# Freeze dried crickets?



## jamielove (Apr 6, 2015)

So, I am going to be getting a hedgehog soon and I was wondering if any of you wonderful hedgie owners know if it is safe for them to eat freeze dried crickets. I know that it is definitely unsafe for them to eat freeze dried mealworms but I am looking for an alternative to growing live insects. Thanks! <3


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Freeze-dried anything isn't safe. It's the same problem with all of it - being freeze-dried means there's almost no moisture, which can cause constipation or impactions if hedgie doesn't drink enough water to make up for that.

If you don't want to deal with live insects in your house, I would recommend either getting canned insects or buying them live, then freezing them. Freezing live crickets worked very well for me. Keep them in a container for a night or two to eat some fresh veggies & such (gutloading them with healthy food), then put the container in the freezer for 24 hours. Then you can put them into a smaller container or baggy for storage in the freezer. They only take a minute or two to thaw out for eating. I hid frozen crickets around Lily's cage for her to find, she loved it! I haven't tried freezing any other insects, so I don't know if it'd work as well or not. Canned might be best for mealworms, etc.


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## Soyala_Amaya (Aug 1, 2011)

Freezing worked really well for dubia roaches, super worms, and phoenix worms for me. No discoloration on the super worms at all.


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## Ally's_Oliver (Feb 8, 2015)

I absolutely hate dealing or handling bugs of any kind, but for the health and safety of my hedgehog, I decided to use live insects. I figured that if if could suck it up and feed him live, I might as well go easy on my wallet and raise my own. So I now have a little mealworm farm that is surprising easy to keep and maintain (there are tons of videos on YouTube about farming mealworms). I still hate bugs but seeing the look of satisfaction on my little mans face when he chomps down on a juicy one makes it totally worth it! That said, crickets are loud and can easily escape so I don't keep them live. I do however, crush them up and mix them into baby food to minimize the risk of harm. My advice is if you can, buy or farm the easy live insects (like mealworms) and then use the others sparingly or mixed with sometime moist like baby food or wet cat food, etc.


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