Did I just see my DT eat a baby cricket?

[thatrebecca]

I think I did. Crickets have been hanging in Gomez and Morticia's enclosure, attracted by the water dish I think. I pour it out at sundown, but still they come. Anyway, I just looked out and saw Gomez eating something green that was moving, and noticed what looked like a nest of 50 baby crickets beneath him. Do DTs ever eat crickets? Is it OK? These are really teeny and green. Should I try to get rid of them? If so, how?

 

[abclements]

I'm not a dt keeper but I wouldn't doubt that it was a cricket! Kinda gross but they are opportunists. A couple months back we had a sulcata eat a bird... a cricket here and there won't hurt your guy though! Good on him for catching it! Lol

 

[mctlong]

Crickets are edible and eating one every now and then isn't going harm your tort (assuming that the crickets have not been exposed to pesticides).

If the tort were eating crickets exclusively instead of eating tort friendly staples like weeds and grasses, then I would worry because the animal would not be getting all the nutrients it needs. However, it doesn't sound like thats the case here. Crickets are much faster than tortoises, so I doubt that a tort could catch enough crickets to make cricket meat a signifigant part of their diet.

I definately would not worry about him catching and eating a cricket every once in awhile. A little protein boost and the excercise it takes to catch a cricket could be good for him.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Mine do this now and then. I dropped a mealworm one time and one of mine ran up and ate it! I was so surprised! As long as this isn't a daily occurrence it is fine.

 

[Redstrike]

Many herbivores are hard pressed to pass up protein opportunities. Deer and rabbits regularly predate song bird eggs and babies, squirrels eat baby rabbits, etc. It's a crazy world out there.

 

[Tom]

I agree with al of the above, AND if it was green, it was not a cricket. Might have been a grasshopper. Those come in green and look similar to a cricket in their early instars. The only crickets we have here are tan/brown or black. Wait until you find a Jerusalem cricket... That will freak you out completely...

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Found one of my torts eating a small (10" or so) snake a couple years ago...by the time I saw him, there was only a few inches of tail handing out of his jaws.

Still healthy.