Should I be asking pet shops what they feed their hornworms (and other feeders for that matter) or can I just assume they know not to feed them things like tomatoes and tobacco leaves? I want to feed my beardie some hornworms but I'm concerned because in the wild they eat foods that are toxic to beardies and I am worried that ****ty pet shop owners won't know any better and my little buddy will die
1) don't buy them from the local know nothing pet shop
2) order them in from online mailorder insect breeders who have a good reputation only and only feed the properly prepared "chow" to the worms you buy.
You most certainly can buy insects from local shops. That's a silly suggestion.
Every pet store that doesnt breed their own insects buys them from those same places youd be buying from online.
You can always ask them, but like mentioned they buy from supplier online anyways and since hornworms usually come in chow cups, that's what they would be eating.
The only benefit of ordering online vs a pet shop is its usually much cheaper online since you're cutting out the middle man. And in pet shops, they usually only have the large hornworms so picking a size is harder.
You most certainly can buy insects from local shops. That's a silly suggestion.
Every pet store that doesnt breed their own insects buys them from those same places youd be buying from online.
You can always ask them, but like mentioned they buy from supplier online anyways and since hornworms usually come in chow cups, that's what they would be eating.
The only benefit of ordering online vs a pet shop is its usually much cheaper online since you're cutting out the middle man. And in pet shops, they usually only have the large hornworms so picking a size is harder.
A very common issue with live insects sold as feeders by petshops (here and I suspect in the USA too) is very poor quality and very poor care the insects get .
They are essentially stacked on shelves or in open fridges (to keep them dormnant) and only looked at when the tub is scanned for the sale, more often than not , not fed or given any source of hydration ( ie fresh slices of carrot ) so when the "punters" come in looking for their supply of bugs , the bugs are often putrid , fly/wasp blown and half or more dead.
You can get around this somewhat if you develop a friendly relationship with the person who orders the shop's weekly consignments of bugs , and find out what day the delivery happens , and be there shortly afterwards to buy the freshly arrived bugs. Do this before they are buried under the older stock or learn their system for identifying which tubs are fresh and which are are (usually a mark will be made on the tub that encodes this for the petshop staff, a local shop to me uses a pink highlighter marking one week, it's blue the next, then green , then yellow the next, they never mark with arrival date - don't want the customers to see the dates).
Of cause, buying your insects by mailorder direct from the breeders is going save you a lot of $ in the long run , as well being very convenient , in that you don't need to go to a shop to get them.
An example , a tub of 45 medium crickets will perhaps be $7 in the pet shop. About 16c each assuming all healthy. Very common to find 1/3 or more of the insects dead or sick and dying .
But from the supplier , 1000 medium crickets might cost $40 , so 4c each.
Man, petshops must suck over there lol. While I wouldn't consider petshops to take as well care as I would of their feeders, I've never seen one infested with flies and wasps like you suggest lol.
If you want to save money, buy online. If you need in a pinch, petshops are more than suitable
(Unelss you live by nob, I'd stay away from his petshops lol)
Man, petshops must suck over there lol. While I wouldn't consider petshops to take as well care as I would of their feeders, I've never seen one infested with flies and wasps like you suggest lol.
If you want to save money, buy online. If you need in a pinch, petshops are more than suitable
(Unelss you live by nob, I'd stay away from his petshops lol)
PetBarn , PetStock and PetQuarters are our local bigbox shops and are uniformly very bad.
The young ladies / girls who staff them are nice , but they don't know squat about insect care or reptile care.
It's my experience that franchised petshop chains are to be avoided. Stick to the independents.
Very few petshops here are licenced to sell and stock live reptiles (unlike the USA where it's open slather).
You could ask what they feed them, I don't think they'd mind. The independent reptile store near me uses sweet potato and changes it out every day. The cooperate stores don't bother to feed them at all. If you buy from somewhere that doesn't feed them at all, it's probably a good idea to feed the hornworms or other insect for at least a couple of days so they're more nutritious for your beardie.
Overall I noticed that insects bought online are waay better quality than the ones sold in pet stores, so I agree with Brandon to buy online unless you need feeders quick. (If you're in Canada I'd 100% reccomend the Worm Lady )
You could ask what they feed them, I don't think they'd mind. The independent reptile store near me uses sweet potato and changes it out every day. The cooperate stores don't bother to feed them at all. If you buy from somewhere that doesn't feed them at all, it's probably a good idea to feed the hornworms or other insect for at least a couple of days so they're more nutritious for your beardie.
Overall I noticed that insects bought online are waay better quality than the ones sold in pet stores, so I agree with Brandon to buy online unless you need feeders quick. (If you're in Canada I'd 100% reccomend the Worm Lady )
Sweet potato , like potato and like apple , will quickly start to oxidise and just as quickly start formant , best to use chunks of fresh carrot or buk choi ( full leaf including whites ) to hydrate the bugs .