In Reply to: Crickets, frozen food. posted by Denis on January 09, 19100 at 03:52:02:

: How to you feed crickets to your gliders without the risk of them running around in your room?? I heard some people freeze them to death and tried it once; when I got them out of the freezer there was a black fluid coming out of the insects and I did not want to feed them to my gliders.

I found myself in this dilemna last nite (how to feed them, not the black fluid). I've been trying to get some good sources of protein that Sketchi will like (I tried turkey and chicken and he wasn't interested in either), so yesterday I went to the local pet store and picked up some mealworms and 2 crickets. When he woke up and came looking for something to eat, I started hand-feeding the mealworms to him and he was totally stoked. Then I looked at the crickets jumping around in their little plastic bag, and could not figure out what I could do to stun them so he could eat without letting the crickets loose in the house. Then I remembered the hamster ball! It doesn't see much use, as he much prefers running around unconfined during playtime, but now I think he's found a new love for it. I put one of the crickets in the ball and then showed it to Sketch. He was in the ball and chowing down quicker than a blink of the eye. I was worried about feeding him the worms and the crickets, as I wasn't sure if he would know what to do with them being raised on prepared food all of his short life. Boy my concerns were totally unfounded as he loved them. I sat last nite for 30 mins at least hand-feeding these mealworms to him, and he just wanted more and more so I finally had to cut him off. I'm really happy now, to know that he is getting a pretty good balanced diet and seems to be very healthy and well adjusted to his new home.

: I also wondered if the process of freezing destroys important vitamins,minerals etc. - not only in crickets but also in fruits and the leadbeaters.

: I ask because one of my gliders has got a little bit of constipation and my vet says it could be because he eats an unbalanced diet. He gave me the tip to blend all food into a perfectly balanced mass before putting it into the cage.

: Any suggestions/opinions on that??

Sorry, I can't help on this one. It does seem like it might though. I always try to feed my baby fresh fruits & veggies (if you have a local supermarket that has a salad bar, I've been pulling a lot of his nightly meal from there). I remember hearing that freezing veggies does take a bit of thier nutritional content, though I don't believe it's much (depending on how the food was prepared prior to freezing.) Again, I am not positive about this, it's just my personal opinion and I just try to live by the "better safe than sorry" approach.

Chris and Sketchi

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