Anyone ever fed their BTS tuna?

[aggiegirl]

I'm not trying to play Devil's advocate here but what types of parasites can blueys get from their prey? I know that people can get some scary parasites from un/undercooked food, but what if we cook the food well? (I was a vegetarian for many years and ANY meat that my family consumes is well-done!) I still worry about toxins, heavy metals, etc. but I try to avoid those in any food source I purchase for my family. To minimize these risks, I feed all family members (incl. our bluey) a wide variety of foods. Yes, yes, I know "better safe than sorry" but I just want to know if this is rumor or scientifically based evidence to steer me clear of certain prey food sources...

[KyleWeiss]

Well, there's worms in undercooked/raw fish that can make any animal feel quite ill, including humans.

Again, I've never heard of a single case of direct fish-to-bluey parasite infestation, it's just a theory that I know of.

If you're asking about "prey," in a wild, broadspectrum way, if they eat smaller lizards or snakes in the wild, any reptile parasite such as mites, ticks, and internal parasites could be transferred. That's why there's such a to-do about getting wild-caught skinks from the Indonesian countries and surrounding islands.

KW

[applepiebald]

From what I've read, skinks shouldn't be fed the fishy flavored cat food, or even the types with real fish in them. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

As for shrimp, I'm allergic to shellfish. So, even if my skinks like it, they would make ME sick.

I don't know what to say about the Teflon water bowl. The only time I've used Teflon, and liked it, is in nailpolish.

[KyleWeiss]

I'll be curious to see what other ideas come up about feeding fish. Since I like to take bluey diets natural with a flavorful twist, I stick with land animals and plants that have good calcium-to-phosphorus ratios.

KW

[Shadowfax]

Nope, the fish thing is true -- fish are notorious bioaccumulators and almost anywhere in the US you will find levels of mercury in fish tissue. There are hotspots of course, SF Bay being one of them, where you can eat one dinner of swordfish and your body mercury levels will spike way above recommended levels literally overnight. I would not eat fish more than once a week.

[Zach]

What are some of the #1 causes for the mercury in the water? We had a terrible bout with it in a local lake here, but evidently, they've cleaned it up....

[Shadowfax]

A lot of it is naturally released from the crust of the earth and leaches into water. Of course we add to it, most notably with fossil fuels -- when coal is burned, it releases mercury, which then of course, comes down with rain into rivers and streams, which are our water sources. Add to that things like batteries and flourescent light bulbs that are not properly disposed of (we are not capable of destroying mercury) and end up in landfills. Those are the top sources -- fish and shellfish are the critters who are "best" at assimilating and storing mercury in their tissues, so it is most often they who are the subject of consumption warnings, of which there are still quite a lot.

[KyleWeiss]

I dunno. Seems like more political propaganda that people eat up to me (which could be more dangerous than the fish), not to mention, people who hobby in freaking out about minor things.

Considering volcanoes are attributed to the most toxic releases of chemicals known, which an eruption could easily dwarf what we could do in a 25 year period being dirty humans, and based upon people eating fish for as long as there's been humans, fish AND volcanoes... well... you see where I'm going. It's not to say there's not places you shouldn't eat fish because some fool is dumping his sewage from his coal burning plant to manufacture bombs and generic play-doh, but that's why there's not very many sushi restaurants in the Ukraine.

That's my opinion.

KW

[Tigergenesis]

I've been meaning to ask if there was a certain/good way to dispose of the UV lights in my blueys cages. It's time to switch them all and I wasn't sure if I need to do something special when tossing them

[KyleWeiss]

Heh, funny how "earth-friendly" low-wattage bulbs are so harmful when they get thrown out...

Personally I "recycle" the UV bulbs that I have in other lamps around the house, since the UV emissions might not be good, the light works fine.

As far as trash, there may be haz-mat disposal for fluorescent bulbs, but not in my area. Most areas that do make it illegal to throw them in regular trash, so then the garbage collector will simply not empty your bin and leave a snotty note on it.

