# Cork Bark - Good or Bad?



## Horness (Aug 12, 2007)

I bought some cork bark when I setup the viv from day one, and used it as a bit of a ramp.

I thought this would be beneficial for the gecko's, but today I removed it to reposition it, and while it was out of the tank I noticed a number of crickets hiding in the small crevices.

Taking outside and giving it a tap resulted in about 20 of the little buggers making a run for it, while further tapping freed up the remaining 8-12 larger ones.

While I thought the 2 gecko's were eating 8-10 crickets a night, it now seems they were only managing half this (at best) before the crickets found a safe haven inside the small crevices.

I've left it out for the time being - has anyone else experienced this?

Horness


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## SilverSteno (Feb 12, 2006)

I had the same with my sand geckos, ditched the cork bark after that! I don't personally think it is the best piece of decor to have in a vivarium where there are going to be crickets running around.


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## groovy chick (Aug 1, 2006)

Yep ive just had the same problem with my crestie, Must have had about 25 crix in it :-x


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## Horness (Aug 12, 2007)

Glad it's not just me then!

If I change to a mealworm diet for them - how do I gut load them? What's the process?

I've seen this:


How many should I put in, and once the can is open, how do I store the rest?

Cheers
Horness


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## CBR1100XX (Feb 19, 2006)

I had same prob with the bark but I put a small bowl of bran in the viv and on a night the crix came out and the geckos would be waiting in ambush:smile:


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Remember that Can'o'Worms is DEAD mealworms and can't be gutloaded. I'd guess the can needs to be refrigerated after opening. Also be aware that some herps prefer their food raw and wriggling - and dead cooked worms might not do it for 'em.

Live mealworms are gutload-able the same as crickets - put quality food in, mealworms eat it, feed mealworms to geckos.

I tend to hand-feed my geckos most of the time, so no escapee crickets.


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## Lowenna (Feb 6, 2007)

Yeah I hate cork bark for that, I dont use it in any of my insect eating herp homes.

You could try using mopani wood or java branches instead - some pieces still have the odd cricket-crevice mind you.


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## ViRMiN (Aug 6, 2007)

I have a java branch in my collared viv, and there is a gap where the wood nearly touches itself after twisting, and the crix like to hide there. Ever couple of days or so, I brush a piece of card through it to force them into the open, and they're soon dealt with! Thanks for the advice with cork bark, as we have two large "tubes" in the CWD's viv.


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

Any wood product is a place for mites to lay their eggs.

I stopped using any wood or cork years ago for that very reason.

Stephen.


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## jamie_coxon (Jul 18, 2007)

never had this problem with crixs hiding. mealies are the worst. the amount of cork bark that gets eaten from these is amazing


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## ViRMiN (Aug 6, 2007)

I feed my collareds mealies in a deodorant cap... it was a temporary measure! I scrubbed it first just in case it has spray on it though. One tips it upright to feed and puts it back when done! : victory:


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## Horness (Aug 12, 2007)

Got some mealies in a dish (super fast delivery Lowenna - thanks! :no1: )

How many should I put in the dish though? Also - is feeding the wriggley buggers a case of sprinkling them with the powder?

Cheers
Horness


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## LouiseK (Mar 17, 2007)

You can leave crickets in a dish too if you pinch their "jumping legs" off.

You gutload the bugs by providing them with a water source and some food.

Any mealies i have had have always been good eaters. I used "Mealworm Diet Plus" which you just mix with water and then i just dropped some of the mixture right on them every other day and they'd gobble it all up.

The stuff you dust on them is a different thing all together. I use "Miner-ALL".

I think the general idea is that the gutloading makes the bugs full of various vitemins and minerals and then the dusting is the calcium/D3 suppliment. You need to do both.

Put in a pleanty of mealies. You need to replace them everyday as the ones in the dish will be less nutritious as time goes on. Put the left over ones back in the tub to get gutloaded again.


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## Horness (Aug 12, 2007)

Thanks LouiseK - I'll mix it up and give it a go. I have a container for the crickets, they're fed, watered and generally well looked after... until feeding time! ;-)

Horness


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