Feeding and Nutrition :: Crickets

[k9ck024]

Is there certain age for red eared sliders to eat a whole cricket?

[SpotsMama]

well, some crickets are bigger and some are smaller. A little hatchling can probably handle pieces of a cricket though not a whole one. When they get to be three or four inches long they may be able to eat a very small whole cricket.

[k9ck024]

Ok, I have one cricket and two, three or four inches, RES. Should I chop the cricket in half so the RES can share?

[SpotsMama]

If you only have one cricket then I'd say yes, chop it in two.

You know you can get freeze dried, gut-loaded (with calcium) crickets in the reptile section of the pet store. Turtles love them and they provide good calcium. You can feed them once in a while for treats.

[k9ck024]

I found the cricket at the front lawn. I think its better because its free and live.

[imderanged]

I dunno. I might skip wild caught crickets. They may have been exposed to pestacide...and I dunno where you live but most of the wild crickets around here are those big black ones and they have tougher exoskeletons than the type they sell in petsores.

[k9ck024]

Ok, this is what the cricket looks like when I got it from front lawn. Is this kind of cricket safe to feed my turtles?

[TheComputerGremlin]

I would avoid any bugs "in the wild" unless you saw them raised from babies. Most people have little control over the amount of pesticides that seep into their lawns, even if they aren't aware of it (all it takes is one neighbor having their lawn treated ...) I even grow my own cat grass in a special pot so that my cat can have pesticide-free grass. You can buy various bugs from the stores, but your best bet are the freeze dried ones. They are healthier, pesticide-free, and can be stored for like 2 or 3 years, so one jar (which costs like four bucks, btw) will last forever.

[k9ck024]

so dont feed my turtle a wild crickets?

[TheComputerGremlin]

Not unless you're a hundred percent sure it's okay ... I mean, if you live seriously out in the super rural country, sure, but not in the city.

[k9ck024]

i live in the city. i guess i couldnt feed the wild crickets to my turtles. thanks

[marisa]

k9ck024, if there's a Petco or a Petsmart near you, you can buy a few live crickets. You can buy either large crickets or small ones. The small ones are really small and quite tender to eat. I've bought them for really small hatchlings, who were able to quickly scarf them down whole, once they figured out they were for eating.

I usually buy a dozen for a treat and keep them in a small cricket keeper with calcium-fortified food for a few days before feeding.

[imderanged]

I fed one of the little ones to Sylar just today and he literally SUCKED it in and swallowed it whole.

[Tenodera]

Miso got a huge cricket 3 days ago and he chomped it in half. He was busy eating one half and the fish took care of the other half. It was pretty gruesome.

[k9ck024]

k9ck024, if there's a Petco or a Petsmart near you, you can buy a few live crickets. You can buy either large crickets or small ones. The small ones are really small and quite tender to eat. I've bought them for really small hatchlings, who were able to quickly scarf them down whole, once they figured out they were for eating.

I usually buy a dozen for a treat and keep them in a small cricket keeper with calcium-fortified food for a few days before feeding.

Is it neccessary to have calcium-forified before feeding the crickets to turtles?