Can of mealworms

[emmac350]

Allergic to rust...not exactly. But our crabs are more sensitive than we are to heavy metals, which are leached out of metal cans by the food within. We are much larger than our crabs, and our bodies can handle them. The metals in that can are most likely not iron, so they may not rust, but little bits of the metal can get into the food and therefore into our crabs.

Crabs, and most scavenger animals, have a much higher tolerance for bacteria in molding foods that would easily make us sick. Their digestive system must be stronger than ours, because food that has sat around and started to turn into what we would call "bad" (aka bad for people) is oftentimes the crabs' favorite!

Think about it like this: have you ever had a dog that eats its own poo? Or something dead it finds in the yard? Did he/she get sick? No. Would you, had you eaten that same food? Yes.

[ladybug15057]

Not sure about the dog who ate something in the yard and didn't get sick, but I have had a few house dogs in the past years that indeed got sick over... 'yuck' they found and began to eat.
erikleeson, in a couple other posts I did write about how nature has its own disinfectants and how different our tanks are too... so I will not repeat that.
As for mealworms, I have been feeding Fluckers freeze dried meal worms to this crew here now for a few years...no problems.
erikleeson, you mention that a magnet did stick to the can. (I will eventually get to a pet store with this product... after shaking this virus I have) By the magnet sticking this means it is not an aluminum can. It possibly is either steel or tin. If it is a steel can, I have read that they are normally lined with tin if any foods are put within them. Tin does leech into foods, ESPECIALLY if cooked in. This product does state it is cooked in the can to retain the vitamins and minerals that can be lost by cooking.
In an article that Julia_Crab had done she did warn about using anything other than a good stainless steel pot/skillet to cook the hermies food in due to how things can leech into the foods.
Another little note about the products sold by exo terra in the cans... they are 'farm raised', and no where can I find that they are 'organic' farms... So a few things to consider here too.
When I do find this product, I will certainly look at the label itself. Most items here in the U.S. are recyclable, so it should say if indeed it is steel or not. And from reading as well, from what I have read on the internet there are somethings that if they are cooked in steel that is lined with tin on the inside... the tin does change color... which means some of it HAS leeched into the foods.

[vckums]

Allergic to rust...not exactly. But our crabs are more sensitive than we are to heavy metals, which are leached out of metal cans by the food within. We are much larger than our crabs, and our bodies can handle them. The metals in that can are most likely not iron, so they may not rust, but little bits of the metal can get into the food and therefore into our crabs.

True their bodies are much smaller. When they eat, they digest it pretty fast. So if the food in the cans was indeed harmful to them you'd notice within that day or the next if something happened. I've heard where people feed their crabs those colored calcium treats(bucket & pail ones) and within the day they see colored crab poop in the tank. I've fed them the canned caterpillars a few times now and there's been no deaths.

[Jedi_Sena]

Here are a couple of interesting articles about canned foods:
http://www.riverwired.com/blog/bpa-dang ... r-plastics
http://workoutmommy.com/2008/05/01/canned-food-too/

[ladybug15057]

Thank you Jedi_Sena!! I have checked Petco and PetSmart so far and cannot seem to locate these canned foods sold.

[ladybug15057]

Seems on other forums the subject of canned foods are arising again... so I am bumping this topic to help members here...