Feeders from Walmart fishing section

[RSGriff]

I was patrolling the fishing section for some new tackle... It turns out that they have crickets and wax worms at a lower price than the pet stores in the area, not to mention I dont have to drive far to get to Walmart.

My concern is that they may not be feeder quality and may contain parasites.
Does anyone use these as feeders?

the distributor of the wax worms are DMF Bait co. in Waterford, Michigan

edit:
it says on their website "A healthy diet for many reptiles and fish" but I am skeptical

 

[jojackson]

How are they Sold? Why are you skeptical? What is feeder quality? They were obviously bred somewhere if they are packaged no?
So you gutload them before feeding. Are they dead in numbers in the container?

 

[Vegas Chad]

I have never herd of DMF, though I don’t know enough to pass judgment on them I always recommend that you purchase crickets in bulk both to save money and to get your crickets straight/fresh from the farm. You can get 1000 crix for less than $20 to your door, figure that crickets from wal-mart are .05 per that’s way more than you would pay getting them in bulk not even factoring in your time or gas cost.

 

[RSGriff]

How are they Sold? Why are you skeptical? What is feeder quality? They were obviously bred somewhere if they are packaged no?
So you gutload them before feeding. Are they dead in numbers in the container?

they are packaged in the normal containers with the same kind of wood chips that are in the kind at the pet store but they are branded as bait rather than feeders. I am skeptical because I don't know if they have the same standards as companies that produce them mainly for feeders, specifically I worry about parasites and chemicals. I guess there is no standard definition of feeder quality but I would define it as something that is safe to feed my chameleon without parasites or chemicals that would be harmful. Im certain that they are not wild caught since that would not be economical for the company but I do worry about what they are kept in and fed. I only found one dead waxworm in the container (I didn't buy crickets since I still have 100 or so) and they look to be safe but then again, I cannot see parasites or chemicals.

Main concern: Fishing bait may not be kept in the same quality standards as the same feeders meant for reptile feeders.

I am just wondering if anyone else buys the feeders they use from a fishing/tackle store or section and if anyone else has information as to the quality of the feeders.

I have never herd of DMF, though I don’t know enough to pass judgment on them I always recommend that you purchase crickets in bulk both to save money and to get your crickets straight/fresh from the farm. You can get 1000 crix for less than $20 to your door, figure that crickets from wal-mart are .05 per that’s way more than you would pay getting them in bulk not even factoring in your time or gas cost.

I have been purchasing in bulk, but I went on vacation last week and asked a trusted friend to look after my animals. I came back to about 12 crickets left in the box and needed to make a cricket run. The nearest petshop that carries crickets is 25 min away and I didnt want to wait a few days for an order to show up in the mail. I dont plan on using a lot of wax worms regularly, but they have them for $2.50 for 36 which is not very high and I thought it may be a nice treat. As for crickets, this could be a "just in case" for if I run out unexpectedly or something happens to my stock. Thank you for the advice though and thank you very much for the handsome Veiled. He is doing quite well

 

[Syn]

To be honest, even most of walmart's REAL food (like their "beef"[can you really call it beef?]) isn't even of quality... I wouldn't trust the feeders.

 

[CNorton]

Wow, I'm going to have to check that out.

 

[Docility]

my bait shop sell a 100% better quality feeder supply. i might have 1-2 out of 500 crickets die

our walmart does not sell anything other than earth worms, but i intend to buy some for my plants to keep them healthy

 

[RSGriff]

To be honest, even most of walmart's REAL food (like their "beef"[can you really call it beef?]) isn't even of quality... I wouldn't trust the feeders.

A bit off topic, but I disagree. I find that Walmart has a good (not great) quality line of foods, but they are not a true grocery store either.

Wow, I'm going to have to check that out.

I was surprised. I expected redworms and night crawlers only... but apparently they have mealworms, waxworms, crickets and I think I saw a sign that said they have flies sometimes but I didnt see any there at the time.

my bait shop sell a 100% better quality feeder supply. i might gave 1-2 out of 500 crickets die

Thank you. Your information is helping ease my choice to maybe use some of the worms. I would ask a Walmart associate, but their knowledge of exotic pets is limited to beta fish .

here is the DMF Bait Co webiste for reference​

 

[Docility]

A bit off topic, but I disagree. I find that Walmart has a good (not great) quality line of foods, but they are not a true grocery store either.



I was surprised. I expected redworms and night crawlers only... but apparently they have mealworms, waxworms, crickets and I think I saw a sign that said they have flies sometimes but I didnt see any there at the time.



Thank you. Your information is helping ease my choice to maybe use some of the worms. I would ask a Walmart associate, but their knowledge of exotic pets is limited to beta fish .

here is the DMF Bait Co webiste for reference​

lol you live in bowling green thats the closest to another forum member i have lived to, but your right walmart employees dont even know about the fish they have let alone the nutritional/ parasitic qualities of their bugs.

Though i could disagree with the Steak line of meat, but ground beef is of decent quality, but nothing compares to windixie select meats

 

[chequepoint]

I don't think there is any kind of regulating agency that determines which crickets are safe for your animals, and which are only good for fishing.

The reality is that these are raised on some kind of cricket farm, just like any other crickets you'd buy at any pet store. Bait is the largest market for crickets, drastically larger than the pet industry.

Crickets aren't like say chickens, where it can be more cost effective to let them live in terrible conditions. If your cricket containers get too dirty, they all seem to die. So I'm assuming that they are all raised under relatively clean conditions to prevent die off.

 

[eisentrauti]

I think the crickets and other feeders at places like Walmart or DIY-stores aren't the highest quality ones. They probably stay very long at the storage racks, every day they are not sold the quality drops