Pre-killed crickets

[Amici Con Coleotteri]

I've been reading a lot of you mentioning that certain beetles, like A. verrucosus and Pterostichus sp., will eat pre-killed crickets...aside from buying reptile grade freeze dried crickets, does anyone actually kill crickets for theirs? If so, what is your dispatch method?

I gotta admit I don't like doing this, but you can't beat the freshness, I raise the crickets myself on an incredible diet, and my beetles love them! How can I say no to them?!

P.S. My "m.o." is decapitation...does anyone find this cruel? Is there a more "humane" way?

 

[LarvaHunter]

You can freeze them, that's supposed to be the nicest way for an insect to die. Plus the head has protein, no waste.

 

[Amici Con Coleotteri]

Oh I give them the heads to eat too...freezing doesn't destroy any nutritional value? The beetles don't mind freezer burn?

 

[Oak]

take the legs off? Lol

but like larva hunter said, freeze them for bout 5min

 

[LarvaHunter]

The nutritional value won't be hurt at all if you use them soon, the nutritional value would drop slightly possibly after a few months frozen, even then it would be a negligible amount as heat/time is what effects the nutritional content of all foods.

 

[Hisserdude]

Yeah the pterostichus will eat dead or live insects.

 

[Amici Con Coleotteri]

Good to know! Thanks everyone!!!