A solution to cricket hydration...maybe

[Chill]

OOOOKkkk this is kind of a stretch and i jus thought about it but lately i've had alot of crix dying. I think its cuz they arent getting alot of water. And the fruit just rots away and smells and the gel stuff is kind of expensive for the amount you get. So here's my idea...Jello. Its like the gel stuff and made mostly from water. Im not sure of the ingredients but im sure there isnt anything that could hurts your chams. It doesnt go bad its cheaper than the gel stuff and i could add calcium stuff to it.
Let me know what you guys think

 

[Jerambis]

I like celery. It works really well and doesnt smell.

 

[lbesok]

I think you might give your chameleon a sugar attack lol if you feed your crickets jello.... this one I have here(raspberry) has 17g of sugar, and 70 Calories! I use just a plain water crystal like so:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1lb-Water-Absor...hZ012QQcategoryZ20540QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem
I highly recommend them, a little of this stuff goes a long way too!
I use veggies in addition to this stuff to provide more nutrients, but never put in more than they can eat in one day.

 

[Chill]

Yah i didnt look at the back of it haha that is quite a bit of sugar.Yah i use apples, carrots and lettuce. Just throwin it out there haha. Maybe if there was a no sugar jello maybe who knows?

 

[Chill]

haha well i was looking through my oantry and what do you know sugar-free jello. And i looked and its much better nutritonal. Only 10 calories, no sugar ( obviously) no fat, no carbs, 65 mg of sodium though and 1 g of protein. I dunno and thoughts.

 

[lbesok]

Err..I think it would be safe to assume if one were to hydrate with jello that sugar free would be the way to go.

 

[Chill]

Yah i think i might try it tonight...Im jus worried about all the stuff in it maybe it could be bad for the chams but im not sure because i would think if it were bad i would see the crix die b4.

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

haha well i was looking through my oantry and what do you know sugar-free jello. And i looked and its much better nutritonal. Only 10 calories, no sugar ( obviously) no fat, no carbs, 65 mg of sodium though and 1 g of protein. I dunno and thoughts.

Sweetened by Nutrasweet right?
Well, do a little research on aspartame.
Look at the package and it'll say "CONTAINS PHENYLKETONURICS"
basically aspartame is a combination of the amino acids,
Aspartic acid and phenylalanine and a tad of methanol (wood alcohol).
All those bonds are quickly broken down in the gut and run freely around the body
phenylalanine gets metabolized into a stimulatory neurotransmitter(s)
and is partly why people (such as myself) get "addicted"
to such drinks as Diet Coke.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylalanine

Whose, to say that the corporations don't chemically bind us to their products?

It's been deemed FDA as safe (which shouldn't be taken at face value)
Some human individuals lack the enzyme (PAH)
that is required to break down phenylalanine within the body. (hence the FDA/CYA warning)
The buildup of phenylalanine is known to cause serious neural impairment.
so much so that developing children are often recommended to avoid all
such sweeteners or else end up seriously mentally retarded (or worse).
simple page, more detailed info
Phenylalanine specific
For adult human the dangers are "not as" severe.

To bring it all back on topic:
It's unknown (to myself) what the enzyme levels (PAH)
are for developing or even adult chams
any build up of these two amino acids can seriously harm the animal.

So basically, To boil it all down (pun) use the sugar based jello
or even better use "Kosher gelatin"
available in the baking aisle of the supermarket.
and augment the instructions for a more "solid cube"
Load it with your own mix of vitamin goodies and have fun.

Personally, I use fruit slices and my own dry wheat bran based mix (KISS).
Too much water (imho) only leads to cricket and roach (hpfb) death.
(and yes, I'm a geek)

 

[lonomac]

I use oranges, can gutload them with Vit c and they stay hydrated no problem

 

[Ren]

water crystals, fruit vegies nuff said.

 

[Chill]

WOW jeweled i am impressed. ok well thanks for all the imput everybody. I still think i might just stick to the fruit but i was jus trying to think outside the box haha. but i may also try the kosher gelatin idea.

 

[Scaley]

Chill try this it works great. I found the agar agar at Whole Foods. Any healthy style food store should carry this. I used fruit juice instead of water. In fact the fruit juice I used also came from the health food store. It is a green food fruit juice so its super nutrient rich. The agar agar may be in the asian section because it is a seaweed derivative and commnly used in asian food jelling. http://www.casadelgecko.com/how_to_make_moisture_munchies.htm

Hope this helps. It sure helped me.

 

[SuperRad]

What about Knox unflavored gelatin. you get like 5 packs for 3 bucks. It is not sweet and has no flavor. it's used alot for baking to hold custards and stuff. i don't have any to know the nutrional content.
U can also find it at any grocery store. I'll check it out the info on it when i go grocery shopping today and post.