EASY new way to dust feeders!!

[Shimpy45]

Hey all,

I have a 3 year Vaild and 2 2year cresteds so lets just say i do my fair share of dusting feeders every morning so as i did this over and over with the normal rutean of putting feeders in a bag with cal dust and shake and then hand pick each one out then repeat. As it stands i am a very busy person but i would rather be late for work then let my animals go unteanded so i tought and tought and it hit me like a tone of brights if the people of the old country can sift for gold then why cant i sift for feeders! So i went to work on designing a "Feeder Sifter" and this is what i came up with... I thought if feeders dont jump out of my feeder cup in my charms cage wich is just a normal plasic party cup you know the ones good for beer pong... lol then maybe i could use that for the hole base of my design so what i did was i got 3 of those plastic cups and i went to the home depo and bought some aluminum screen for screen doors i opened it up and layed it flat i put the cup upside down and traced the top for messurment then cut the circul out of the screen i then took one cup and used a razor blad to cut just about 1 to 2 in. off the bottom so i now have two hole cups and one with the bottome cut off i then took a hot glue gun and hot glued 4 points of the screen to the cup in a North,South,East,West design then i took one of those sleaves that you use for hot coffie cups from the local coffie shop and i put hot glue on the inside of it and slid it onto the cup with screen secured to it as the sleave goes on it should pull the screen tight and cover up the extra screen that was still free... and WWA LAA! "FeederSifter" now you take your feeders and put them into the screened cup and put one of your non-touched cups under neath to catch the non-used dust and the other non-touched cup to poor dust onto feeders the dust might seem like it pilles up and dosnt sift but just give it a bump to the right and left and you'll find the only thing left is dusted feeders then turn sifter upside down with feeding cup underneath and give it a few taps or a flick you can see in the bottome so make sure all feeders are in feeding cup then put in cage the hole process cut my feeding time down from 15 min of dusting and retreaving down to 3 min of out the feeder cage dust and feed no mess no more dusty fingers and touching nasty #*@ feeders!

Thanks,

Aaron Shimp

P.S. Photos are comeing for this process its cheap and easy! Pls let me know if you like this idea!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Sounds complicated, but effective. I just use a plastic cup with dust at the bottom. Swirl the bugs in the dust and then tip the cup just at a 90 degree angle and the crickets crawl out on their own (they're attracted to a slight downward incline and run right for it) and leave the extra dust behind. I agree the bag method is stupid and I gave up on it a long time ago! Whatever works!

 

[Hoj]

Sounds complicated, but effective. I just use a plastic cup with dust at the bottom. Swirl the bugs in the dust and then tip the cup just at a 90 degree angle and the crickets crawl out on their own (they're attracted to a slight downward incline and run right for it) and leave the extra dust behind. I agree the bag method is stupid and I gave up on it a long time ago! Whatever works!

agreed i do the same,

but never hurts to try out new ideas @ the OP

 

[Shimpy45]

Sounds complicated, but effective.

Its actully not that complicated its just i was trying to go into deep detail to help develop a pic of what i did it actully takes less then 4 min to make and takes even less to use... i notesed like you sead they will make a break for the downhill incline that a good idea too i tryed something like this as well but like i sead i was trying to beat the clock and i found sometimes i would lose a feeder in the dust if they where small enof then the next day i would find it in the dust or roaming my house lol so that is why i figured if i could get the feeders to be in one place while the dust pasted over/through them then i wouldnt have the prob of losing or mis-counting... Im sure once i get the pics up it will make alot more sence.

Thanks for the impot,

Aaron Shimp

 

[heartben]

i made a sifter cup awhile ago, i just used some plastic canvas (for crafts) same idea though. at this point though i dont really use so much extra that there is a ton left over so i stopped using it, just an extra step that doesnt help anymore..

it is a good method though!

i will say that using a screen (or plastic canvas in my case) in the bottom of a cup is great for those who cup feed and have misters/ rain systems (so your bugs dont drown)

 

[Olimpia]

Remember though that you don't want the crickets to look like ghosts, you supplement very lightly. You shouldn't be losing your feeders in a sea of white if you're using a little bit of calcium.

