# Avoid Petco Feeders



## JoP (Feb 8, 2018)

Have any of you ever had any problems with feeders from Petco? I ask because I'm about 98% sure that some feeders I purchased there killed one of my mantids. She'd been very healthy up until now, had a voracious appetite, and no problems molting, but within 24 hours of being fed a feeder worm purchased at Petco, she tanked and appears to be dying. Sudden onset of weakness, inability to hang properly, and overall frailty you typically see at the end of a mature mantid's life. Unfortunately, she's still a subadult, so she should have had a good few months left. 

I'm curious if anyone else has ever had problems with feeders purchased there; this is the first and certainly last time I'll buy feeders from Petco (I only got them this time because I needed some in a hurry). Figured I'd warn others too, as I'm really sad to lose this mantid and I'd hate to see that happen to someone else.

Reactions: Sad 1


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## chanda (Feb 8, 2018)

I'm sorry about your mantis. I hope she pulls through.

I don't often buy feeders from Petco, just because they're more expensive - we have a smaller LPS near my husband's work that has much better pricing - but there have been a few times when it wasn't convenient to go there so I went to Petco instead, and I've never had any problems with them.


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## MetalMan2004 (Feb 8, 2018)

That sucks.  Hope it pulls through.

I don’t think there is a good answer to this problem.  I’ve never had a problem with feeders at all, but I’ve heard of people that have had a problem at Petco, Petsmart, etc.  most of these places get their feeders from a distributor and/or breeder so its possible that (if the feeder was in fact the issue) it wasn’t their fault at all.  They just happened to get the shipment with the bad feeder that time and any petstore is susceptible to having that happen.

On the other hand it could have been their fault.  Unfortunately we live in a society where pestides and chemicals are everywhere so it could have been anything.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## The invertabrate (Feb 8, 2018)

JoP said:


> Have any of you ever had any problems with feeders from Petco? I ask because I'm about 98% sure that some feeders I purchased there killed one of my mantids. She'd been very healthy up until now, had a voracious appetite, and no problems molting, but within 24 hours of being fed a feeder worm purchased at Petco, she tanked and appears to be dying. Sudden onset of weakness, inability to hang properly, and overall frailty you typically see at the end of a mature mantid's life. Unfortunately, she's still a subadult, so she should have had a good few months left.
> 
> I'm curious if anyone else has ever had problems with feeders purchased there; this is the first and certainly last time I'll buy feeders from Petco (I only got them this time because I needed some in a hurry). Figured I'd warn others too, as I'm really sad to lose this mantid and I'd hate to see that happen to someone else.


That's why you should NEVER feed any type of animal any type of worm from petco or petsmart.I had to learn it the hard way,many years ago when I was into reptiles (6) I had a bearded dragon and I bought it some mealworms and supers.I fed it and 5 minutes l saw that it was acting weird  and then it started  puking then, even though  they have a way stronger metabolism  that inverts the same thing can still happen, turns out the supers had some kind of parasite when we took him to the vet. Crickets are kinda safe but sometimes I wait till some reptile show to buy supers or any type of feeders for my inverts.Hopefully  this helps,thanks.


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## dord (Feb 8, 2018)

For some reason the crickets I got from Petco didn't grow and died within 1-3 weeks, yet crickets I ordered from a dealer on amazon grew to adulthood and I ran out last weekend (I ordered them a few months ago). I've heard from my mother, a vet tech, that one of her coworkers says feeder crickets are treated with radiation to keep them from growing... anyone else heard this or is it BS?


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## The invertabrate (Feb 8, 2018)

dord said:


> For some reason the crickets I got from Petco didn't grow and died within 1-3 weeks, yet crickets I ordered from a dealer on amazon grew to adulthood and I ran out last weekend (I ordered them a few months ago). I've heard from my mother, a vet tech, that one of her coworkers says feeder crickets are treated with radiation to keep them from growing... anyone else heard this or is it BS?


Mine die in 3-5 days and they only molt once in my care


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## pannaking22 (Feb 8, 2018)

dord said:


> For some reason the crickets I got from Petco didn't grow and died within 1-3 weeks, yet crickets I ordered from a dealer on amazon grew to adulthood and I ran out last weekend (I ordered them a few months ago). I've heard from my mother, a vet tech, that one of her coworkers says feeder crickets are treated with radiation to keep them from growing... anyone else heard this or is it BS?


It's BS. The biggest issue people have with crickets coming from big box stores is that they're frequently infected with some sort of virus. http://arachnoboards.com/threads/has-anyone-heard-of-the-cricket-virus.181858/

There are a couple older ones that may still be in populations (somewhat doubtful because of mortality rates), but I believe there was something about a new pathogen going through recently that crushed one of the US sellers.

OP, sorry to hear about your mantis. I've had that issue with them before, but it was after eating my own CB feeders that didn't harm the other mantids. I think it's something that just happens on occasion unfortunately. Sucks when it does though


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## JoP (Feb 8, 2018)

Thanks for sharing your experiences, guys. Unfortunately, she did pass away, so that's sad. But at least now I'll be even more cautious than I already was with the big-box stores; looks like I'll keep ordering feeders from my usual sources and just avoid the others altogether.


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## The invertabrate (Feb 8, 2018)

Hopefully we all can learn something  from this and be more cautious  and become more experienced after this "lesson" or discussion


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## Greasylake (Feb 9, 2018)

I prefer to breed my own roaches so I know exactly what they're eating and I can make sure they're healthy. Carrots can also be poisonous to mantis but it doesn't sound like your mantis was poisoned, however this is one reason why I really dislike buying from pet stores, because I never know exactly what their feeders are eating. If it's convenient for you I'd suggest you start a dubia or red runner colony to sustain your mantis as you won't have to go to the pet store as often (you'll still occasionally need supplies though) and roaches are more nutritious anyway.


