are WC crickets worth the risk?

[Thezillaman21]

i was wondering what you the members of the forums think about WC crickets, are they worth the risk of parasites? we dont have chemicals used on our farm so no toxic crickets but how high is the risk of parasites? im getting a bearded dragon soon and it would save me alot of money and time if i can just simply catch some wild crickets from the pasture and gutload them... thanks in advance

Robert L. Trump

 

[qdude46]

I think ordering online would be better because you may have an unsafe species of cricket that can bite and of you don't have pesticides, then you would probably have a high risk of a parasite so I don't think it would be worth it.

 

[Olimpia]

CB crickets are usually covered in parasites anyway. A biologist I know ordered a box of crickets from every major feeder company, tested all of them for coccidia, and every single one of them came back positive. So that's why we recommend regular fecals, regardless of whether you're feeding wild caught bugs or not. There's just always a risk.

If you're sure the land is pesticide safe, go for it. I would invest in a local bug guide, I have one and it's been invaluable when hunting for grasshoppers. It lets me identify the bug if I have any doubts, Google it, and saves me any trouble. As a general rule, any bugs that are brown/tan tend to be safe. But stay away from any with brightly colored markings, like reds or oranges, as these tend to indicate that it has some sort of defense.