Gutloading - What's bad?

Ferrah88

Member
Wasn't sure if I should put this here or in the feeding section...


My husband and I eat a lot of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables a day. We tend to juice them more often than not, and have been gutloading our crickets on little pieces of fruit, veggies, or even the leftover pulp after the juice has been made. (If we use the pulp, it's switched after 8 to 12 hours to keep it as fresh as possible) Now the question remains, of what we eat, what would be bad for the chameleons?

Mornings usually consist of any variety of the following:
Apples (Green/Red), Oranges, Grapefruit, Pears, Grapes, Kiwi, Banana, Passion fruit, Blueberries, Pineapple, Mango, Peach, Nectarine, Plums... (There's more that I cannot recall at the moment.)

Evenings we usually have any variety of the following:
Celery, Cucumber, Carrots, Red Beets, Fennel, Kale, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Tomatoes, Spinach, Parsley, Coriander, Basil, Onions, Garlic, Ginger, Aloe Vera... (There's also more that I cannot recall at the moment)

Note: Underlined fruits and veggies are confirmed as being unsuitable for a chameleon!

And of course, the daily dose of our favourite: Spirulina powder (Yuck! I don't think I will ever get used to this stuff!!!)


Now, what can I NOT give to the chameleons? Which ones are ok in small amounts, but not every day? This would make cricket feeding a whole lot easier :) Thanks for all the advice!

PS: I have seen various posts about what's good for chameleons, but I wanted to see what I can't and should avoid feeding. This way I can prepare something else for the crickets while still being able to drink the juices as usual, without worry of harming the chams!
 
Hi

By juicing you loose out on the healthy fibre, so my advice to you is to consider buying a blender and liquifying everything to drink ;) :D LOL
Okay okay I know, not what you asked about. Just a point of debate between me (a blender lover) and my best friend (juicer lover) that I cant let go. LOL Anyways, sounds like your bugs are totally going to benefit from your juicing habit :D

This is off the top of my head, so this is not a comprehensive list and may contain errors (Im sick with pneumonia and am to tired to look everything up). Generally, the key is moderation/variety.

Apples -fine in moderation, so long as you dont include the seeds
Oranges, pineapple are fine in moderation - dont include the peel and dont use too many acidic things too often
Kiwi - somewhat high in oxalates - limit
Pears - okay in moderation
Grapes - high in sugar, moderate
Banana - high in phosphorous, but okay now and then
Mango - higher in phosphorous than calicum, okay now and then -but do not include the peel which is has high amounts of oxalic acid
Peach -high in goitrogens, especially the peel, inhibits iodine - limit
Celery - contains some oxalic acid but fine in moderation
Cucumber - ok
Carrots - fine in moderation
Beets - Oaxalic Acid/Goitrogens - limit
Fennel - bulb and leaves okay in moderation, seeds good in moderation
Kale - okay in limited quantities - moderately high in oxalic acid and potentially goitrogenic
Broccoli & Cauliflower & Spinach - limit - oxalic acid and goitrogens
Parsley- high Oxalic Acid - limit
Basil - good in moderation
Onions, Garlic - high in sulfur and oxalates - limit
Aloe Vera - ok

you might find these links useful:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/nutritional-information/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/659-green-leafy-goodness-gutloading.html

Not good regular gutload choices: Rhubarb, Parsley, Cassava, Spinach, Chard, Beet leaves , Radish, Collards, leek, Beans, Brussels sprouts, onion, chives and Garlic, ice burge head lettuce, most Leaf Lettuce, egg plant, Watercress, Broccoli, Kale, cabbage, bok choy, Soy/edamame, figs, animal fat, meat, dairy, avacado, bran/wheat, mushrooms, anything significantly higher in phosphorous than calicum, anything high in phytates, Oxilates, Goitrogens...
 
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Hi

By juicing you loose out on the healthy fibre, so my advice to you is to consider buying a blender and liquifying everything to drink ;) :D LOL
Okay okay I know, not what you asked about. Just a point of debate between me (a blender lover) and my best friend (juicer lover) that I cant let go. LOL Anyways, sounds like your bugs are totally going to benefit from your juicing habit :D

This I know! Which is why, after juicing, I tend to rummage through the paste to find the whole chunks that flew through the juicer :D So usually slices of apple, ends of celery, orange pieces, etc. Juicing is not perfect, so you tend to get chunks! They don't look appetizing, all covered in varying colours, but I'm sure the crickets enjoy it! I just don't want to include and unnecessary parts of plant on the pieces that I do fish out. (Yesterday the crickets got blueberries, apple and spirulina!)


This is off the top of my head, so this is not a comprehensive list and may contain errors (Im sick with pneumonia and am to tired to look everything up). Generally, the key is moderation/variety.

