Water crystals under greens

[Nihilist]

I was wondering if it is safe to put a few water crystals under my daily greens to keep the moist? Basically are water crystals safe for bearded dragons. I have an issue of my greens drying out too fast. Heat is 70 or a little lower on the cold side, where they are.

 

[ruben0311]

So the water crystals themselves should be non-toxic, seeing as they should not be metabolized. the concern i would have is if your beardie takes a liking to them, which i doubt as they taste pretty bleh, and decides to consume alot. If you do decide to try it out just make sure you monitor him closely, however i dont believe it should cause a problem. keep in mind you will have to replace the crystals daily as they will begin to cause bacterial buildup from the decaying plant matter and the beardie's mouth.

 

[Nihilist]

So the water crystals themselves should be non-toxic, seeing as they should not be metabolized. the concern i would have is if your beardie takes a liking to them, which i doubt as they taste pretty bleh, and decides to consume alot. If you do decide to try it out just make sure you monitor him closely, however i dont believe it should cause a problem. keep in mind you will have to replace the crystals daily as they will begin to cause bacterial buildup from the decaying plant matter and the beardie's mouth.

Thanks for the response but now I am even more scared to try it.

 

[Taterbug]

Sounds like a bad idea
The water crystals really aren't intended to be consumed (unless you big good grade ones) and the chemicals used to make them could cause issues. I'd be more worried about under moistened or dried out crystals. There have also been reports of smaller dragons who die from eating dry crystals that expand inside them.

 

[Ed707]

I've heard that water crystals are toxic to them. I also know the chemicals used to make them are highly cancer causing, so no I wouldnt

 

[SDragons]

I spray my greens with water and add a teaspoon of water over then and keep the bowl on the cooler side of the tank. They don't seem to dry out as quickly by the end of the day

 

[kingofnobbys]

I spray my greens with water and add a teaspoon of water over then and keep the bowl on the cooler side of the tank. They don't seem to dry out as quickly by the end of the day

Yep I spray my greens with water too, and find that helps to turn them over too (they dry out on top but stay moist and fresh underneath).

I think using water crystals to hydrate insects is a VERY BAD IDEA, and putting them under the salad is AN EVEN WORSE IDEA. Best place for water crystals is in garden beds and pots mixed with soil or potting mix.

 

[Nihilist]

I will definitely not be doing this, thank you again for all the advise and help.

 

[Taterbug]

I've heard that water crystals are toxic to them. I also know the chemicals used to make them are highly cancer causing, so no I wouldnt

The polymer that makes the crystals themselves, when fully reacted, is not toxic. However, there are different "grades" and lower quality products (such as agriculture products) are allowed to have my more of the unreacted base component, acrylamide, which is a strong neurotoxin. It can also degrade back into acrylamide and there is no way to tell by looking if the product is still good.

 

[mommacude]

I think using water crystals to hydrate insects is a VERY BAD IDEA, and putting them under the salad is AN EVEN WORSE IDEA. Best place for water crystals is in garden beds and pots mixed with soil or potting mix.

Uh oh. I use the crystals to feed my dubia. I thought it was OK! So to get them hydrated do you just use fruits and veggies? I don't use it for my dragon to eat, but of course I know that what the insects eat goes right into the dragon.

 

[Taterbug]

I think using water crystals to hydrate insects is a VERY BAD IDEA, and putting them under the salad is AN EVEN WORSE IDEA. Best place for water crystals is in garden beds and pots mixed with soil or potting mix.

Uh oh. I use the crystals to feed my dubia. I thought it was OK! So to get them hydrated do you just use fruits and veggies? I don't use it for my dragon to eat, but of course I know that what the insects eat goes right into the dragon.

I haven't heard a definitive answer on this. There is potential that toxic acrylamide could build up in the bugs and get passed to the dragon. How much? Who knows. If you use crystals I'd take care to get food grade ones rather than agricultural ones (like miracle gro).

 

[kingofnobbys]

I think using water crystals to hydrate insects is a VERY BAD IDEA, and putting them under the salad is AN EVEN WORSE IDEA. Best place for water crystals is in garden beds and pots mixed with soil or potting mix.

Uh oh. I use the crystals to feed my dubia. I thought it was OK! So to get them hydrated do you just use fruits and veggies? I don't use it for my dragon to eat, but of course I know that what the insects eat goes right into the dragon.

I give my worms and crickets carrot chunks to eat (very high water content in carrot). I replace the carrot every 2 or 4 days depending on the weather.
I tried sliced of potato ..... made the crickets drunk after a 2 days.
I tried slices of apple .... same deal as potato.

There is a good reason why the bulk crickets I buy come with some carrot in the big mailer tube.

 

[mommacude]

I haven't heard a definitive answer on this. There is potential that toxic acrylamide could build up in the bugs and get passed to the dragon. How much? Who knows. If you use crystals I'd take care to get food grade ones rather than agricultural ones (like miracle gro).

OK I need to order some. I have the ones from Home Depot. Thank you!