Grasshopper

My son found a good sized grasshopper while collecting mulberry leaves the other day. After the last local (SBCK) chameleon meeting last month, I've become a gentier feeder feeder, to my chameleons. Heeding Dr. Steins request, that we protect our chamelons from internal injuries, by pinching off sharp legs and biting mouth parts. I now find it almost second nature to do this, and also feed small insect prey as well.
Here's a few pics of the grasshoppers demise.
 
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Steve, Please go into more detail on what all we are suppose to remove. BTW Nice pics!

Removing the legs off of larger crickets. ( I remember a article in Chameleons! Online E-zine, written by Don Wells. Where he talks a little about this.) I think smaller cricket legs are softer and less damaging should they get lodged internally. I've heard of breaded dragons getting crooked spines from have cricket legs getting stuck in there track.

Pinching the head of superworms. "I know the minute superworms hit water they seem to die." But can still bite in that initial struggle before chameleon chops down and gets control.
 
A lot of these bugs oblige anyway by dropping their legs when grabbed. I found a grasshopper in ther garden the other day and thought maybe I'd keep it and take photos and possibly give it to Amy. Only problem was as I grabbed it by a leg with my trusty tweezers it instantly dropped the leg! I grabbed it by the other leg, which it promptly dropped too. :D It turned itself into a grass walker in two quick steps, lol!:D:p

Seriously though, I remove the hopping legs from my feeders - I always have done. When I first got Lily it was the only way I could deal with them. I couldn't bear to even drop one cricket let alone have them hopping around in her cage! She helped me overcome my fear, bless her. They don't bother me that much any more!
 
man i cant wait.... the third pic is awesome you the haze of the big ole boy in the background
 
I remove the hind legs from larger crix for my leopard gecko, a rescue who is happy and healthy but does not have as strong a bite as one properly supplemented from birth would. It always amazes me how little the experience of having major limbs yanked off seems to faze the crickets (not that I'm complaining; I wouldn't want them displaying heart-rending agony).
 
For those that remove the legs, do you put them in the fridge first? Crickets are tough enough to grab hold of let alone grab with tongs for leg removal.
 
For those that remove the legs, do you put them in the fridge first? Crickets are tough enough to grab hold of let alone grab with tongs for leg removal.

I've grown very accustomed to handling crickets by hand (i.e., no tongs). They live in cardboard tubes in the cricket cage; I shake a tube out over a cup to get the day's crickets. In the confined space of the cup, I find it pretty easy to catch them without refrigeration.
 
For those that remove the legs, do you put them in the fridge first? Crickets are tough enough to grab hold of let alone grab with tongs for leg removal.

I'm only removing on crickets 5 weeks and up. So fairly easy to catch if placed in a tall deli cup first. I hold in one hand, and use thumb and index finger nails to pinch what I call the drumstick, or meaty part of the back legs. Give a little pinch, and the leg falls right off. You can use tongs or tweezer to. With a little practice it becomes easy. I get a little more practice than most. One of the reasons, I'm just coming around to this husbandry practice.
 
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