So feeding wild insects to reptiles is bad because they could carry nasty things like parasites or pesticides. But would it be safe if I caught some of them, bred them, and kept the offspring separate from the wild caught crickets? I would imagine that would be enough to get rid of the risk of pesticides, but would it get rid of parasites? Are there other risks that can be passed on from the crickets to their eggs?
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Do you have a specific reference that suggests wild insects are bad for domestic pets or are you in some area with abnormally high usage of pesticides? I have personally and I know many people that feed wild insects to their reptiles and amphibians without any issue.– JestepCommented Aug 20, 2014 at 20:55
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@Jestep Really? Even without pesticides I would be worried about parasites. That's really the main purpose of ordering from a farm is that the risk is lower.– SpidercatCommented Aug 20, 2014 at 21:35
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1 Answer
Not safe: Parasites can infect the offspring of the host they live in. The chemicals from pesticides (or anything, really) can also travel to the reproductive organs of whoever ingested them.
I know the question clearly states crickets -> eggs, but you can apply this to any living creature. The blood and nutrients are passed down from the mother. Anything affecting the mother will always affect the child.
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This question doesn't really seem like it answers the question that well. Can you write a more detailed and informative answer please? Its also a bit short. Commented Aug 21, 2014 at 3:36
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1@PsychOPhobiA I consider it a complete answer, but let me clarify a little bit. Parasites travel from mother to children, as long as they have food, in this case as long as the crickets reproduce. Thus even if you breed crickets for a century, they still might carry parasites. In order to create a sterile environment, you need a lab to inspect the crickets and their eggs. Why? It's a self preservation mechanism of nature aimed at self balancing itself in case of gecko overpopulation. Commented Aug 21, 2014 at 11:32
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@PsychOPhobiA I'm not sure what else needs to be said. What other information would you like to know? Parasites and pesticides DO go from mother to children. What more information do you want to know? Commented Aug 21, 2014 at 13:27
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@ChaseC actually I don't agree about pesticides... you can actually clean them out in a few generations... but the parasites are a completely different situation. Commented Aug 21, 2014 at 14:46
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@HristoValkanov Pesticides - you sure can. The original question never mentioned anything about generations or anything like that. I took it to mean one generation, which is extremely not safe. Commented Aug 21, 2014 at 14:51