D3 & preformed A in Ghann's cricket chow??

[pamnsam94]

Ghann's responded to my email asking about what they feed their crickets. Maybe it's no surprise, but they use Ghann's Cricket Chow and Ghann's High Calcium Chow. The response also used terminology like "top secret formula", which doesn't help much, but it also said that the cricket chow is vitamin fortified. I wrote back, specifically wanting to know the concentration of D3 and/or preformed vitamin A (retinol) that either of the chows may contain, and I'm now waiting to hear from them. If any of you have either of those chows, please let me know what the labels on the jars say (e.g. 200,000 I.U. of retinol per lb., etc.). Thanks.

Perry

 

[laurie]

Perry I am not sure Ghanns even sells cricket chow. I have been with them for years and have never been told they sell chow. Let me know what you fine out.

 

[pamnsam94]

Perry I am not sure Ghanns even sells cricket chow. I have been with them for years and have never been told they sell chow. Let me know what you fine out.

Below is the email from Ghann's I was referring to. They didn't show up when I pasted the message, but there were links to both Ghann's Cricket Chow and High Calcium Chow in Tammy's message. I clicked on the links but they simply showed pictures of the front labels of the jars. I don't even know if the jars have the nutrional analysis written on them. Since Tammy didn't answer my specific question about whether the chows were fortified with D3 and/or preformed A, I wrote again, and I'm now waiting for a response. I was just hoping that someone on the forums might have used Ghann's chows before and would be able to post the nutritional analysis, if it's even listed on the products.

Perry


Thank you for your inquiry. Live crickets do best when fed a diet similar to what they were raised on. We feed our exclusive Ghann's Cricket Chow formula which was developed by our founder, Aubrey S. Ghann many years ago, and also a High Calcium Chow based on the same formula, both are fortified with vitamins and minerals that are essential to the health of the cricket. We have tried many "modern" formulas over the years, but have yet to come across any that grows crickets as strong and healthy as our original formula. Feed "free choice" (keep some chow in plate at all times & let crickets eat as they desire). Be sure they can get to the food easily! If you don't see crickets actively on the food source, maybe they can't reach it. If necessary provide some type of "ladder" for them to climb up to the food - wrap a piece of paper towel around outside bottom of plate or food tray so they can climb up to the food easily. It's also not a bad idea to supplement your crickets' grain diet with some fruit occasionally. A quarter of an orange or apple every few days is just the trick.

--
Regards,


Tammy D. Butler

Office Manager

Ghann's Cricket Farm, Inc.

 

[sandrachameleon]

.... It's also not a bad idea to supplement your crickets' grain diet with some fruit occasionally. A quarter of an orange or apple every few days is just the trick.

well, this sentence doesnt fire me up with enthusiastic support.
Hope you get the information you are seeking - including a FULL ingredient list. Anyplace that is unwilling to tell me at least the top ten ingredients isnt someplace I would buy from. There is no "secret" to feeding crickets.

 

[laurie]

Below is the email from Ghann's I was referring to. They didn't show up when I pasted the message, but there were links to both Ghann's Cricket Chow and High Calcium Chow in Tammy's message. I clicked on the links but they simply showed pictures of the front labels of the jars. I don't even know if the jars have the nutrional analysis written on them. Since Tammy didn't answer my specific question about whether the chows were fortified with D3 and/or preformed A, I wrote again, and I'm now waiting for a response. I was just hoping that someone on the forums might have used Ghann's chows before and would be able to post the nutritional analysis, if it's even listed on the products.

Perry


Thank you for your inquiry. Live crickets do best when fed a diet similar to what they were raised on. We feed our exclusive Ghann's Cricket Chow formula which was developed by our founder, Aubrey S. Ghann many years ago, and also a High Calcium Chow based on the same formula, both are fortified with vitamins and minerals that are essential to the health of the cricket. We have tried many "modern" formulas over the years, but have yet to come across any that grows crickets as strong and healthy as our original formula. Feed "free choice" (keep some chow in plate at all times & let crickets eat as they desire). Be sure they can get to the food easily! If you don't see crickets actively on the food source, maybe they can't reach it. If necessary provide some type of "ladder" for them to climb up to the food - wrap a piece of paper towel around outside bottom of plate or food tray so they can climb up to the food easily. It's also not a bad idea to supplement your crickets' grain diet with some fruit occasionally. A quarter of an orange or apple every few days is just the trick.

