# foreign objects in crickets/locusts.



## vr6_12v (Nov 10, 2009)

Hello there first of all im new to the forum (and reptiles) so sorry if this is in the wrong section.

What it is i orderd 1000 crickets and 100 locusts from the live food warehouse and when they came there was about 50 crickets and loads of these hairy little worm type creatures in there and most of the locusts where dead and half eaten and these little hairy worms where in there aswell. I rang them up and they are goin to send me some more.

Any 1 else had this before and can my bearded dragons eat these litttle hairy things or shal i get rid of them? 

Any help / advice will be much apreciated 

many thanks . stu


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## amylou (Oct 28, 2009)

th little hairy worm things ur describeing sound like what i found in my locust last week. am also wondering what they are, and how they get into the locust, considering all my locust mysterisaly died b4 i got chance 2 feed them to my beardies :hmm:


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## Wabbit (Aug 26, 2009)

The "hairy worm thingies" are dermestid beetle larvae and they're put in there to eat the dead decaying crickets and locusts. 
One of my tokays bit one in half once but seemed disgusted by it and he'll eat ANYTHING that you put in there, so I'm guessing they taste horrible or something lol
Hope that helps!


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## judy (Feb 12, 2009)

a couple of beetle larve and the beatles have managed to get in to the cage when i feed my beardie. and these are the first things he goes for! it was very funny watching him trying to catch a flying beetle:lol2:.

but is it ok that he eats these?


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## amylou (Oct 28, 2009)

the ones ive found are hairy grey looking baby catapillers....or what they seemed to remind me of


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## Wabbit (Aug 26, 2009)

Yup, that's the ones amylou!


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## vr6_12v (Nov 10, 2009)

amylou said:


> the ones ive found are hairy grey looking baby catapillers....or what they seemed to remind me of


yeh same as.


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## vr6_12v (Nov 10, 2009)

so it is ok if my beardies eat them then yeh?


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## judy (Feb 12, 2009)

vr6_12v said:


> so it is ok if my beardies eat them then yeh?


Anyone?


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## amylou (Oct 28, 2009)

i flushed the ones i foud do the loo, wasnt sure, dont think i would persoanly feed them as i dont know what they are, if they are safe 4 the bearides 2 eat or where they may have come from


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Dermestid beetles and their larvae are pest animals in commercial breeding setups, they are not put in deliberately to "clean up".

That said, 

They are readily eaten by most species and are particularly good for providing supplements, their fuzzyness means they can hold plenty of powder


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## vr6_12v (Nov 10, 2009)

so to clear this up are you saying i can feed them to my 10 week old bearded dragons? thanks . stu


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Yup! If they like them, then go for it, more variety


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## swinder (Jan 18, 2009)

Yep my beardie loves them


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## bronzeyis200 (Jan 25, 2008)

Yep, my beardie munches them!!! : victory:


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## T1NOR3PT1L35 (Apr 28, 2009)

i've always assumed that they are an earlier evolution form of the crickts. e.g. caterpillar turns into a butterfly. My beardie's love them and they havn't done any harm yet.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

T1NOR3PT1L35 said:


> i've always assumed that they are an earlier evolution form of the crickts. e.g. caterpillar turns into a butterfly. My beardie's love them and they havn't done any harm yet.


Nah, baby crickets hatch out looking like very, very small crickets - they don't metamorphose like beetles or butterflies do.


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## croc&chewy (Sep 21, 2009)

I got told that they also eat the crickets waste and that they carried parasites?

Still can't get it out in time before the buggers chomp 'em! :lol2:


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## Nihlus (Jul 15, 2009)

They are similar to mealworms in terms of nutrition except that their chitin is much thicker. The larval stage can be a real problem if they get out as they will eat almost anything including carpet so becareful not to drop them. I found this out the hard way, dropped a couple on a rug and lost sight of them, found them next day and a large hole in the rug :S


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## benjo (Oct 31, 2007)

those hairy worms breed like hell in a warm tank.. and boy do i know.. like said they eat carpets, fabrics, carboard anything.. very nasty things and you can barley squash them... i let 1 beetle stay in with my bosc and thought he had eaten it.. a week later had around 20 larvae running round in there.. best way is to drown them in cold water. they have been on how clean is your house before and they said they have caused boats to sink, maybe true maybe not.. the hair on them and cause all sorts of problems if they come into contact with eyes humans and pets. people claim there in livefood as a cleanup crew. but infact they will eat live and dead crickets and locusts. kill them when you see them.


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