roach food

[xxzmmorexx]

So im beginning to get my set up for roaches and supplies and I just watched a video of a guy making roach food out of fish food turtle food and chicken feed. All have high calcium. He also mixed regular reptile calcium. I mean it makes sense that what your feeder eats is what your cham gets but is this a healthy gutload? Obviously mixed veggies and fruits would be rotated but as for the actual roach food what are your thoughts?

 

[Jon114]

I'd skimp on the fish food and possibly turtle food. Iguana food is often recomended. I use a vegetarian chicken layer as my main dry gutload for all my feeders. (you want to avoid processed animal products, this can lead to gout) So iguana food + vegetarian chicken layer would make a good dry gutload.

Also, adding reptile calcium would be overdoing it. The chicken layer itself has a high amount of calcium and too much can kill your feeders. They don't have bones, so excess calcium merely piles up in their guts or leads to molting issues.

 

[xxzmmorexx]

I'd skimp on the fish food and possibly turtle food. Iguana food is often recomended. I use a vegetarian chicken layer as my main dry gutload for all my feeders. (you want to avoid processed animal products, this can lead to gout) So iguana food + vegetarian chicken layer would make a good dry gutload.

Also, adding reptile calcium would be overdoing it. The chicken layer itself has a high amount of calcium and too much can kill your feeders. They don't have bones, so excess calcium merely piles up in their guts or leads to molting issues.

Is there a specific brand of chicken layer and iguana food you use?

 

[Jon114]

Is there a specific brand of chicken layer and iguana food you use?

I use Southern States for the chicken food. I haven't added iguana food into my insects' gutload diet yet, but I plan to.

 

[xxzmmorexx]

Oh so you just use the chicken layer now! Okay haha

 

[jshaffer740]

Check out SandraChameleon's blog posts. You can and should be feeding roaches the same healthy gutloading ingredients you would feed most all other feeders. Definitely avoid fish food - it has the incorrect type of Vitamin A, and other ingredients that are not healthy or wanted for our chams. I think sticking with making your own wet gutload from healthy ingredients (primarily leafy greens such as dandelion leaves, collard greens, etc, as well as vegetables, fruits), and a good commercial dry gutload (as I find the ingredients for this tougher to find) is a good way to go.

 

[pssh]

I would take a peek at SandraChameleon's blog and make your own using her blog as a guide or buy a high quality food like cricket crack or dinofuel. Fishfood (except the ones that only have spirulina in them), possibly turtle food (is there an animal based protein source?) and chicken feed aren't really going to be the best foods to feed your bugs. It would be much better to buy a good gutload or make your own out of high quality ingredients (raw sunflower seeds, spirulina, calendula, brewers yeast, barley, bee pollen, oats, rice, various beans, millet, various nuts, etc.)

 

[xxzmmorexx]

Yeah I figured those were bad gutloads. I purchased dino fuel. Think I should just mix yhat up with a variety of veggies and fruits?

 

[pssh]

Yes, that would be a good gutload for your chameleons.

 

[dom1959]

i was checking the ingredients in chicken crumbles
(curiosity kills the cat)
well here they are, don't seem to be bad,

Musca Domestica (insect), non-GMO corn, non-GMO wheat, alfalfa, flax, soybean, kelp, spirulina, and oyster shell flour.

 

[Jon114]

It would be much better to buy a good gutload or make your own out of high quality ingredients (raw sunflower seeds, spirulina, calendula, brewers yeast, barley, bee pollen, oats, rice, various beans, millet, various nuts, etc.)

Most of these ingredients are in the chicken feed. Since it comes premade and it's relatively cheap, I still stand by it. Once again though, get a high quality, organic/vegetarian brand. Feed can be ordered online for a moderate/low amount of money, and it will last forever.

 

[xxzmmorexx]

Yeah that doesnt seem terribly bad. Maybe thats an option to feed them until im a couple days out from feeding then switch to dino fuel

 

[xxzmmorexx]

I just wanna find something to feed until its time to use them then use my dino fuel for wm toeat

 

[pssh]

Most of these ingredients are in the chicken feed. Since it comes premade and it's relatively cheap, I still stand by it. Once again though, get a high quality, organic/vegetarian brand. Feed can be ordered online for a moderate/low amount of money, and it will last forever.

Oh. I havent looked into chicken feed much, but i know that a lot of the commercial ones have animal protein, corn, Etc. and dont have a whole lot of the other "super foods" that we recommend in our gutloads.

Either way, i always suggest feeding the insects a high quality food 24/7 instead of only feeding them really good food a few days before they are fed.

 

[kgallego]

So im beginning to get my set up for roaches and supplies and I just watched a video of a guy making roach food out of fish food turtle food and chicken feed. All have high calcium. He also mixed regular reptile calcium. I mean it makes sense that what your feeder eats is what your cham gets but is this a healthy gutload? Obviously mixed veggies and fruits would be rotated but as for the actual roach food what are your thoughts?

You must be talking about that kid with the "Classy Herps" video that's about 20 min long. I feed my roaches his same recipe, but I added egg shells and dry "Bug Burger" also. I dont know if this is 100% the best solution, but my cham's are fat and healthy.

---Just wait till get out brotha---you saw my post, lol

 

[tkilgour]

i was checking the ingredients in chicken crumbles
(curiosity kills the cat)
well here they are, don't seem to be bad,

Musca Domestica (insect), non-GMO corn, non-GMO wheat, alfalfa, flax, soybean, kelp, spirulina, and oyster shell flour.

The ingredients are okay, but not the best. I like the non-GMO part, but why isn't the soy a non-GMO? Seems odd they use non-GMO corn and wheat but not soy.

 

[SSimsswiSS]

The ingredients are okay, but not the best. I like the non-GMO part, but why isn't the soy a non-GMO? Seems odd they use non-GMO corn and wheat but not soy.

Maybe it's that 87% of all soybeans are GMO. At some percentage, its safe to assume it's all been GMO-ed

 

[nightanole]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/i-think-i-invented-dubia-crack-95938/