Crickets vs. Mealworms

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Originally Posted by nachash

I usually throw in some carrots to gutload the worms. Anyone have any other suggestions?

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Carrots do not gutload! They are just a convenient way to hydrate the bugs. I use ProGecko's ProGutload. I use to use Flukers gutload, but switched because of cost.

huh, really?

I used to use flukers and switched mainly because of costs and also because i figured a healthy vegetable would have a similar if not the same effect.

I assume the professional gutloads are therefore composites of many ingredients?

If you could, walk me through your process. I might not be doing the whole nine yards, and I want to make sure.

I send away for 1000 meal worms and keep them in a tub of Breakfast cereal, mostly Bran flakes and let them reproduce. I throw in carrots every week as a water source. This lasts me for a year or more and then I buy another 1000 meal worms for $18 or $20.
Every once and a while I buy a few dozen crickets or super worms for a dietary variety.
I always have calcium in a dish available to the leos.

This sounds like a low maintenance idea for supplying fresh mealies
I just have a few questions
you don't refrigerate or anything? do you separate the different life stages? what kind of tub?
I have about four animals that could eat mealies, would this method give me too much?
Thanks

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nachash

huh, really?

I used to use flukers and switched mainly because of costs and also because i figured a healthy vegetable would have a similar if not the same effect.

I assume the professional gutloads are therefore composites of many ingredients?

If you could, walk me through your process. I might not be doing the whole nine yards, and I want to make sure.

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You want to gutload with nutritional foods. Carrots only supply the vatamins and minerals that are found in carrots, and a some sugars and fiber I guess. They also need protein and some fat. You want to pass that nutrition on to your animals.

Here's what I do/did for mealworms and supers. Ratio of 3 parts bedding to 1 part gut load. I would use wheat bran for bedding, super cheap ($1 a pound most places). Mix it up and put your worms in it. Every couple days add some carrot, potato, apple, etc. for moisture. If you see some of the bedding mold, keep the moisture down by adding more air circulation and destroy the part of bedding that has molded.

If possible, I'd switch to roaches if you can. They really made a difference for my reptiles.

Hi everyone,

I feed mealworms exclusively and have never had a problem. I can't stand crickets, the smell and constant cleaning and watering is worse then the geckos! I also don't like the crickets being left inside the cage with a gecko because they can feed on the fecies and multiply a disease/problem and they can also chew on your gecko. My advice if you feed crickets, make sure there are none ever left in the cage, and/or add a small piece of fruit inside the cage for the cricket to chew on instead of your gecko.

As for the mealies, I buy about 50k to 75k at a time. Next year it will go over 150k at a time. I place the mealies in large Sterilite containers filled with oatbran in the fridge and keep them cool until I am ready to use them. About a week before I know I am going to feed that mealworm group out, I warm them up to room temps and feed them different fruits and veggies to help gutload them prior to feeding them to my geckos. I then place them into a calcium dish inside the cage and when the gecko feeds it eats the calcium as well as the feeder. About once a week I swap out the calcium for a vitamin dish.

Example of how we feed mealies:
http://www.geckobabies.com/2010/2010_011.jpg

Be careful with using only carrots to gutload your feeders. Carrots at small levels are ok, but at a higher level can interfere with the calcium absorption. I would mix it up some with apples, yams, romaine lettuce etc.

HTH!