Are These Foods Enough for Gutloading?

[iwantone]

I have been feeding my Dubia Roaches, Crickets and Locusts with quite a few different foods but I am looking for some reassurance that this is enough of a variety to gutload them properly. Also please tell me if you think some should be used in moderation and if some are good to use all the time.

The roaches always have water crystals.

The roaches always have some dried food in a small bowl which consists of any of these:
Roach food http://www.roachcolony.com/roach-food-mix-15-p.asp
Wheatgerm
Oatmeal
Dog Biscuits
I also occasionally give them some raisins and some sunflower seeds. I feed them fruit or veg every other day which can consist of any the items below.

The crickets have dog biscuits, wheatgerm or oatmeal and any of the items below.

Orange
Apple
Curly Kale
Spring Greens
Cabbage
Carrot
Butternut Squash

Occasional: Romaine

I am trying to provide them with a good diet without spending excessively each week.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I don't know anything abour keeping roaches.
For crickets:
Dog biscuits - too high in protein: remove
Oatmeal - very high in phosphorus: remove or use very sparingly
Kale - high in oxalates: use sparingly
Cabbage - no nutritional value: remove
Carrots - only good with balanced gutload
Butternut squash - YAY, they have lots of calcium
Romaine - little to no nutritional value: remove

Your whole gutload is missing anything that is calcium rich and should contain more dark leaf greens.

Good Wet Gutloading Ingredients High in Calcium: dandelion leaves, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, escarole lettuce, butternut squash, carrots, mango, alfalfa sprouts, oranges, blueberries, raspberries, sweet potato, strawberries, hibiscus leaves and flowers, papaya

Good Dry Gutload Ingredients: bee pollen, alfalfa powder, kelp powder, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, raw uncooked sunflower seeds, raw uncooked pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, small amounts of whole grain cereals, spirulina algae, tortoise pellets

Foods to AVOID: Broccoli, spinach, beets, and parsley, have large amounts of oxalic acids which bind calcium absorption. Lettuces and cabbage do not have any significant nutritional value. Also, avoid things like dog food, cat food, and fish flakes which are high in animal proteins which can cause kidney damage.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

i've learned by sandrachameleons, that baby spinach is more acceptable and nutritional the younger the leaf is. as they get older, they oxalic acids increase as well.

dandelion leaves are still a very excellent gutloading choice and use it as much as i can when it is in season

 

[iwantone]

Thanks very much. I'm glad I checked now as I haven't had her very long.

I haven't heard of quite a few items and I can't find them when I do a search online at my supermarket. I can't find collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, escarole lettuce and alfalfa sprouts amongst other things. Can I just stick to some of the wetloading items from the list rather than buy the majority of them? Can I just alternate these or should certain amounts be given of each?

I have just done a bit of internet shopping (not bought it yet) and hopefully you will be able to see the link to what I have added to my basket to check these are the correct items for dryloading. http://www.thesuperfoodco.co.uk/sho...search_in_description=1&inc_subcat=0&sort=20a

Brewer's Yeast Powder http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pa...U0cc9yq8VU2-9Ag664vTotOMryJLRCwRHwdSIDfdCejy3

Pumpkin Seeds http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi...66_Goodness_Pumpkin_Seeds__Organic__250g.html

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

your chameleon's food CAN be storebought gutload.. but where is the nutrition in that? i know some of the mentioned gutloading items are hard to come by in off seasons. but keep looking.

what i do, is i make 3-4 batches of wet gutload a year.
i blend all my ingredients in a food processor, put the paste in ice cube trays, and when their forzen, i bag the gut loading cubes. it lasts so long, and you can even split them up depending on how much crickets your feeding.

 

[iwantone]

your chameleon's food CAN be storebought gutload.. but where is the nutrition in that? i know some of the mentioned gutloading items are hard to come by in off seasons. but keep looking.

what i do, is i make 3-4 batches of wet gutload a year.
i blend all my ingredients in a food processor, put the paste in ice cube trays, and when their forzen, i bag the gut loading cubes. it lasts so long, and you can even split them up depending on how much crickets your feeding.

Look where? Sorry I don't know what you mean?

 

[sandrachameleon]

Ferret's advise is on the right track.
more info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

 

[iwantone]

Ferret's advise is on the right track.
more info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

Great thank you. Does my shopping list look okay?

 

[JohnnyD]

I think romaine lettuce has very little nutritional value, not unlike iceberg lettuce.

 

[jdog1027]

your chameleon's food CAN be storebought gutload.. but where is the nutrition in that?

what i do, is i make 3-4 batches of wet gutload a year.
i blend all my ingredients in a food processor, put the paste in ice cube trays, and when their forzen, i bag the gut loading cubes. it lasts so long, and you can even split them up depending on how much crickets your feeding.

