Iceberg lettuce ok for crickets?

[Panthergirl11]

I've heard that collared greens are better to feed crickets but I've been giving mine iceberg lettuce and they've been eating the crap out of it. Just hoping this is ok. Also been giving them melon like cantaloupe and carrots.

 

[smokedout]

It has very little nutritional value. Use alfalfa, dandelion, kale, mustard or collared greens to name a few.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Iceberg lettuce has practically zero nutritional value at all. By giving it to the crickets you are basically feeding them water. This will not do your chameleon any favors and without good nutritional content will cause it harm over time. Canteloupe is about the same. Carrots are okay, as long as you use them with dark leafy greens. Here is some info on good gutloading. The staples should always be dark leafy greens because they are high in calcium and other good nutrients.

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.

 

[Panthergirl11]

I do also have a dry gut load that I use from chamalot chameleons and the flukers water crystals with calcium. So I've just been giving them lettuce to snack on. But I'll look at the store today and try to get darker greens.

 

[whereswaldo]

collards last forever in your crisper.