Gutloading an unused Dubia colony?

[Virgil]

Hi there! This is my first post, but I've been looking around these forums for a while. I am so glad I didn't get a cham before coming here!

Anyway, I am starting a dubia colony in preparation for my first chameleon. I have about two months before I get him, so hopefully the colony can establish...I know many people say three months minimum.

My questions is: should I feed the dubia fresh veggies in addition to the Repashy Bug Burger this far in advance of having a chameleon? Do the bugs benefit from the gutloading, or is it really just for the cham's nutrition?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[camimom]

Welcome!

the bugs don't really benefit in the sense you might think. But it does keep them alive, and the better food you give them, ive found the faster the colony breeds.

 

[nightanole]

Try veg and dry bug burger. Its been working really good for alot of us.

 

[bradley]

I would just stick to fresh fruit and veg for now. The bug burger is good but it will be expensive to keep up with their food intake in bug burger. I only give mine fresh fruit and veg all the time with some added vegetable protein.

I just give crickets bug burger. You can always separate the ones you are going to feed off so you can give them bug burger when you get the chameleon.

 

[Virgil]

ok. Thank you. I'll try a few different things and see what works best.

 

[sandrachameleon]

you can consider using the less expensive gutloads until the week before your chameleon arrives - things like alfalfa hay, dandelion leaves, butternut squash, yam, carrot. You still want your roaches to get the nutrients they need to breed, but you dont have to be quite as concerned in terms of how gutloading impacts the chameleon just yet.

 

[Yak]

I would just stick to fresh fruit and veg for now. The bug burger is good but it will be expensive to keep up with their food intake in bug burger. I only give mine fresh fruit and veg all the time with some added vegetable protein.

I just give crickets bug burger. You can always separate the ones you are going to feed off so you can give them bug burger when you get the chameleon.

its a good advice to keep and eye when you introduce fresh fruits, some people forget about it and find a bunch of dead feeders due to mold.

 

[armando]

this is what I did to get my dubia colony working...
I got the adult dubias... and started feed them grounded dog or cat food, fish flakes, oranges and water of course...
Many will jump in and say that I was crazy for using high protein... but I didnt use them as a feeders back there... and They started to breed like crazy! once the colony was stablished, I removed the high protein diet, and started to feed them good stuff...
I started to use them as a feeder about a month after that... I would say you wouldnt have to worry if you change the diet maybe 2 weeks before... that way the bad stuff will be out of the body.
Also.. use the males first.... some people here in the forum say is enough to have a ratio of 5 females for every 2 or 3 males