I'm not sure I understand this,... Turnip, mustard, collard greens, butternut, yellow squash or any of the other items on the lists bought from a store are not nutritious? Or are you refering to the commercially made gutloads available in pet stores?,..



From what I understand a lot of the nutritional value is lost when you freeze vegetables, unless it was Flash-frozen. As soon as vegetables are harvested from the ground, they begin to lose nutrients. Freesh, not frozen.

 

[clarkrw3]

I'm not sure I understand this,... Turnip, mustard, collard greens, butternut, yellow squash or any of the other items on the lists bought from a store are not nutritious? Or are you refering to the commercially made gutloads available in pet stores?,..



From what I understand a lot of the nutritional value is lost when you freeze vegetables, unless it was Flash-frozen. As soon as vegetables are harvested from the ground, they begin to lose nutrients. Freesh, not frozen.

I just can not understand this train of thought. So where do these nutrients go? Your freezing not boiling. The air in your freezer must be very nutritious with all these evaporated nutrients floating around. You take fresh organic vegetables blend them and freeze them with juices and all...where do there vitamin, minerals amino acids, etc go?

 

[jdog1027]

Buying your produce fresh, then processing it and then freezing it is what I was refering to. Most fresh vegetables are picked before their peak of ripeness, and are typically shipped long distances from the source, all the while they are losing nutrtional value. So if you are going to use fresh produce, it is better to go ahead and use it soon after purchase. On the other hand, vegetables that are picked, washed, blanched and flash-frozen on site are usually picked at the peak of ripeness as opposed to before. These are much more nutrient rich than processing 'fresh' vegetables that were harvested prior to peak. Read labels- If your gonna do the freeze gutload thing, it's best to buy vegetables from the store frozen and that were flash-frozen at harvest.

 

[iwantone]

Thanks very much. I'm glad I checked now as I haven't had her very long.

I haven't heard of quite a few items and I can't find them when I do a search online at my supermarket. I can't find collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, escarole lettuce and alfalfa sprouts amongst other things. Can I just stick to some of the wetloading items from the list rather than buy the majority of them? Can I just alternate these or should certain amounts be given of each?

I have just done a bit of internet shopping (not bought it yet) and hopefully you will be able to see the link to what I have added to my basket to check these are the correct items for dryloading. http://www.thesuperfoodco.co.uk/sho...search_in_description=1&inc_subcat=0&sort=20a

Brewer's Yeast Powder http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pa...U0cc9yq8VU2-9Ag664vTotOMryJLRCwRHwdSIDfdCejy3

Pumpkin Seeds http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi...66_Goodness_Pumpkin_Seeds__Organic__250g.html

Can anyone help me with my question please?

 

[sandrachameleon]

cart linked to was empty

If you check the link I provided you, you will find a list of possible gutload items. How you vary it is up to you. Just aim for high calcium and a wide range of everything else.

 

[iwantone]

cart linked to was empty

If you check the link I provided you, you will find a list of possible gutload items. How you vary it is up to you. Just aim for high calcium and a wide range of everything else.

Damn, it was all there before. Thanks very much.

 

[iwantone]

Okaaaaay, so I bought these items for the dry gutloading.
Brewers Yeast Powder
Bee Pollen
Spirulina Powder
Kelp Powder
De-Hulled Hemp Seed
Alfalfa Powder
Pumpkin Seeds

Already have:
Wheatgerm
Sunflower Seeds
Oatbran

Can I just put a bit of few of these in with the insects each day? Does it matter how much I use?

Will the locusts eat all these items?

 

[sandrachameleon]

Okaaaaay, so I bought these items for the dry gutloading.
Brewers Yeast Powder
Bee Pollen
Spirulina Powder
Kelp Powder
De-Hulled Hemp Seed
Alfalfa Powder
Pumpkin Seeds

Already have:
Wheatgerm
Sunflower Seeds
Oatbran

Can I just put a bit of few of these in with the insects each day? Does it matter how much I use?
Will the locusts eat all these items?

You can mix it together. Heavy on the alfalfa, not much oat wheat brans.

 

[iwantone]

You can mix it together. Heavy on the alfalfa, not much oat wheat brans.

So I mix everything together, even the pumpkin/sunflower seeds, put in extra alfalfa but only a bit of the oatmeal and wheatgerm? Is there a percentage of each item I should use or doesn't it matter?

 

[iwantone]

Well I made up my own gutload, just mixed it all together as you said. The roaches love it anyway. I hope the crickets and locusts do lol.