I use a little tiny critter keeper that I got for free at a raffle, take a pinch of calcium with my tweezers and that's enough to coat my dozen crickets properly.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I'd like to see some pics

 

[Solid Snake]

I had this idea, but never made one. I use a glass jar with just a pinch of dust, swirl, then retrieve, then I make a "cage" out of my hand, and blow into my hand, this takes off all the excess dust. Then just hold out my hand, and poof! The cricket dissapears! ;D

 

[fluxlizard]

You can buy a retail version called herpcare cricket duster for a few bucks if you are too lazy or don't want to take the time to make one. It's been on the market since at least the mid 1990s.

http://www.cheappetstore.com/Reptiles/Reptile-Food/Crickets-and-Accessories/Herpcare-Cricket-Duster-19951/

(I don't know the business at the above site- I just searched for the product and found it there)

Reminds me of the time my dad invented blocks that connected with dowels and spent many hours making a set and then saw his idea already being sold for a few bucks at the toy store when I was a wee kid.



Good idea on your cricket duster though! Someone made a fortune off it- so you had a lucrative thought.

 

[lindawaz]

I put my supplements in dollar store salt and pepper shakers. Feeders in the cup, shake it on and done. It takes a bit to find the right size holes for the consistency of the supplements but it can be done. Works great for me

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

you said you do your fair share of dusting feeders due to having two additional cresties. how often do you feed your geckos feeders? you feed them MAINLY crested gecko diet (aka repashy) right? just wondering. that statement struck me more than anything in the thread.

 

[Olimpia]

you said you do your fair share of dusting feeders due to having two additional cresties. how often do you feed your geckos feeders? you feed them MAINLY crested gecko diet (aka repashy) right? just wondering. that statement struck me more than anything in the thread.

You don't HAVE to give cresties the CGD, they live just fine off of insects like any other insectivore. CGD is a great alternative for people that want to save themselves the trouble of insects and insect gut-loading, but it's not a MUST for owning cresties.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

You don't HAVE to give cresties the CGD, they live just fine off of insects like any other insectivore. CGD is a great alternative for people that want to save themselves the trouble of insects and insect gut-loading, but it's not a MUST for owning cresties.

its a respected debate, but ive also seen results of feeder only diets. i trust whats been proven in CGD, and suggest to everyone to ensure proper healthy growth and diet to go with it. jmo

better than the one crestie i just got.
i sold my anoles and their set up, and the guy starts asking me questions about the gecko, as i start answering, he picks it up and asks if i wanted it for free. of course i took him in, he was just skinny. but hes doing great. fact of the matter is..... he was feeding him LETTUCE!

 

[Olimpia]

its a respected debate, but ive also seen results of feeder only diets. i trust whats been proven in CGD, and suggest to everyone to ensure proper healthy growth and diet to go with it. jmo

What results, if I may ask? Negative ones? I kept my cresteds on an all insect diet for years, never saw any issues at all. I'm surprised that you've heard there are negatives to an insect diet.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

commonly mbd issues, organ failures, shorter lifespands.. common results of wrongfully supplimenting any animal i suppose. i mean, dont get me wrong i do feed my geckos feeders every week or so, but my diet is mainly repashy.

i am curious though, how do you schedule your geckos?

 

[Olimpia]

I just supplemented with plain calcium, about every feeding. I fed them and my leos a lot of insect variety, like the chams, so they got butterworms and all that good stuff as well as just crickets. I tried the CGD a couple times but never really got into a habit of using it, and many of mine didn't want to make the switch. So I just stuck with live food.

It strikes me that anyone that has had bad results with insects owes it to bad gutloading/supplementing, like you said. We get it here too, where the crickets aren't fed anything so the chameleon is living on bare minimum nutrition. That would make sense to me. But if you're gutloading and all that good stuff properly and thoroughly, I think you could probably have the same level of success.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

glad it's worked for you. offering the vast selection of feeders could of resulted in the success. though it is still something i wouldnt recommend as a staple diet. the feed on rotting fruit in the wild too, which is another reason why i wouldnt have them solely on bugs.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

OP... is this what you made? http://www.herpsupplies.com/product.cfm?groupid=17510&id=SRP00500

I put my supplements in dollar store salt and pepper shakers. Feeders in the cup, shake it on and done. It takes a bit to find the right size holes for the consistency of the supplements but it can be done. Works great for me

a salt shaker eh? that's new, and sounds effective. only thing i'd like to ask is, how do you keep your supplements fresh as salt shakers have holes on top. If the supplements arent cover, they will go bad and spoil. notice how there are expiry dates on the containers?