Fresh veggies for crickets!

[kokom05lb]

Well, we spent about an hour at a farmers markets today. Picked up some veggies and fruits that we will eat. But there was a couple I was wondering if we could feed off to the crickets as well. I already have been feeding them collard greens, mustard greens, apples, potatoes, and carrots as well as a dry mix from zoomed and some cheeros off brand most of the time.

Well I picked up some tomatoes, zucchini, avocado, peaches, and watermelon at the farmers market. I was wondering if any of these 5 items I could add with their gutload?
Thanks =)

 

[RealIzeRecognIze]

I know the tomatoes are toxic. I use the core of peaches when I'm done eating them. And I would imagine avacado would be fine don't know.about watermelon though.

 

[reptilover]

I know the tomatoes are toxic. I use the core of peaches when I'm done eating them. And I would imagine avacado would be fine don't know.about watermelon though.

correct me if im wrong but i belive tomato leaves are toxic but tomatos them selves are not. watermeleon should be a ok aswell. avacado can be fatty but has alot of vitamens so id check with sandra on how often it should be used.

 

[RealIzeRecognIze]

Idk but I'm just going to stay away from tomatoes in general. I was going to give some to my hornworms til I read something but I'm just going to avoid them but Sandra will for sure know.

 

[OfficialChameleon]

Hey!

Wow sounds tasty, All of these veggies are fine! I feed my crickets carrots, potatoes, collared greens, watermelon, and mostly any non-toxic veggie/fruit
BUT JUST IN CASE :O
Here, is a list of food that crickets will eat AND are very good for gut-loading!

Source: USER; ferretinmyshoes

Gutloading is the process of working through the food chain to feed the prey animals the nutrition that your insectivore pet needs to replicate what they would eat in nature. Crickets are basically just water and chitin (not very nutritious or digestible) and the pet stores only feed them cardboard, or potato at most, so feeding crickets directly after you get them from the pet store or vendor is not providing much in the way of nutrition to your pet. Supplementing with a calcium and/or multivitamin powder is important, but not sufficient alone for proper nutrition in any species. Gut loading can't be done in all feeders but is very easy in crickets and super worms - two common feeder bugs.

How do you chose what to use? Gutloading ingredients should be chosen that are higher in calcium than phosphorus. High phosphorus levels in the food impedes calcium absorption. Inadequate dietary calcium leads to metabolic bone disease. Commercially available gutloads (such as Fluker Farms Cricket Food) are not balanced or sufficient for good nutrition in any species. Ideally there should be a wet and dry component to your gut load:

Good Wet Gutloading Ingredients: 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. Feeding such things like pinky-mice, fuzzies, and feeder anoles that are extremely high in fat and protein content is harmful to your chameleon's health, bones and organs that can lead to serious illnesses like gout, edema, organ failure and fatality.
[/B][/B][/B]

LINK TO ORIGINAL POST: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html

- Hope this helped!