Some wild grasshoppers

Chameleonmaster

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I have about 30 I caught today.
 
there is a risk of pesticides but the area i get them from is free of pesticides and fertilizers. i will keep them for a day or so just incase and feed them to my chams and mantises.
 
how big are those? I see people posting that they feed hoppers , but the ones around here are pretty big- they bite, and scratch you w/ their back legs - they are about 3" long or so - and throw up this nasty green stuff - they are always brown- I see you have cute green ones- I want to feed the hoppers here- but I think they will hurt my chams :(
 
You can't feed those to your small chams. I go way out by my hubby office where I know it never gets sprayed to catch mine. I get both green and brown, But I only keep the smaller ones. may not do it this year, mosquitoes are picking people up and carrying them around. Only permethrin will keep them away, but you sure have to be careful with that stuff.
 
I still haven't fed any off yet jut to be safe but I will tomorrow. They are about a 1/4-1 inch long but they're not adults yet.
 
If you think your area is sprayed with pesticides I would not feed them out. I would attempt to captive breed them however even then it is not an ideal situation. I'm not going to recommend feeding grasshoppers that have been exposed to pesticides to anyone. As well when feeding your hoppers especially the larger ones I would pinch off the big back legs as they are formidable and possible could cause internal blockages and other health problems. Something similar to feeding mantis with their claws intact. That is what my guidance would be about grasshopper feeding.
 
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If you think your area is sprayed with pesticides I would not feed them out. I would attempt to captive breed them however even then it is not an ideal situation. I'm not going to recommend feeding grasshoppers that have been exposed to pesticides to anyone. As well when feeding your hoppers especially the larger ones I would pinch off the big back legs as they are formidable and possible could cause internal blockages and other health problems. Something similar to feeding mantis with their claws intact. That is what my guidance would be about grasshopper feeding.

They're isn't any pesticides In the area but everyone recommends to wait a couple days. None of them have died off so they're safe.
 
I still don't get this whole pesticides on bugs thing. If the bug has pesticides on it why is it still alive? If it has so little on it the it doesn't kill the bug what make everyone think it will kill your Chameleon? I have never heard of a Chameleon dying after eating a WC bug.
 
I still don't get this whole pesticides on bugs thing. If the bug has pesticides on it why is it still alive? If it has so little on it the it doesn't kill the bug what make everyone think it will kill your Chameleon? I have never heard of a Chameleon dying after eating a WC bug.

That is exactly my way of thinking. If the bug is dead then obviously we won't feed it to out chameleons. If it is still alive then it wasn't harmed by the pesticide therefore it won't harm our chameleons.

Luis
 
I have fed wild bugs to chams for 7 years without ill effects.
Most are caught with a light trap.. moths, beetles ect.
I do field collect grasshoppers, mantids, spiders, cicadas, katydids and walking sticks. The best places are weedy over grown fields away from power lines and agriculture.
The only time I have had problems with pesticides is when I fed the wild bugs greens from the grocery store without washing them with soap.
 
I have fed wild bugs to chams for 7 years without ill effects.
Most are caught with a light trap.. moths, beetles ect.
I do field collect grasshoppers, mantids, spiders, cicadas, katydids and walking sticks. The best places are weedy over grown fields away from power lines and agriculture.
The only time I have had problems with pesticides is when I fed the wild bugs greens from the grocery store without washing them with soap.

That's funny, I fed some unwashed romaine to my grasshoppers and almost killed them all. I lost about 5 and luckily the rest made it through.

Can you tell me again what you use for a laying substrate?
 
I still don't get this whole pesticides on bugs thing. If the bug has pesticides on it why is it still alive? If it has so little on it the it doesn't kill the bug what make everyone think it will kill your Chameleon? I have never heard of a Chameleon dying after eating a WC bug.

That is exactly my way of thinking. If the bug is dead then obviously we won't feed it to out chameleons. If it is still alive then it wasn't harmed by the pesticide therefore it won't harm our chameleons.

Luis

I have fed wild bugs to chams for 7 years without ill effects.
Most are caught with a light trap.. moths, beetles ect.
I do field collect grasshoppers, mantids, spiders, cicadas, katydids and walking sticks. The best places are weedy over grown fields away from power lines and agriculture.
The only time I have had problems with pesticides is when I fed the wild bugs greens from the grocery store without washing them with soap.

There is always the concern with wild insects (similar to parasites) that your chameleons could have ingested small amounts of trace chemicals. These coming from pesticides found on insects collected in areas sprayed with pesticides. These chemicals if ingested by your chameleon could turn out to be more dangerous to your chameleons health even when compared to parasites. These health problems could lead to internal problems and problems with organs meaning I would not overlook this issue as just nonsense. That is the main concern. I have not seen this example ever documented as happening with field collected insects for chameleon food yet however that does not mean it has not happened. That is my concern. It is a big roll of the dice if your collecting grasshoppers that are in an area that could been sprayed with pesticides.

As well fore the record my captive bred female Trioceros deremensis who just passed was documented as having some parasites. The only source of parasites that we could ID was wild caught insects in her case it was WC grasshoppers.
 
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It could have been from the trace pesticides the parasites accumulated in their bodies from the grasshopper before it was consumed by the chameleon later dyeing inside the chameleon releasing the pesticides causing paralysis and organ failure.
 
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