Gutloading...

[chino]

Do mango work as a goatload for crix???

I've read that commercial products are not well balanced... I'm currently using Flunker's Orange Cubes. Should I stop using the cubes or complement it with "real" food like collard greens and such?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

The cubes are good for hydration and that's about it. Personally I think they stink and prefer water crystals. Use fruits and veggies!!

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.


This site has nutritional info on many commonly available fruits and veggies to help guide you in choosing good gut loading ingredients: http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm
Sandrachameleon has many more blog entries on gut loading and nutrition.

 

[chino]

Thanks for the reply! I've been such a "book worm" that I've found this link with the nutritional values in fruits and such.... Here!

 

[JohnnyD]

All of the above listed ingredients for the wet gut load are the way to go in my opinion. I use most or all of them when I make mine. It is so much cheaper and more nutritious than most dry gutloads. If you have a blender, it's easy to make a huge batch for around $15 that you can freeze in an ice cube tray or potion in small plastic baggies. Thaw the gutload as needed. This is a great way to get a huge variety of fruits and veggies into your cham. One trick I use is to squeeze out some of the juice so your not dropping a sloppy pile into your cricket or dubia bin. Squeezing through an old t-shirt works well for this. You lose some nutrients in the juice but the finished product is easier to work with. If you wanted to you could drink this juice and you'd probably be healthy for the week. lol I dared my son and his friend to drink a glass and they said it wasn't bad except foir the kale flavor.

 

[chino]

Johnny this is a great idea!!!! I'll do that! and see how well the crixs stay... As for now I've only lost 1/4 off the ones I got on Monday when I bought Gerald...

Thanks for sharing your idea!

 

[Heimdallr]

I've read that oxalic acids can be produced in frozen then thawed vegetables and I know for a fact that it will break down vitamin B1. Fresh is always best. Grated butternut squash(high beta carotene) and Dandelion greens(high calcium) work great for food and moisture. Bee pollen works nicely to add many other vitamins.