Concern with Oranges as Gutload

draetish

draetish

Avid Member
:rolleyes: Okay, I'm probably going to open a can of worms with this one. I see alot of people using oranges as gutload for feeders. My concern is the amount of Vit A in oranges, so I looked it up. How does this affect your cham with overdosing on Vit A?

The following table gives an approximate estimate of vitamins and minerals contained in an orange weighing 130 grams:

Vitamins Minerals
Vitamin C - 70 mg Potassium - 237.11 mg
Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 0.11 mg Calcium - 52.4 mg
Vitamin A - 269 IU Phosphorous -18 mg
Folate - 39.7 mg Magnesium -13 mg
Pantothenic Acid (vitamin B5) - 0.33 mg Selenium - 0.65 mg


Apart from these, trace nutrients like copper, iron, sodium, sulfur, zinc and manganese are also present. An orange also contains 15.4 grams of carbohydrate, 12.2 grams of sugar, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of protein and 0.2 gram fat.
 
draetish said:
:rolleyes: Okay, I'm probably going to open a can of worms with this one. I see alot of people using oranges as gutload for feeders. My concern is the amount of Vit A in oranges, so I looked it up. How does this affect your cham with overdosing on Vit A?

The following table gives an approximate estimate of vitamins and minerals contained in an orange weighing 130 grams:

Vitamins Minerals
Vitamin C - 70 mg Potassium - 237.11 mg
Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 0.11 mg Calcium - 52.4 mg
Vitamin A - 269 IU Phosphorous -18 mg
Folate - 39.7 mg Magnesium -13 mg
Pantothenic Acid (vitamin B5) - 0.33 mg Selenium - 0.65 mg


Apart from these, trace nutrients like copper, iron, sodium, sulfur, zinc and manganese are also present. An orange also contains 15.4 grams of carbohydrate, 12.2 grams of sugar, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of protein and 0.2 gram fat.
Click to expand...


The real question is how much of that stuff in each cricket?

Answer : not enough to cause any harm

Everyone can keep using it as part of a wet gutload.
 
sandrachameleon said:
nothin wrong with that!

The Vitamin A in all fruits is not pre-formed.
Beta carotene doesnt build up and get toxic the way pre-formed A does.

So oranges are a pretty good gutload option, due to having more calcium than phosphorous plus other minerals and vits

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/143-nutrients-orange-fruit.html
Click to expand...


good info. as usual Sandra thanks, btw- your little man in your avatar pic is stunning! so much more orange?! :D
 
"The Vitamin A in all fruits is not pre-formed."
That's good to know, I do a lot of research on the internet of different fruits and veg. just so "I" know which has the most calcium vs phosphorus and I noticed Vit A on many fruits and just wondered. Thanks!
 
:) Often my posts are a bit on the long side because I try to explain the kind of reasonings/causes for things that you & I want to know, to give a better understanding
of the advices offered here.
Its one thing to be told, another to understand.
Keep on asking mate!
 
Crickets get lots of moisture from the oranges and chams get lots of their water from the moisture content of their food, therefore oranges are good for preventing dehydration. (that's not a fact, that's simply my observation which I believe is correct!)

If the crickets are really small and you want to grow them bigger before feeding, oranges are good becuase crickets LOVE them and in my experience, they'll eat oranges very quick.
 
I use a lot of citrus for my feeders as I've read that upping the citric acid level can reduce infections (or maybe it just helps the immune system). No firm data, but it seemed that my montane chams had fewer temporal gland infections with more citrus in gutload.
 
I'm sure it has to help the chams immune system, vitamin c helps sick humans and I imagine it would help chams. Plus this is something from the chameleon northwest website about reptaid. It is one of the ingredients in reptaid and a description of what it does.

"Grapefruit Seed Extract – Used as a parasitic for small parasites. Has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. For more information go to www.biochemresearch.com."

I'd say when making a wet gutload to even grind the seeds in from citrus fruits just for good measure. I know it wouldn't be like extract but I'm sure it could help a little.


justin
 
Oranges........

I use oranges as the main source of hydration for my crickets. But it's just part of the gutload. Just one piece of a complete picture or puzzle. Vitamin C has many benefits. It does boost the imune system. It also really helps prevent gum or mouth issues. Issues like abscesses or bleeding. It has this effect in humans as well.
 
I'd imagine it would make the cage or other items sticky... I wouldn't want to deal with it... I also dont know if they can get sores from the acidity. My piggies can get sores in their mouths if you feed them oranges more than once a week.
 
I was thinking more along the lines of squirting it on the cricket and placing it in the feeder bowl. My chams go for the food when it hits the bowl. Now "they can get sores from the acidity" makes sense to me not to do it.
 
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