Heat dried crickets and grasshoppers

[Sillemor01]

Hey!
I recently got some heatdried crickets and grasshoppers for my beautiful Halmahera skink, and I would like to know how often I should feed them to him, and how to prepare them for him.
I heard people talking about leaving them to soak in water for a few minutes before serving them to him. He's 2 - 2,5 years old.

[mb606587]

I've personally never fed dried insects to my skinks so I'll let somebody else answer. I'd caution on relying on those as the staple of the diet though. Not much nutritional value. If you haven't already, take a look at the Diet Chart pinned at the top of the forum.

[Kevin142001]

Mine will snack on freeze dried worms and grasshoppers. He really likes the grasshoppers. So I keep them in a bowl in his enclosure. That being said he only eats a couple (even when the bowls full) and gets the majority of his food as one of the high quality cat food brands recommended on here. Hes still growing and is less than a year old.

I agree that you can't rely on them for nutritional value or as a staple. I think its okay for them to eat some. Not too many. You will find they can poop out an entire freeze dried worm as is. So you can imagine what a whole bunch of them might do to his stomach if they can't fully breakdown the exoskeleton or outer skin of the worm.

[Sillemor01]

OK. Should I feed them to him dry, or should I try putting it in some water so it gets moist and squishy first?

I think I'm gonna start using them as a snack for when he's done bathing - I give him baths every times he sheds to make sure he gets it all off

[splashy07]

I wouldn't worry much about digestion in an animal that can crush snails. I keep a dish of the Fluker's bearded dragon buffet blend in their cages. There are freeze dried bugs in there, and when I have babies they pick those out first and eat them, then go back and eat the red pellets. Dry. My Egernias do the same, as do my shinglebacks. Absolutely safe to use dry, and never any spoilage or waste. They get other foods also of course but these bowls of dry food are in there at all times, and refilled when necessary.