Anyone having problems with fresh fruit

husker

husker

First Instar
Months ago i tried starting my first colony of hissers, had water dishes as well as gel water, always fresh fruit, fish pellets, and cat food avail. For them. One by one and two by two they would die off all in the same way. One or two would get lethargic turn on their backs,when turned on their bellies they were unable to walk, and kind of try to use one foot to move then end up on their back again . I tried to save them, first three or four i would sperate, and try to give them water by hand, they would spend as short as three days to a week just sitting on their back, nothing i could do. so the seller would replace the ones that died, then more from the first batch would start showing the same syptoms days after the first deaths, again seller replaced, then the second set the seller sent would start witht the same syptoms. these were alll adults BTW, even got a few from another seller. same same same. threw my hands up said im done. week later decided to give it one more try, got a starter colony of 30 nymph replaced fresh fruit with zoomeds gecko food, which is power fruit and veg, around 4-5$ for a 2oz bottle some high end gecko food can get expensive, AND THEY CHOW IT DOWN. not one death most of them have matured to the point where i can sex them. molting perfectly. ita an amazing colony, i have some adult all black to (normal color hissers) to half black half striped, oh and the last adult female i had from the original adults i had, had three babies that are thriving! the whole colony is thriving. my thought is the fruit in my area is GMO that was poisioning the hissers, the ONLY thing changed was fruit/veg out for gecko feed. something to think about if you are having any problems like i had.

 
GMO fruit and veg can't poison your bugs, trust me. :) Even "heritage" and "organic" produce has been genetically modified, just without the use of DNA technology. You should look into the history of the banana and vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower if you want to learn more about that kind of thing.

Anyway, sounds to me like they got a good dose of pesticides from your fresh fruits and vegetables. Even "organic" foods use pesticides so that won't necessarily fix the problem. You need to wash fresh foods very thoroughly when applicable and be careful about which ones you use. I feed pre-washed baby carrots, bananas, and apple cores with no issues.

 
i did wash EVERYTHING thouroughly, didnt just get hisers on a whim i researched plenty on proper care , then as they still kept dying peeled everything after washing, as i said the only factor that changed is the fruit n veg. they all died in the same manner in about the same span of time (as new ones were sent in to replace the old) from two different colony on west, and east coast, there should have been no pesticides after washed AND aggressively peeling yet here we are. also the fact that three babies from the last mother i had are thriving. the only thing it left is the veg/fruit the onlything that changed. and i have to disagree there are fruit and veg that is grown that has the pesticides IN the fruit/veg itself systemic. if the main diet is that fruit and veg how can it not affect them? you may not get these in your area, but 15 dead healthy adults speak to me otherwise. yes many have no problems feeding fruit veg to your babies. i dont write this to cause a panic or a huge debate, just to inform if anyone has an experience similar this could be a cause.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/environmental-policy/systemic-pesticides-zmaz10onzraw.aspx

 
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Husker, it's pretty well known that softer fruits and berries, like peaches and strawberries, have high amounts of what is called "pesticide residue." Other produce, on the other hand, doesn't have this issue- broccoli, bananas, and shelled peas to name a few. That's why I suggested you wash the products and be careful on what you feed, and you shouldn't have any problems.

If you're still having problems, you might want to consider buying frozen fruits and vegetables and using those. :)

 
as i already stated I DID wash ALL products carefully, i dont know why you dont believe this? and apperently these (other) products do have this problem because the last few hissers that i got i cut diet to only feed cut baby carrots which i still washed AND peeled further, and broccoli. EVERYTHING with this new colony is EXACTLY the same except the fruit and veg. as i stated this is not a debate im sharing my experience, as to help others who see problems similar, you can keep saying its not possible, but im done posting about this. now get your last word in and let it be done.

 
Believe it or not bananas have been a problem for me. I got 15-20 Blaberus giganteus and I fed then banana and they all turned up dead. I contacted Kyle about it and he says it is a classic pestide case. Now I only feed cat food (for those picky species), chicken feed (just about all of my species love it!), baby carrots, and water crystals.

 
Husker, I'm sorry you think I'm disagreeing with you, when I am clearly not. We both agree you are having problems with pesticides, and I've tried to give you tactics to avoid those problems. Glad at least you seem to have found some kind of solution.

Roman, I'm really surprised to hear that about the banana! I have fed lots of bananas with no issues, but it can depend on the source. Gotta love chicken feed and baby carrots, though; they're staples for me! Have you tried baby cereal? My colonies vacuum that up.

 
It's possible that whatever you fed them was treated with systemic pesticides. They're absorbed by the plants and cannot be washed off because they're found within the tissues of the plant and not on the surface.

 
It seems to me that there's no way of knowing that your other foods won't ever turn up with pesticide residue in them... I mean, most corn in the USA is genetically modified to express Bt, and chicken food has a lot of corn in it.

I just think one should always proceed with caution feeding new foods. Pretty sure I've lost bugs to pesticide residue myself a couple of times.

 
I have been getting organic fruit. I love bananas, and so do my roaches. I guess that's one way they've been helping me stay healthy. I avoid pesticides and they do too. :)

 
I give my hissers stuff from right out my garden , and fruit that I dont completely finish. they eat everything and anything I have ever offered, and no die off from the garden food, or grocery food. I even have fed them raw dandilion greens. they are garbage disposals. for a treat I give them chiclid sticks or other fishfood.

only deaths I have had have been from old age, or a horrible molt gone wrong.

isnt it interesting, yours are dying and I feed mine without a care darn near anything I would compost or whatever, and my colonly could care less...

there has to be other food or envrionmental issues at play when ppl mostly feed the same and one guys colony suffers while another thrives.

dude I have cleaned out my jucier after a ginger carrot and kale drink was made, and squished the waste into a ball and dropped it in the colony and they devoured it without any ill effects... gave the same food ball to my dubia and they loved it as well.

I dunno.

 
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