X-large crickets

[Noella]

Hey, all. Hope you're well.

Recently, I just ordered some 3/4'' crickets from a breeder in California and received them today.

Lo and behold, when I opened their box, I noticed how big most of them were. They were monsters! Bigger than the space between Allie's eyes. I'm afraid to feed them to her. There are some that are 1/2'', most almost all of them are fully grown 1'' crickets. They're huge!

What should I do about these big monster crickets?

They're too big, but perfect for Iguanas.

 

[Pat B]

Send them to me!!

 

[Noella]

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Kay...I';;ll,, try. Don't mind all the 7's and weird commas, that's Allie for ya.

 

[Germ]

Allie, as the adult she is, will have no issues with any sized crickets.

 

[Noella]

Thanks Germ! I was so worried that she'll have trouble like impaction! You just relieved my worries. Thanks so much!

 

[Germ]

Have a peek at some of the feeding vids on my Site (click anywhere in my signature section) & the size of the Discoid Roaches that they devour.

 

[Pat B]

Your dragons are piggies!! I just watched them eat! They sure do love their roaches!

 

[Ozzie&Dino]

I had a big one accidently get in the small bunch of Keena's crickets and before I could get it out she ate it. Will it hurt her??

 

[Noella]

Just keep an eye out for any 'strange behavior'. (IE: Paralyzed back legs, unable to pass anything, and not eating.)

 

[Ozzie&Dino]

Thanks Noella, she seems to be fine and eating so I guess it did not hurt her.

 

[Germ]

The age-old guideline "Do Not Feed Anything Larger Than The Space Between Their Eyes" is exactly that, a 'Guideline', 'A Rule Of Thumb', & a good one at that, particularly for young BDs. It is a safety precaution aimed more for the instance of ingesting hard to or non digestible items by younger BDs. The likelihood of issues arising from ingesting a larger feeder is extremely rare. But the Guideline is still a good one.

One of the issues that I have had with this rule of thumb, is what dimension of the feeder are we to go by? The width or the length? If it is the length, there are very few worms that we could feed. In all the years I have been in the hobby, after questioning many old time experienced keepers during this time, I have basically used this rule of thumb, but consider the smallest dimension of the feeder, not the largest. As in feeding adult Discoid Roaches to larger dragons as shown in my Videos previously mentioned, or the few times that I have ever fed Pinkies.

Just some food for thought ...