All Reptile owners please watch!

[kinyonga]

I wonder what the chances are that they will pick up an aberrant parasite when they eat insects they are not likely to get in the wild where they came from.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

I'm just interested because if like to see if maybe I should look into incorporating wild caught bugs. I've never really given it a thought, but it might be fun to go collect some

Please make sure that you only collect bugs faaaaar away from the city! Much safer!!!

 

[Andee]

I agree, be careful where you get them from. I am not someone whoever advocates not being careful with wild caught insects. I always say collect away from danger zones and look for areas that provide the insect with all they need so they don't have much reason to leave etc. I usually only collect during parts of the year where the certain species I want is less of a concern for the human population so pesticide spray will also be less of an issue. But I have a lot of organic farms near me. So if I were you I would make somewhat of a field trip out of it. Go out of the city somewhere that is likely to be more safe, likely maybe a public hiking trail that is relatively wild and left alone. I bring critter keepers and small aquariums with me and bring something like a hand held foldable soft sided carrier for the insects. And then I use a net etc to nab them. I usually try to find out what the local species eat around me, and research before hand, and then I set up a couple days or more of an enclosure for them, just to clean their guts and hold them for a bit to make sure they don't have something really weird.