bloodworms & brine shrimp

[deartara]

could anyone tell me if these are good for my little pikkle... he seems to love them, i have them frozen for my fishies and i pop em in the microwave and he laps em up... i figured theyre bug-like, and low fat... any downfalls i should know about or let him enjoy??

Comments

[minnoh]

It may just be my experience with bugs raised for fish, but there seems to be less concern about any parasites/yuckies on them than insects farmed for reptiles and other pets. A lot of the pet stores I've been to that carry brine shrimp also carry feeder tanks full of diseased guppies and comet goldfish. Personally, I like being able to see the tank where the mealworms and crickets are being farmed; does it look clean? Well-kept? Would I feel comfortable feeding these to my pet

[deartara]

good point... these were prepackaged frozen at petco,but wouldnt cooking them kill any parasites and whatnot.... cuz i nuked em?? he just seems to love the mucky goop and im looking for some alternatives to meal and wax worms because theyre soooo fattening, he likes can o' crickets and ive occassionally been able to find can o shrimp which certainly didnt get him sick so hes not allergic, i got the idea upon reading about a hedgehog dried food from sunseed that was mostly seafood meal... im vegetarian so i dont have much meat around the house, i occassionally ask a neighbor for a spoon of chopmeat to cook up for him... i only give him a little of something "fresh" every day, usually about the size of nickel... but he so looks for it!

[minnoh]

Packaged frozen would still carry parasites and disease, and... I don't know, I'm torn on the microwaving portion of it. Depending on how long you cooked them, you could just be warming them up to room temperature, which wouldn't kill anything. Cooked meats have to reach a certain temperature before becoming safe for consumption; anything below that temperature isn't guaranteed to kill bacteria. So unless you're microwaving these bloodworms into shrivelled little brown strips, I still don't think it's safe. Given what was said below, I think that the parasites/bacteria arguement holds true.

And to make a hedgehog gain weight from mealworms and waxworms, you'd have to feed an awful lot of them every day. Why don't you just stick to what you know is safe? Your hedgie shouldn't be eating so many mealies that it becomes obese, and most hedgehog owners manage to feed insects without it being a problem. I just don't see the need to feed alternative bugs.

[deartara]

yeah all these comments have definitely made me think to stay away... and pikkle isnt fat, but ive read so many things about them getting overweight i worry... and when i saw on the crickets can how low in fat they were compared to the worms i figured bugs were the way to go... ill just keep my eyes open for other canned bugs that are reptile and mammal safe... thanks all!

[torpedoed]

i don't know much about their safety for hedgehogs but i use bloodworms and brine shrimp for my fish and i read that if they are just frozen they could have parasites and such that could kill your fish, so we only use freeze dried now.

not sure if that helps, but it's something to think about.

[rainofbastards]

I have a book that I recall saying blood worms specifically are bad for hedgehogs. They carry all manner of disease. Stick to foods specifically formulated for hedgehogs, ferrets, or cats (save for the occasional small amount of cooked ground beef or scrambled egg, etc).