--
Regards,


Tammy D. Butler

Office Manager

Ghann's Cricket Farm, Inc.

Perry I know Tammy fairly well, do you want me to call her or even Clay Ghann? I can do that easily.

 

[Solid Snake]

I have nothing to input, other than that I am very interested in their response.

I decided to try Ghann's out a couple of months ago, and have been very pleased with them thus far.

I received a shipment from them yesterday, which I didnt un-box until today, and their where only one or two dead crickets in the box.

I generally give them my own gutload items for 24hrs before feeding, but today I fed some straight off.

Id be interested in knowing what they feed them, as Ive always been weary of what they have been eating prior to arrival.

 

[pamnsam94]

Perry I know Tammy fairly well, do you want me to call her or even Clay Ghann? I can do that easily.

To be fair, I haven't given Tammy enough time to respond to my second email. Her response at least let me know that they do indeed feed vitamin fortified chow to their crickets, which really shouldn't be a surprise. I like to feed only whole foods to feeders just because IMO, it is less risky (to montanes) than feeding them vitamin fortified foods. I don't expect that any supplier would do the same because it would be too costly. Maybe I should just be a little more patient and wait to hear Tammy's response to my second email. I just thought that maybe someone on the forums has used their chows and would post any nutritional analysis on the label, assuming there is one. It would be a great benefit to everyone (especially members keeping montane species) if we had a nutritional analysis of the various feeds that commercial insect suppliers use. If anyone has such info and would care to post it, that would be awesome. Maybe someone might want to gather and organize the data and make the info into a sticky or something. It seems that many keepers primarily just look for healthy crickets (or other feeders) and then make the assumption that they are safe to feed to our chameleons. I like to point out though that we usually have no idea what the suppliers are feeding their insects. Even though it is a good idea to wait awhile to let insects clear their guts, I'm not aware of studies that show how long crickets (or other feeders) can store vitamins/minerals in their tissues.

Perry

 

[pamnsam94]

Still no response from Tammy. Does anyone using Ghann's cricket chow care to share the product's nutritional analysis?

 

[pamnsam94]

I received a response from Ghann's Crickets concerning the nutritional analysis of the two chows they offer. Unfortunately, I was asked not to share the info they gave me because it is "proprietary information". I can understand them not wanting to share the exact formulation (ingredients, etc.), which they didn't give me. I didn't ask about that. I'm confused though as to why they don't want me to share the info they did give me, the info I asked for (the I.U. of D3 and preformed vitamin A in both Ghann's Cricket Chow and Ghann's High Calcium). However, I don't think they would mind me sharing that both formulas do contain both D3 and preformed vitamin A. I'm assuming that it's the amounts of each of those that they don't want shared. I hope that's the case. I don't want to make anyone angry. Although I don't think I've ever used Ghann's (possibly once or twice), Tammy is very helpful and I know that others really like the quality of their crickets.

Perry

 

[laurie]

Hey Perry I talked to Tammy today and she said she had answered you. If you need/want more info let me know what & Tammy told me to call her. When I talked to her I did not know you had another response. Sorry, I was just following up.

 

[pamnsam94]

Hey Perry I talked to Tammy today and she said she had answered you. If you need/want more info let me know what & Tammy told me to call her. When I talked to her I did not know you had another response. Sorry, I was just following up.

She sent me a response on August 16th, but I just found it today. I don't know how I missed it. Thanks Laurie.

 

[Solid Snake]

Did it have any info?

 

[pamnsam94]

I was told what amounts of D3 and preformed vitamin A that Ghann's Cricket Chow and Ghann's High Calcium Chow have. However, I was also informed that the information (the nutritional analysis) was proprietary and not to be shared. I'll add, however, that Tammy was very nice and helpful, so anyone wishing to know the amounts should contact Ghann's directly.

Perry

 

[Solid Snake]

..........

 

[sandrachameleon]

thanks for letting us know the outcome

Its a fair response. They are willing to alleviate the concerns and answer the questions of their customers, if directly asked.
It enough for me to know (and others will be glad to know) that their product does contain those two things, even if I do not know the amounts. Individuals can follow up with them if they need the details.