A Brief Review of Commercially Raised Insects

It is not the purpose of this book to inform people about insect culture. Other books should be consulted for that type of information. The following is information on cornmercially obtainable insects which should form the staple of your insecteating lizard' s diet. None of these insects should simply be fed to your lizard as you purchased them from a store. The chapter on herpetocultural cuisine gives you information on the right way to gut load these insects.

Gray crickets (Acheta domestica)

These are the cornmercially bred and readily available crickets of the pet trade. They are now carried by most stores which specialize in reptiles. They can also be obtained through fish bait mail order sources. For most lizards these should be the first choice as a staple of an insectivore diet. They can be ordered in a variety of sizes, from pinheads to six-week old winged adults, which means that a suitable size can be obtained for feeding most insect-eating lizard species. Generally, crickets are easily digested by most lizards.

Mealworms (Ten ebrio molitor)

Mealworms are the rnost widely sold insects in the pet trade. They can be kept for weeks, stored in a plastic container (with air holes) that is then stored in a refrigerator or a cool area of the house. Serious hobbyists should consider culturing mealworms. They can be rnaintained and raised in large plastic boxes or tubs filled with an inch of oat bran or corn flour. Before being used, the bran or flour should be baked in shallow pans in an oyen at 2000P (93.3°C) for 20 rninutes to kill off grain rnites. Layers of newspaper or cloth can be placed on top of this layer for easy collecting. Pieces of carrot or squash, as well as banana peel, should be given as a source of water.