10/12/06 11:11 PM

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Yeah, I was going to say that I KNOW what Miss Ellen would say about crickets. NO HOW, NO WAY, UH UH she won't feed them!!!! She lost 7 gliders in a short period of time to aflatoxins (proven by necropsy as well as a positive test of the crickets she was feeding at the time) and just recently lost Molly, who was one of the gliders who survived the initial toxin exposure but had severe liver damage and finally passed from it last weekend. They won't even feed mealies because they believe the liver damage caused by the aflatoxins in the surviving gliders has left them impaired in protien metabolism.

When my Jeepers's necropsy came back suggesting aflatoxins as a cause of death, I had several long talks with Ellen as well as her husband Bruce about their whole experience. It was so sad.

Re: Crickets? [Re: ] #157738
10/15/06 06:06 PM
10/15/06 06:06 PM
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,579
Sherman, Texas
MizValorie Offline OP
Glider Addict
MizValorie  Offline OP
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,579
Sherman, Texas
Yes I remember how sad her post was. This is why I wanted to find a safe option. I was hoping that this might be the answer. I doubt I will feed them at all now.
Are mealies as suspectible to aflatoxins? And if I decided to have a mealie farm where would I find safe mealies at? Thanks so much for all the help!


Valorie and our 10 fur children

RIP Mary Kate
Re: Crickets? [Re: MizValorie] #157780
10/15/06 08:05 PM
10/15/06 08:05 PM
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 7,603
Virginia Beach, VA.
Ellen Offline
Owner:Emeritus-Mother Hen
Ellen  Offline
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Posts: 7,603
Virginia Beach, VA.
Thank you all for not makeing me go back into that subject. I still have 5 or maybe more that we guard like crazy with noextra protien due to the liver damanage we know they have.

I really do HATE crickets and do not think there is a safe way to feed them.



Love and kindness is a gift. Use it freely....
My Gallery
Re: Crickets? [Re: Ellen] #157781
10/15/06 08:13 PM
10/15/06 08:13 PM
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,579
Sherman, Texas
MizValorie Offline OP
Glider Addict
MizValorie  Offline OP
Glider Addict

Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,579
Sherman, Texas
We understand Ellen. Our gliders are just like our human babies. Losing them is a heartbreak no one should have to bear.


Valorie and our 10 fur children

RIP Mary Kate
Re: Crickets? [Re: MizValorie] #158410
10/17/06 07:59 AM
10/17/06 07:59 AM

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ok now I'm a lil scared I used to feed peanut live crickets but I switched over to freez dried ones same with melies my wife didn't want bugs in her frig anymore so should I just cut out bugs all together I've never herd of this toxin thing before in crickets I read about it in peanuts that's why I don't give peanut and bo peanuts or any nut for that matter please tell me if I'm doing the right thing I'm a bit concerned

Re: Crickets? [Re: ] #158856
10/18/06 03:32 AM
10/18/06 03:32 AM
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 9,910
Phoenix, AZ
KattyM Offline
Serious Glideritis
KattyM  Offline
Serious Glideritis

Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 9,910
Phoenix, AZ
Depending on the diet you're feeding, you may not need to feed "bugs." With the BML plan, for instance, mealies are optional (mainly used for cleaning teeth).

I still feed the can o' worms and can o' grasshoppers (when we go on a road trip), and keep the cans in the freezer. They don't take up much room. I also recently bought some live mealies and have those in the fridge.

Personally, I don't feed crickets any longer because of the aflatoxin concern. I would just rather not take chances.


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• 2010: BJ (M)

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