Frozen Insects?

Hello, I am super new to reptile ownership and I got my bearded dragon Mercutio as a baby back in august from a reptile breeder in my city. I have mostly been getting reptile care advice from the breeder but some of the things he's recommended don't feel right to me (for example he sold me sand substrate for my new baby that I only recently changed to reptile carpet, fearing impaction).

A couple months ago though, Mercutio reached a size where he could eat full sized crickets so rather than buying 500 live baby crickets almost twice a week the breeder told me I could start buying adult crickets in bulk and freezing them, then feeding them frozen. I've been doing this for two months and have had no trouble with it (he eats them just fine, no signs of difficulty and he looks very healthy) and truthfully its saved me a ton of money and as well as the stress of handling live insects.

still though, I haven't seen anything online that suggests frozen insects are okay to feed and I'm just really stressed that maybe giving him frozen bugs isn't healthy.

The last thing I want to do is hurt my little guy but I have been feeding him frozen crickets for the past three months and he seems perfectly fine (good weight, energetic, consistent poops)

Does anyone know whether frozen insects are okay or not?

Are you thawing them before feeding? The only upside I could possible take from this would be, the freezing process would kill any parasites they may be carrying! I would tend to think that some moisture would be lost during the freeze, not giving your dragon the hydration he gets from them naturally when they are fed alive.

Gormagon":grlzexn5 said:

Are you thawing them before feeding? The only upside I could possible take from this would be, the freezing process would kill any parasites they may be carrying! I would tend to think that some moisture would be lost during the freeze, not giving your dragon the hydration he gets from them naturally when they are fed alive.

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I usually let them thaw for a bit but usually they are mostly frozen.

Honestly I'm not sure there's much of an upside for him to freezing them, its more for my benefit as its less of a hassle (as I am really busy during the day, kinda scared of bugs and buying a buying a ton of crickets at once is way cheaper). If I knew there was any harm to it I'd stop immediately and invest in some proper insect keepers and whatnot because I wouldn't want to hurt him just for my sake but if there is no harm to it I'd prefer to freeze them.

As for the hydration, his greens are usually washed and I keep a water dish in his tank that he doesn't drink from but I know it moisturizes the air slightly and I've seen no tell tale signs of dehydration.

Still though I haven't heard of anyone else freezing them aside from the breeders at the store and I really just don't trust them since the sand thing :/

I freeze surplus mealworms in air tight bottles - the wild skinks and birds don't seem to mind them when thawed , but do prefer them live and wriggling.

I also freeze surplus crickets - in an air tight plastic bottle for the wild skinks and birds , again I thaw them for the wild critters..

I know of several breeders who blanch and the freeze their surplus large silkworms , then thaw them out to give to their beardies and other lizards. They say if you don't blanch them first they become mush when thawed.

I think it's awsome that the dragon eats frozen/thawed crickets!! I don't see any problems with it nutrition wise...and it avoids having to have a stinky cricket bin. Pretty convenient.
Just make sure they are totally thawed. Last thing you want is a bearded dragon with frost bite in its GI system.

I agree with rankins - make sure to thaw them, feeding frozen could mess with thermoregulation. Keep them in air tight containers with most of the air removed to prevent freezer burn/sublimation of water.

Freezing in a normal freezer won't destroy all parasites, the eggs of things like pinworm and coccidia can survive freezing and you'd need a super cold freezer to eradicate them.