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## JoP (Feb 9, 2018)

Greasylake said:


> I prefer to breed my own roaches so I know exactly what they're eating and I can make sure they're healthy. Carrots can also be poisonous to mantis but it doesn't sound like your mantis was poisoned, however this is one reason why I really dislike buying from pet stores, because I never know exactly what their feeders are eating. If it's convenient for you I'd suggest you start a dubia or red runner colony to sustain your mantis as you won't have to go to the pet store as often (you'll still occasionally need supplies though) and roaches are more nutritious anyway.


I've thought about it, tbh, because I like dubias as feeders. My wife is pretty solidly against me having a colony of roaches in the house (even though she's fine with all the spiders, go figure), so for now I just buy them by the dozen at my LPS that sells them. But after this experience, I think starting a colony might be the next best step.


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## KevinsWither (Feb 9, 2018)

I use roaches mainly. I do sometimes use crickets as treats along with wild caught moths and other buggos!


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## Ratmosphere (Feb 10, 2018)

I usually always have problems with Petco feeders. They end up killing my cricket population. This is why I go to a pet store in the town over that breeds them in clean conditions and has any size you need.


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## Ungoliant (Feb 10, 2018)

JoP said:


> Have any of you ever had any problems with feeders from Petco?


The superworms I purchased there were fine, but the boxed crickets didn't look very healthy, so I didn't buy them.


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## MetalMan2004 (Feb 10, 2018)

Ungoliant said:


> The superworms I purchased there were fine, but the boxed crickets didn't look very healthy, so I didn't buy them.


The boxed crickets never look healthy and are expensive.  If you are going to buy crickets from Petco, just go to the register and tell them you need a dozen or two and the size you need and they’ll get them from the back and put them in a bag.  Its way cheaper and they’re all alive.


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## GenXtra (Feb 10, 2018)

I've been buying crickets from the same LPS with good, cricket mortality. They specialize in amphibs, reps, & inverts & are enthusiasts as well.
Figured I'd be frugal & bought 100 med. & 100 lg. from a feeder only vendor at Repticon a few weeks ago & the majority of them have died off. 
I've kept them in the same type environment, with the same food & hydration method as the LPS crickets. 
As for big box feeders, I'm all too familiar with their practices & don't have any faith in the quality of their products/animals.
I'll continue to patronize my LPS. An added bonus is my 13th dozen is free.


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## Sarkhan42 (Feb 10, 2018)

It's interesting, there's a huge difference in crickets between pet stores here at school vs pet stores back home(namely petco). At home we get the nasty boxed crickets that are constantly dying, and seem in generally poor health, whereas here we get the banded species that are much healthier and come in small deli cup style containers. Only downside is the banded species seems to drop legs constantly, which makes feeding frustrating at times.

Both cases are mass produced, but I'll have to check the brand we get locally next time we get a round in.


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## Greasylake (Feb 10, 2018)

Before I started breeding my roaches I used to buy crickets from petsmart and a LPS and no matter where I got them from they'd die within two weeks. I got so frustrated with crickets that at an expo I just bought 100 dubias and started a colony and I can tell you that it has made keeping animals a lot easier, and lowered my blood pressure a few points.


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## ArachnidSpecilist (Apr 2, 2018)

The feeder crickets I got from PetCo were almost all missing arms or legs except the smaller crickets.This is only my second day having them and when I tried to feed my tarantula one, it didn't eat it (I think its in a pre-molt). They seem to be just fine though, they love munching on the chicken food and food scraps I gave them.


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## Danalemp1216 (Apr 9, 2018)

I worked for Petco for about 3 years, and I was usually the one left to deal with insects. All true worms, beetle larva (meal worms,superworms), and caterpillars (waxworms) arrive at the store in the same cups you purchase them in, and go either in the fridge or shelf. Petco does not provide any care for these worms. My store did not have the cricket boxes, so I can't speak for those.

Crickets go into a large bin with a bowl of gel for water, and a commercial (flukers) dry cricket feed. The egg flats that come with the shipment also go into the bin. When a new shipment of crickets come in, someone cleans out the bin before adding the new shipment. The only source of chemicals I could see getting into the crickets at the store is if an employee is using a chemical to clean the bin and doesn't wash it away well. 

I don't know what insects could be exposed to at the facilities they are bred in. They must have some means of dealing with pests like phorid flies, mites, etc.

I do recommend if you feed heavily off of store bought worms, you gut load them before feeding. I can assure you they probably have not had a nutritious meal in a long time.


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## basin79 (Apr 9, 2018)

From the horror stories of how terrible they keep animals from members on here I'd say a avoid Petco fullstop. Don't give them any custom. Don't give them any money. Don't give them any support.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## AISP Insects (Apr 17, 2018)

Petco is a big time rip-off when it comes to feeders (and at that probably beyond just feeders).


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## darkness975 (Apr 18, 2018)

Mostly luck of the draw, but I never get those boxes of crickets that are already boxed I always have them get them from the tank.

The supers from Petco are so fine . 

Honestly it sounds like you just got unlucky and a bad batch. I also don't like to feed crickets or mealworms to mantids because of the harder exoskeletons. I stick to flies in other soft-bodied prey for them. 

@KevinsWither you should not feed them wild-caught prey even if you lived in an area where they don't actively use pesticides you have no idea where they could have wandered from and they could have pesticides or parasites.


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## AngryMothNoises (Apr 18, 2018)

I don't even remember the last time I got feeders from LPS. Sorry to here about your mantis. It really sucks. It really goes for any feeders, from crickets to worms, goldfish and mice/rats. Though when I did use feeder crickets from petco years ago I never had any problems. Rats for my snakes on the other hand....


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