Zoo Med Can 'o Products

[mikem83]

Has anyone had any experience with these can 'o products by Zoo Med? I grabbed the grasshoppers and my beardie loves them. So much that he barely touches his greens anymore. I only feed him one every other day but it seems like since i started this his normal eating has slowed. I usually also feed him 12 superworms once a week as well besides the normal salads. This is a Zoo Med product so it should be good but just wondering if anyone had any input on the products. Thanks

 

[TheWerewolf]

I've been using the Zoo-Med Can 'O Crickets for my Nim. Since they are adult crickets and my beardie is a ten inch long baby, I cut the crickets in bite sized pieces. (The things we do :roll: ) Since we don't have much money the canned crickets is cheaper then live. The only problem I've noticed with the Can 'O Crickets is that they make his poop smell like them. But that is to be expected. Hope this helps!

P.S. Don't use the Flukers canned crickets. They are a waste of money.

 

[esn]

I've used most the can products. The snails are great for my blue tongue skinks, but go bad quickly. Otherwise, I'm not super impressed with the bugs and prefer to use live or culture my own. All the cans have a distinct and odd preservative/dead thing smell which I just don't like. Plus if they're left too long they go absolutely rank. I would only use them as a treat considering that they carry grasshoppers and snails in the cans, which are hard to get. But if you have no other options, I suppose the preserved dead animals goes well.

TheWerewolf: You can also order crickets by the thousand and freeze them yourself, and same with superworms in the future when yours is bigger. Could save you some more money there as well, considering buying in bulk is incredibly cheap.

 

[TheWerewolf]

TheWerewolf: You can also order crickets by the thousand and freeze them yourself, and same with superworms in the future when yours is bigger. Could save you some more money there as well, considering buying in bulk is incredibly cheap.

Thanks for the tip. Yes, we are going to order bulk crickets and roaches (hopefully) this week. I found a good site for the crickets. And I also don't like using the canned but currently, it is the best option.

 

[mikem83]

Thanks for the tips guys i think im just gonna stick with it as an occasional snack then.

 

[ashleyelsha]

I have been freezing my crickets and it works great for me. Gut load, freeze, thaw, dust, feed. :wink:

 

[Dbenedict]

I recently started feeding my juvenile mini can o' crickets in an attempt to get rid of live crickets. I feed these along with reptiworms. He loves the can o' crickets but only eats them if I hand feed. Otherwise he just looks at it like "you're kidding me, right?". When kept in the fridge they last at least a few weeks. The only negative effect seems to be wet poop. Not diarrhea, it's well formed.. just very wet sometimes from the moisture of the crickets.

 

[Toasty]

I've always been wary of the canned insects. They're obviously preserved with something, but the packaging doesn't specify what with. And yes, they have a pretty foul odor. They also haven't been gutloaded. Personally I don't feel comfortable feeding them.

 

[ashleyelsha]

I've always been wary of the canned insects. They're obviously preserved with something, but the packaging doesn't specify what with. And yes, they have a pretty foul odor. They also haven't been gutloaded. Personally I don't feel comfortable feeding them.

Have you ever done home canning? Canned products do not have to have preservatives added. Sometimes things like salt and sugar are added in home products to help preserve and add flavor, however they can be canned sodium free, because the heating process kills any microorganisms. We used to can peas, corn, green beans, tomatoes, etc. and sometimes we used salt, sometimes we didn't. I am sure the companies probably use a preservative, but I wouldn't be certain unless you contact the manufacturer.

 

[TheWerewolf]

I've always been wary of the canned insects. They're obviously preserved with something, but the packaging doesn't specify what with. And yes, they have a pretty foul odor. They also haven't been gutloaded. Personally I don't feel comfortable feeding them.

Have you ever done home canning? Canned products do not have to have preservatives added. Sometimes things like salt and sugar are added in home products to help preserve and add flavor, however they can be canned sodium free, because the heating process kills any microorganisms. We used to can peas, corn, green beans, tomatoes, etc. and sometimes we used salt, sometimes we didn't. I am sure the companies probably use a preservative, but I wouldn't be certain unless you contact the manufacturer.

Yes, I would also like to add that if they did have preservatives they would put a longer use by date on it. And they look gut loaded to me. Although the cans I get have a lot of egg laden females. Which I think Nim enjoys more because my brother said it's 'like cricket caviar.' Makes sense to me.

 

[Toasty]

I actually have been told by several reputable sources that they do use preservatives, although the manufacturers will not specify exactly what kinds. Also, you cannot tell if a cricket is gut-loaded by looking at it.

 

[marlimarbles]

personally i dont like using canned products because i have NO IDEA whats in them!!

dont know if/what preservative they use if they DID use one
and if they ARE gut loaded, with what??? whats in them... ?

thats why i prefer raising my own crickets, i know exactly whats going on and its really not expensive at all....

imho