Apples -fine in moderation, so long as you dont include the seeds
Oranges, pineapple are fine in moderation - dont include the peel and dont use too many acidic things too often
Kiwi - somewhat high in oxalates - limit
Pears - okay in moderation
Grapes - high in sugar, moderate
Banana - high in phosphorous, but okay now and then
Mango - higher in phosphorous than calicum, okay now and then -but do not include the peel which is has high amounts of oxalic acid
Peach -high in goitrogens, especially the peel, inhibits iodine - limit
Celery - contains some oxalic acid but fine in moderation
Cucumber - ok
Carrots - fine in moderation
Beets - Oaxalic Acid/Goitrogens - limit
Fennel - bulb and leaves okay in moderation, seeds good in moderation
Kale - okay in limited quantities - moderately high in oxalic acid and potentially goitrogenic
Broccoli & Cauliflower & Spinach - limit - oxalic acid and goitrogens
Parsley- high Oxalic Acid - limit
Basil - good in moderation
Onions, Garlic - high in sulfur and oxalates - limit
Aloe Vera - ok

you might find these links useful:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/nutritional-information/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/659-green-leafy-goodness-gutloading.html

Not good regular gutload choices: Rhubarb, Parsley, Cassava, Spinach, Chard, Beet leaves , Radish, Collards, leek, Beans, Brussels sprouts, onion, chives and Garlic, ice burge head lettuce, most Leaf Lettuce, egg plant, Watercress, Broccoli, Kale, cabbage, bok choy, Soy/edamame, figs, animal fat, meat, dairy, avacado, bran/wheat, mushrooms, anything significantly higher in phosphorous than calicum, anything high in phytates, Oxilates, Goitrogens...


This list does really help :D I plan on making a complete list for our wall eventually.. so that I can have a look at what NOT to add to the cricket bin after making the juice. Be it having to make slices, or fishing out the whole pieces that are left over! I sometimes add the mush if I am in a hurry.. but only if it's not dry. I mean, if it's dry, all the nutrients are gone...

Regarding the not good regular gutload choices: They are ok, when used in a very minuscule amount, correct? Like if I got an apple chunk out of the juicer, and it happens to have pieces of kale and beet on there, it wouldn't be too bad?? I wouldn't add them as whole pieces at the very least.. but it shouldn't cause problems if there's a bit of "pulp" from those two on there? If it would be a problem, I'll just wash anything I pull out a bit more intensely!

Thank you for the help and get well soon! :D I'll have a look at those links when I get home :)
 
This list does really help :D
great :) glad to help.

Regarding the not good regular gutload choices: They are ok, when used in a very minuscule amount, correct? Like if I got an apple chunk out of the juicer, and it happens to have pieces of kale and beet on there, it wouldn't be too bad?? I wouldn't add them as whole pieces at the very least.. but it shouldn't cause problems if there's a bit of "pulp" from those two on there? If it would be a problem, I'll just wash anything I pull out a bit more intensely!

Yes absolutely you got it. No problem at all to have something like kale bits or kale juice stuck to the primary ingredients :) even including a couple full leaves of kale now and then would be fine. You just wouldnt want to use kale (or similar) in a significant heavy way.
 
Great info! I too make my own cricket/roach/superworm feed. This helps a bunch. I have been giving them chop which includes, carrots, dandelion leaves, sweet potato, mini bell peppers (I read that a lot of insects are drawn to orange colored foods)
Are bell peppers okay for the crickets? They seem to love them. (Aka is it going to bad for the cham)
Moderation on fruits. I will keep this form saved so I can rember some key foods!
 
hwat about bean bugs? they do eat beans? are they bad then to feed off to hatchlings? dairy, I though feeding flies dry milk powder was good?:confused:
 
I want a per week gutloading schedule. It seems like people say there are good things to feed, an then others say they're not good.

Tell me if this is okay:
Week 1: Mustard greens and papaya/apple
Week 2: Collard greens with carrot/apple
Week 3: Mustard green with carrot/apple
week 4: Kale with carrot/apple

I don't use a dry gutload. I can't seem to find any of the ingredients at places like Whole Foods for some reason.
 
Anything you pull out of the juicer basket is still better than gut loading with dog food, cat food, or even most dry pre-packaged gut loads.

I just got a new Breville after my LaLanne broke. Mine has the duo disc so I can run pulpy food like banana through it to make Odwalla style drinks.

Anyway, my roaches and crickets love me. They don't leave the cham room even when they escape the bins.
 
This is from the caresheet under care resources on this forum:

Best - These gutloading ingredients are best because they are highest in calcium, low in phosphorus, oxalates and goitrogens. They should be the primary components of your gutload:
mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion leaves, collard greens, escarole lettuce, papaya, watercress and alfalfa.

Some things on this list are considered by sandrachameleon to be not good as a staple gut load. I trust Sandra above the list but is this something that should be updated?
 
The ony items my superworms will eat are collard greens, but i only feed to my supers twice a week.

Try a slice of sweet potato. I give this to my superworms, along with other veggies, and only the skin is left from that the next day. They seem to devour sweet potato.
 
Try a slice of sweet potato. I give this to my superworms, along with other veggies, and only the skin is left from that the next day. They seem to devour sweet potato.

I'll try. It's funny..when i first got them, they would eat carrots, apples, etc. Once they got a taste of collards, they refuse everything else….
 
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