Help! Cricket Dilema

[carol5208]

I put my crickets food on a styrofoam plate last night and they chewed the plate! Their are tiny tiny pieces all over the tank i keep them in. they have never done this before. Now my dilema is I have about 400 crickets and I dont know if they ate it or chewed or what! If they injested the styrofoam can it harm my cham? Crap! And if so what do I do with the crickets? Is it ok to let them go outside somewhere?

 

[Dez and Delilah]

I'd probably be a bit wary about feeding my cham crickets that may have eaten styrofoam.

You should use egg cartons and other cardboard instead in your cricket tank. They love hiding in the egg cartons.

Letting them go outside shouldn't pose a problem, although I'm not sure if they'd be bad for other animals to eat. Maybe someone else knows better.

 

[Jonah S]

I personally would throw the crickets out. Styrofoam is pretty toxic to consume, breath in vapors (if you are melting it). The price of throwing out 400 crickets is a ton smaller than throwing out your chameleon.

 

[carol5208]

I am dumping the crickets. I just ordered 500 more from my supplier. just not exactly sure what to do with them. any suggestions!? I use cardboard for them to hide in and under. I just used a styrofoam plate to put their food on. I guess I wont be doing that again!

 

[ColorCham427]

you should of just feed them more food for another few days......

pet store crickets normally come gutloaded on cardboard!

 

[ghettomike]

maybe a paper plate instead of a styrofoam plate will do?

 

[Jonah S]

you should of just feed them more food for another few days......

pet store crickets normally come gutloaded on cardboard!

Cardboard is pretty basic in what its made of (wood, cellulose, its carbon based) while styrofoam is contains benzene (carcinogen, very toxic to humans).

I don't know how a chameleon's body reacts with poisons (such as benzene) but I'm sure even trace amounts over a period of time (say, the life of 400 crickets) could prove detrimental to the chameleon's health. Not worth the risk in my (non)professional opinion.

 

[carol5208]

Agreed! I ran up the local reptile store and bought some for the next day or two and my regular supply should be coming. It might have been safe, but why risk it. My cham means too much too me. I have only owned him for 3 months but my whole family loves him!!!!

 

[wanker]

You guys are blowing this way out of proportion.

Polystyrene is inert and poses minimal risk. It poses no more risk than the cardboard, dirt and other non-organic junk that crickets routinely eat. Simply remove the remaining pieces from colony, continue to gutload and in 24 hours it'll be out of their system anyway.

 

[carol5208]

well, I am new to this whole thing and just did not want to take the chance. I put in a glass plate with the food on it so i wont run into this problem again!