Beef Kidney verses beef heart

[al]

Hey,
I have not been able to get a hold of some "fresh" beef heart for a while and came across beef kidney. I don't rely on one food type and try to keep variety. I had success with supplementing beef heart to egg laying females and it appears it works well during this phase. Has anybody tried other beef organs (like kidney)? I'm concerned it may have toxins in it, but this is strictly personal speculation and antidotal at best. Would it have any high levels of harmful waste or chemicals? I know liver is not used due to high fat content. Any advice would be appreciated.
Al

 

[paris]

hey al!-long time no see....
what is the success you get with gravid females?-is it more eggs,higher hatching, or bigger more robust eggs?

 

[al]

It seems the females will lay more eggs. Those species that utlize plants, will lay eggs for a longer time. My Cynops sp. females appear to eagerly want to feed during this egg laying period (over 4-8 week period). With beef heart, I can easily feed them small portions that seem to satisfy them. With live foods, they appear to stop laying and start hunting (IE: black worms). I can not speak for my Triturus sp. One year they did not lay, and it appears they may have been too fat, but I'm not sure. Beef heart is a good supplement, but one needs to be careful it does not put too much weight on them. This is strictly antidotal info by mere observation.
I did not notice improvement on viability with Triturus sp. when using beef heart. I don't know anything that would improve the Triturus' genetic trait of egg death. Have you used beef kidney??
Good to hear from you Paris.
Al

 

[jennifer]

Hi Al,

I haven't used kidney, but I have used liver, both beef and chicken. Actually, I was feeding eastern newts mostly liver for years, not knowing any better at the time. I don't think that kidney accumulates toxins, but I'm no physiologist.

 

[al]

Thanks Jen. I've seen some posts on keepers feeding it to Axolotls. I will try it and let everyone know how it faired.

 

[alan]

Kidney and liver tissue are softer than heart and tend to pollute the water slightly more, other than that, they are fine.
Having said that, I would not use them as an exclusive diet.

 

[al]

Thanks for the tips. I used beef heart to supplement the worms, pellets, crix etc. It's great to vacuum pack and have in the freezer if your food supply dries up temporarily. I mainly use it around breeding time and an occasional treat. The females seem to relish it during egg depositing (won't even leave their plants, they
are like baby birds and just open their mouth)

I did feed some beef kidney to my Salamandra s.s.
and they seemed to find it quite palatable. so far so good.

 

[diego]

You can get a hold beef heart if you go to the meat section in BJs or Sams Club they will give it to you if they have it or they will separate it for you and don't ask me how I know this you REALLY don't want to know...what? I haven't eaten cow heart before!

 

[al]

Thanks,
I'll check out those places. I had a friend who use to get it for me, whole hearts, from slaughter houses. He procure animal parts for research facilities. But that source dried up.
I've had it years ago when I was a kid. It's not bad. Different cultures seem to eat it, especially around the holidays.
Al

 

[paris]

very tough meat, my local 'save a lot' store actually carries it cut neatly into steaks, most grocery stores that carry tripe should carry it too. as a note i have a local butcher shop to get my supply, but also during the holidays some 'normal markets' will carry turkey hearts, i have a hard time cutting it in small enough chunks even when frozen-i am wondering if a sausage grinder would do a better job......

 

[al]

It is tough. I use a scapel/razor while it is frozen. I cut 2x2x1/2 inch pieces and freeze it. I trim all fat, tendon, and pericardial lining prior to freezing as well.
When time to feed, I slice it into thin 2 inch strips. One whole piece gives you 50+ strips. I hand feed it with tweezers. I have not had any of my species refuse beef heart. For lager salamanders and axolotls, I cut larger strips.

 

[diego]

Yeah,It is pretty tough...but it doenst tast bad..

 

[al]

So you broke down and finally tried it?! Way to go Diego!! My grandmother would cook it for hours.