Feeding Crickets Cat/Dog Food A No No?

Messages
75
Location
Canada
I just ran across a post on a random forum saying that giving crickets cat or dog food as part of their diet causes health issues for leo's? All I've read was that it was good, but now I'm worried. Right now, I'm feeding my crickets a diet of:

Potato, carrot, romaine lettuce (misted daily for extra water and changed out every other day)
Cat food pieces and Dog food powder (which they loooove)
T-Rex Calcium Plus Food for Crickets (came with my leo)

The cat/dog food is the cheapest stuff you can get, a no-name brand. Nothing fancy. I'd say I have about 30 crickets. They're in a 10g if it matters.

Any thoughts on this? Anything I can improve?
 

Dinosaur!

New Member
Messages
908
Location
Las vegas, Nevada
The problem with dog and cat food is that it contains very high levels of protein, which can in turn cause your geckos to develop the gout. There was a thread not to long ago where someone actually had to put her gecko down due to gout :(. Just don't use to much protein when gut loading. The only feeders of mine that recieve dog food are my roaches, and they only get a teeny tiny bit mixed in with their chow :). Just do your research and figure out what will work for you. Weigh the risks and the benefits, and then try out what you decide, and tweak it from there :)
 

Olympus

Biologist & Ecologist
Messages
298
Location
Miami, Fl.
None of your gutloading items are worth very much, with the exception of carrots. Potatoes and romaine lettuce are just not good foods, as they don't improve the nutritional value of crickets at all. And to add to the comments about the dog food, the cheaper the brand the more additives, fat, and preservatives are in the food as well.

Look here for a list of good ingredients that are just as easy to buy as carrots and potatoes but much better for your insects and geckos: The Anatomy of Gut-Loading | Ingredients & Nutritional Info | Much Ado About Chameleons (There are a lot more ingredients but I'll only post the best ones.) And remember to rotate them around, no one or two things should be 100% of the gutload all the time.

Best Gut-Loading Ingredients
Food items that are high in calcium but low in phosphorous, oxalates, and/or goitrogens.


Mustard Greens
Turnip Greens
Collard Greens
Dandelion Leaves
Hibiscus Leaves or Flowers
Mulberry leaves
Grape Leaves
Escarole Lettuce
Squash – either Butternut or Spaghetti
Papaya
Watercress
Alfalfa
Orange
Carrot
Arugula
Basil
Apple
Spirulina
Dried Seaweed/Kelp
Flax Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Bee Pollen

You could definitely buy a high-quality commercial gutload as well, to make life easier for yourself if you like that option. Something like Cricket Crack, Superload, Dinofuel, etc. I'm not a fan of Fluker's products in general, personally.
 
Messages
75
Location
Canada
Dang, a majority of that is stuff I don't keep around the house. Does everyone go to this much trouble for crickets? I know my pet store only has Flukers gutload so I'll have to figure something out as I'm on limited funds here as well. Thank you!
 
Last edited:

indyana

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,336
Location
Massachusetts, United States
Yeah, I spoil my feeders. I get a good quality dry insect chow (I like MS2 brand) and then supplement with greens and veggies on the gutload list at least twice a week. You'll have to do more often if you aren't providing a water gel.
 

indyana

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,336
Location
Massachusetts, United States
That will dry up too fast. You could put a little dish with paper towel and water, but that's going to get nasty very quickly and will need to be replaced every day.

Most people use water crystals, which are pretty cheap. I use Repashy HydroLoad gel. You can also get little "water pillows" for crickets at most pet stores that you soak in water and can then reuse until the crickets chew little holes in them.
 

Olympus

Biologist & Ecologist
Messages
298
Location
Miami, Fl.
It's not necessarily going through the trouble for the crickets, so much as for the geckos (and in my case chameleons as well.) They are what they eat, and since feeders like crickets or mealworms don't make up a well-rounded diet by themselves we have to improve upon them with supplements and gut loads.

Plus, it's not necessarily more expensive. A bag of collard greens isn't more expensive than a bag of romaine, for example. They're both like $2-3.
 
Messages
75
Location
Canada
I don't mind replacing the paper towel daily. We're headed to the pet store today to get some mealworms so I'll look into the water crystals they have there. In Canada, BC especially, produce is expensive. Next time we head to the grocery store I'll have a look though! After today, I won't have any crickets because right now I only have 5 left. It'll be the occasional crickets for variety :) Thanks everyone. I'll remember this thread when I get crickets again!
 
Messages
75
Location
Canada
Welp, I got crickets AND mealworms because the 250 count of mealworms he gave me were the last ones they had before the new shipment, so lots were dead in the container. To be sure I would have enough feeders I got 40 crickets again too *sigh*. The cricket water crystals were too expensive, so I'm going to use the papertowel idea. The grocery store didn't have annyyything of the fresh greens that was on the list for the crickets, not even alfalfa so I'll just have to keep going with the carrot and the apples I got.
 

Olympus

Biologist & Ecologist
Messages
298
Location
Miami, Fl.
If money is tight then a commercial gutload might be your best bet all around. Because that way you always have food and a bag will last you a long time given how few insects you keep.

For example, if you bought a 1lb bag of Repashy Superload from Pangeareptile.com (who has sales ALL the time, free shipping, etc.) it'll run you $17, but will last you months. So if you take advantage of a sale (sign up for their emails!) then you can get it for 20-40% off and have a high-quality gutload for months. So look around, look on Amazon.com, etc., and see what you can get your hands on that's within your budget. And at that point you just supplement with something wet like carrots or apples for moisture.
 
Messages
75
Location
Canada
If money is tight then a commercial gutload might be your best bet all around. Because that way you always have food and a bag will last you a long time given how few insects you keep.

For example, if you bought a 1lb bag of Repashy Superload from Pangeareptile.com (who has sales ALL the time, free shipping, etc.) it'll run you $17, but will last you months. So if you take advantage of a sale (sign up for their emails!) then you can get it for 20-40% off and have a high-quality gutload for months. So look around, look on Amazon.com, etc., and see what you can get your hands on that's within your budget. And at that point you just supplement with something wet like carrots or apples for moisture.

That's a really great idea, but that website in particular wants me to spend $19.95 just for shipping... If I knew for sure my border place lets people use their address it would be fine, but I can't get that information just yet until my visiting family leaves on Friday. I'll keep looking on a Canadian site I know of. Thank you!
 

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