KW

[mouseinamilkbottle]

What are some of the #1 causes for the mercury in the water? We had a terrible bout with it in a local lake here, but evidently, they've cleaned it up....

Industrial plants pumping stuff they shouldn't into the water supply to avoid costly disposal is another cause, too. That sort of thing is more common than you'd think.

At our High School, there was a "club" you could join, called Streamwatch. Basically, instead of doing sport on a Wednesday afternoon, you'd go down with a couple of teachers, take water samples to measure bacteria and mineral levels, etc in the local stream. A lot of the kids who were more interested in science and environmental stuff than hitting a ball around chose it.

One year this bunch of high school kids caught out the local tennis club (right next door to this creek) pumping their raw sewage directly into it. No treatment, nothing. They'd been getting some readings (and probably found a few "floaters") to suspect it was happening.

The way they proved it? Couple of kids went into the club to use the facilities, dumped a bunch of non-toxic food colourings in the toilet bowl and flushed. Some other kids waiting by the "storm water" outlets over the creek witnessed the fluoro water coming out at that end. Then they contacted the EPA. The club copped a massive fine.

[KyleWeiss]

That's pretty funny.


KW

[Zach]

Yes!

[Nature's Gift]

Haha, this is what I'd heard all through high school, who knows if it's been improved, or how big the scare really was....

I thought you were better than to have knee-jerk reactions towards "old wives' tales," or any Chicken Little syndrome.

People always complain about mercury in their seafood, however hardly anyone winces at buying a non-stick pan and the chemical make-up of teflon being suspected of cancer as time plods on.

I think fish is probably safer than any other meat out there for human consumption. Reptile consumption, I'm not convinced either way, but since there's other options, I stick to the helpful food chart.

KW

I take fish oil tablets three times a day and I'm not dead yet.

Interestingly however, I always use caste iron skillets because the fumes from non-stick cook-ware kills birds in the vicinity - of which, I have several. Dunno what it is that's in it but I've loads of parrots and I don't want them dropping dead from my stir-fry!

[Zach]

Haha, this is what I'd heard all through high school, who knows if it's been improved, or how big the scare really was....

I thought you were better than to have knee-jerk reactions towards "old wives' tales," or any Chicken Little syndrome.

People always complain about mercury in their seafood, however hardly anyone winces at buying a non-stick pan and the chemical make-up of teflon being suspected of cancer as time plods on.

I think fish is probably safer than any other meat out there for human consumption. Reptile consumption, I'm not convinced either way, but since there's other options, I stick to the helpful food chart.

KW

I take fish oil tablets three times a day and I'm not dead yet.

Interestingly however, I always use caste iron skillets because the fumes from non-stick cook-ware kills birds in the vicinity - of which, I have several. Dunno what it is that's in it but I've loads of parrots and I don't want them dropping dead from my stir-fry!

I can't find this post on the forum now....either way, I only heard this in the news--I didn't have a reaction either way.

[Nature's Gift]

Traditional double post ..... some of the fish oil tablets have labels saying "Mercury Tested" <---- but none of them say what the results were.

So that really isn't saying much except they know how much mercury is in them not that there isn't any!!!!!!!

[Nature's Gift]

Well, there are mad cows, fumes from non-stick frypans, chemicals used to grow vegies. Honestly, if we avoid everything that is sure to kill us, we'd all die of malnutrition.

[LittleFoot]

When I had my cockatiels I stopped using non-stick pans just because I was told and read that their are fumes given off that we cant smell, but they can that is toxic to them.

My mom's doctor told her that fish oil is good for the joints, she has been taking it for about 15 years to no ill effects, she just says it leaves a bad after taste.

[Shadowfax]

All the mercury consumption warnings I've seen were just that -- warnings. Not to say don't eat it, or that you will die if you do, just that you should be aware that mercury IS present, especially if you are pregnant or especially sensitive to mercury. If I was pregnant, I'd sure as heck want to know!

[KyleWeiss]

I think we should all just live in safe, quiet bubbles.

KW