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If you’re reading this article, chances are something has gone wrong and you’re in a tight spot. Because feeding dead insects to your reptile should never be your plan A. But let’s say your colony collapsed, or you aren’t able to get to the pet store to get more feeders until tomorrow. Is feeding dead insects to your reptile okay?
In this article, we’ll talk about when it’s acceptable to feed dead insects to your pet reptile and what you should avoid to keep your pet healthy. Let’s get into it!
Feeder Insect No-nos
Before we get into the nitty gritty, we need to talk about the main situation when you shouldn’t feed insects to your pet.
Wild Insects
It always bears repeating that you should never give your pet insects that you didn’t farm or buy yourself. If you find something around the house or in the yard, DO NOT give it to your pet.
Wild insects have a whole host of issues. It’s important to remember that wild insects basically spend their whole lives absorbing things from their environments. Their bodies are full of all the biological and synthetic contaminants that they come into contact with, and all that stuff passes on to your pet if they eat a wild bug.
As an example, it’s easy to forget that wild animals deal with parasites on a daily basis. Parasite loads are a given with wild animals, especially insects. If you find an insect outside, there is a high likelihood that it is full of parasites that could pass on to your pet.
Beyond that, consider all the gross chemicals in a bug’s environment. All the fertilizers, pesticides, and other harsh chemicals we use to control our lawns and gardens are absorbed into their bodies. This is all very nasty stuff, and not the kind of thing you want your pet eating.
So the simplest answer to the question “when can I feed my pet dead insects?” is NEVER, if they are wild or from around the house.
Dead Feeders? Short Answer, Not If You Can Help It
There is a little danger in feeding your pet insects from your colony or the store that are recently dead. But the main problem is just that dead feeders aren’t nearly as good as fresh, alive ones.
Why Dead Insects Are Worse
At face value, it’s not a great idea to feed dead insects to your pet in general. Dead insects are, well, dead, which means they are in the process of drying out and being eaten by bacteria.
This means your reptile is only getting a fraction of the moisture it should be getting in its food. It could also mean your reptile picking up some kind of illness from its food, which could make it sick. Dead bugs also have a lower nutritional content in general, as the process of decomposition is breaking down their macronutrients.
There is also the added consequence of being motionless, which is much less stimulating for your pet. They won’t get any enrichment out of eating dead insects. Some reptiles won’t even go after dead bugs, while others will only do it if they’re really hungry.
The gist of this is that dead feeders shouldn’t be something you rely on to get your reptile by. They’re not as nutritious, and they’re barely what you would call “prey items”. Plus, there is a slim risk of your pet getting sick from eating them.
Dead Feeders? Long Answer, It Depends (It Always Depends)
Alright, now that we’ve covered the main bases and been sufficiently cautious, let’s talk about when it might be acceptable to use dead feeders. The main reason you might end up giving your pet dead feeder insects is because it’s all you have on hand.
In a situation where the only feeders you have are dead, sometimes dead feeders are better than none.
Fresh Feeders
As an example, let’s say you bought feeders this week and accidentally left them by a window while you were at work. They got too hot during the day, and when you got home, you found them dead. They’ve only been dead for a couple hours and the pet store doesn’t open until tomorrow. In this case, there is probably no real danger in giving them to your pet.
The reason this is okay is because you sourced the feeders yourself, meaning you know they’re not full of bad chemicals and parasites. The main variable is how long they’ve been dead, which determines how much bacteria have gotten to them. If they’ve been dead for more than a few hours, you probably don’t want to give them to your pet.
Freeze Dried
As another example, let’s say you thought ahead and bought a bag of freeze dried mealworms just in case you ever run out of feeders. You come home from work and realize all your feeder crickets have died of a mysterious disease during the day. You definitely can’t feed them to your pet, because you don’t know what killed them.
This is a perfect case for using freeze dried feeders. They’re dry as a bone and might be a little harder to digest, but you don’t want to skip a meal. This is a perfect case where freeze dried feeders come in handy.
How to Give Your Pet Dead Feeders
But you don’t want to just toss a bunch of dead feeder insects into your pet’s enclosure and forget about them. If you leave them for too long, they could rot and pose a hazard to your pet. Instead, offer the insects to your pet with tweezers or tongs, dangling them in the air so they have some movement. If your pet doesn’t go for them immediately, you can leave them in the enclosure for a few minutes. Just make sure you clean them up, so they don’t make an unsanitary mess.